CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#wpfcustom-controlsdependency-properties
Dammer15
Dammer15

Reputation: 190

Binding To a Custom Control's Dependency Property

Quick Overview

I've created a custom control "InputValuePage". I've registered a dependency property with this control named InputTitle. Binding within the User Control InputTitle to a textblock works great however I when using this custom control as a child in a frame or window I can't use a binding to set my dependency properties. Below is the code used for the InputTitle property.

Custom Control Class Code Behind :

public partial class InputValuePage : Page
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty InputTitleProperty  =
    DependencyProperty.Register("InputTitle", typeof(string), typeof(InputValuePage));

public string InputTitle
    {
        get { return (string)GetValue(InputTitleProperty); }
        set { SetValue(InputTitleProperty, value); }
    }

public InputValuePage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
}

Example Usage:

<Frame Grid.Row="2" 
           Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
           Grid.RowSpan="2"
           x:Name="DisFrame">
        <Frame.Content>
            <local:InputValuePage 
                                  InputMessage="This gets set in the control." 
                                  InputTitle="{Binding ElementName=DisFrame, Path=Name}" 
                                  HostWindow="{Binding ElementName=DemoWindow}">
            </local:InputValuePage>
        </Frame.Content>
    </Frame>

To clarify the three values set in the XAML are all dependency properties. Input Message and Title can successfully set when a string is provided however data bindings never actually set a value. What am I missing to allow for binding data?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2090

Answers (1)

Phil Jollans
Phil Jollans

Reputation: 3769

If you make a custom control, this works perfectly. A custom control inherits from Control. Your class inherits from Page.

I have tried it with the following code:

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace WpfCustomControlLibrary1
{
  public class InputValuePage : Control
  {
    public static readonly DependencyProperty InputTitleProperty =
      DependencyProperty.Register ("InputTitle", typeof (string), typeof (InputValuePage));

    public string InputTitle
    {
      get { return (string)GetValue (InputTitleProperty); }
      set { SetValue (InputTitleProperty, value); }
    }

    static InputValuePage ( )
    {
      DefaultStyleKeyProperty.OverrideMetadata (typeof (InputValuePage), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata (typeof (InputValuePage)));
    }
  }
}

This is the ControlTemplate in my Generic.xaml file. Note that you can use TemplateBinding to access the property in the template.

<ResourceDictionary
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfCustomControlLibrary1">
  <Style TargetType="{x:Type local:InputValuePage}">
    <Setter Property="Template">
      <Setter.Value>
        <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type local:InputValuePage}">
          <Border Background="{TemplateBinding Background}"
                            BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}"
                            BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}">

            <TextBlock VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Center" FontSize="20" Text="{TemplateBinding InputTitle}"/>

          </Border>
        </ControlTemplate>
      </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
  </Style>
</ResourceDictionary>

Visual Studio automatically generates a ControlTemplate when you create a custom control project.

In my test project, I wired the InputTitle property up to the contents of a TextBox.

<Window x:Class="WpfApp1.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApp1"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        xmlns:cc="clr-namespace:WpfCustomControlLibrary1;assembly=WpfCustomControlLibrary1"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="200" Width="200">
  <Grid>
    <Grid.RowDefinitions>
      <RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
      <RowDefinition Height="*"/>
    </Grid.RowDefinitions>

    <TextBox Grid.Row="0" x:Name="TitleBox" Text="ABC"/>

    <Frame Grid.Row="1" x:Name="DisFrame">
      <Frame.Content>
        <cc:InputValuePage InputTitle="{Binding ElementName=TitleBox, Path=Text}"/>
      </Frame.Content>
    </Frame>

  </Grid>
</Window>

I'm pretty sure that this would also work with a UserControl, if you find that easier.

Evidently, it does not work with a Page.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions