Binding a command and a CommandParameter in the same view - xamarin

I have an Entry and a Button. I want the command "CallWebServiceCommand" to be called when I press the button. The call to that command needs to include the url of the web service as a CommandParameter. The BindingContext is set to the ViewModel of the page.
The CommandParameter property of the button needs to reference the Text property of the entry. In WPF, I could do something like this:
<Button Text="Call web service" Command="{Binding CallWebServiceCommand}" CommandParameter="{Binding ElementName=url, Path=Text}" />
I know that it's not possible to have multiple binding contexts per view, but what would be a good workaround for this particular situation?

This is a bit of a hack, but it's worked for us in the past:
Use the ViewModel as a "relay" for the view. To do this, create a String property on your ViewModel that the text field binds its Text property to, and bind the CommandParameter of the button to this property. If you raise the PropertyChanged event for this "parameter" property, the command will supply the updated value to the method specified as the command's Action. It's certainly non-ideal, but it does work as a poor man's replacement for RelativeSource binding.

Related

Binding to value in parent page from in usercontrol in listview datatemplate in Windows Phone 7

I have a ViewCharacter page that has a View Model (CharacterViewModel) as its DataContext, in that CharacterViewModel I have an ObservableCollection of WeaponViewModel that a ListBox is using as an ItemSource. The ListBox's DataTemplate contains a UserControl that is designed for the WeaponViewModels in the parent page's View Model's ObservableCollection. I need to bind a CommandParameter of a button in the UserControl to a property on the Parent page's view model (CharacterViewModel). I've tried using {Binding DataContext.TargetProperty, RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}} with no success and am at a loss of what to do without outright breaking all MVVM patterns.
Windows Phone 7 lacks a relative source binding. I have created a Silverlight implementation here:
http://www.scottlogic.co.uk/blog/colin/2009/02/relativesource-binding-in-silverlight/
But for WP7, where performance is critical, I would avoid using it!
I would instead recommend making the relationship between CharacterViewModel and WeaponViewModel bi-directional. In other words, add a Parent property to WeaponViewModel which will be a reference to the owning CharacterViewModel. You can then bind to properties on CharacterViewModel via this property.

Setting a data binding on a UI control created programmatically in a Windows 8 C++/Xaml app

As per this page and several other references, the way to create a data binding with Xaml/C++ in Windows 8 is to do the following:
In C++:
Create a bindable class,
Set the DataContext property to an instance of that class.
In Xaml:
<Object AnyProperty="{Binding Path=AnotherProperty, Mode=TwoWay}" />
How would I achieve that binding if I constructed Object through C++?
Would this page be of any help to you?
How to: Create a Binding in Code
The example on the page seems to use a SetBinding instance method on a textblock to bind a property to the text property of the textblock. Maybe there is a similar method in C++?

Databinding does not update property value on back navigation

<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}"/>
Binding works fine when I first navigate to a page containing the code above. Then I navigate forward to a page that that makes changes to the model (the Name property) and navigate back (with back key). The Text property, however, is still displaying the old value. How can I force the bound value to update on back navigation.
Make sure that your model implements INotifyPropertyChanged and that the PropertyChanged event is firing within the setter of Name

ListBox SelectedIndex is always -1

I have a Listbox with Button and Textblock as ItemTemplate. Button has an onClick event.
All i want is to get the index of the clicked item, but SelectedIndex property in my ListBox is always -1!
How can I get the index of the clicked item?
The problem is that the Button control is swallowing the mouse events to provide the Click behavior, so the ListBox never receives any events to tell it that the selection has changed.
As #Alexander suggests, you could use an MVVM-style approach with commands to handle the action in a view model and pass the data context as the parameter.
Alternatively, you could replace the Button with any other layout control and either use the gesture service from the Silverlight Toolkit or use the regular MouseLeftButtonUp event. In either instance, the mouse events will bubble up and enable the ListBox to handle selection.
You might want to actually select something in your listbox then :p
If you want to get data object associated with current ListItem use RouteCommand. Here is example
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Button Margin="5,0" Command="{StaticResource ButtonCommand}"
CommandParameter="{Binding}">
</DataTemplate>
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
You need also define Command at least in ListView.Resources
<RoutedCommand x:Key="ButtonCommand"/>
And then setup CommandBinding like this
<ListView.CommandBindings>
<CommandBinding Command="{StaticResource ButtonCommand}" Executed="Button_Click"/>
</ListView.CommandBindings>
In the end write handler
Button_Click(object sender, ExecutedRoutedEventArgs e)
{
e.Parameter// object that you Specified in CommandParameter
}
In advance you can use any MVVM framework, define all command and commands logic in model and then just bind this commands to corresponding elements.

Giving a Boolean property to a controller object in Interface Builder

After I drag a controller object to the document window, how do I give it a Boolean property?
Assuming you want the ability to expose and edit the property values of your custom controller as attributes showing up in IB's inspector, you'll need to write your own plugin which tells IB what the inspector should look like. This really can't be answered briefly.
Here's Apple's reference on IB Plugins:
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/IBPlugInGuide/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40004323-CH1-SW1
And here's the inspector portion:
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/IBPlugInGuide/CreatingInspectors/CreatingInspectors.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40004323-CH6-SW1
If you truly just want to add a property to the controller's interface, you do this in Xcode (modifying the interface and implementation accordingly) and IB will pick up the changes automagically.
In the case of a checkbox, the checkbox itself is either checked or not. That state stores the boolean value instead of the controller (unless you wish it.)
To have the app undertake an action upon clicking it, think of it as a button instead of a data display and link it to an action method in the view controller. That's the simplest and old school way of doing it.
To use binding, you need to bind the checkbox's value attribute to a controller. Usually for binary values its an object controller. So, in IB, drag an Object controller to your nib window and bind it to your data source. Then, drag a checkmark button to the interface. In the checkmarks binding inspector. Set "value" binding to the name of the object controller, controller key to selection, keypath to the name of the data source attribute and provide a value transformer if needed.

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