Adding custom control to listbox

Question

I have a custom control ListItem. I need to display five such items in a window and these items could change during runtime; items could be added or deleted, or content could change in ListItem.

ListBox appears to be a good solution to display items. But what I have seen is we can add items and style them, and can handle updates with data trigger.

myListBox.Items.Add(new { FileName = "SomeFile", State="Uploaded" });

But we can not do something like

ListItem curItem = new ListItem();
myListBox.Items.Add(new { curItem });

Even if I do it shows empty item in the list.

So if I want to add my custom control to some listbox, how could that be possible. That is using ListBox just as a container so we can get away from the pain of positioning and all that after list changes. Or is there a better way to do that?

Why are you creating a ListBoxItem then adding it to an anonymous type then adding to the ListBox?, why not just add the ListBoxItem to the ListBox, even better bind a ItemSorce to you ListBox and let the bindings do all the work and use DataTemplates. — sa_ddam213
– sa_ddam213, Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 1:08
Yes you are right but the thing is the item has somewhat complex, so i wanted to manage items independently like each take care of itself like handling different events styling etc. But that option is still an open. — Mirza Bilal
– Mirza Bilal, Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 1:12
If you have a complex ListItem why are you making it MORE complex by adding it to an anonymous object, its going to make it hard for the Xaml to show whay you want, try: myListBox.Items.Add(curItem); instead of myListBox.Items.Add(new { curItem }); — sa_ddam213
– sa_ddam213, Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 1:14
So bottom line is you think its better to bind an item source to the list, actually i started wpf like last week, so still finding ways to do things the best possible way. And in this case i thought about adding those five elements to the window directly was a bit short sighted didnt think about managing deletion and addition — Mirza Bilal
– Mirza Bilal, Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 1:19
Yes its is better to Bind to collections of classes and apply DataTemplates then adding UserControls to ListBoxes, Not that adding a collection of UserControls to a bound List is a bad thing, but simple classes using DataTemplates will be about 400% faster. WPF is all powered by DataBinding so stepping outside of that rule will create biiiggg headaches — sa_ddam213
– sa_ddam213, Commented Sep 25, 2013 at 1:24

markmnl · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-25 01:31:02Z

3

You are in luck - this is the bread and butter of WPF! Set the ItemsSource of your ListBox (possible in XAML or cs):

myListBox.ItemsSource = myEnumerableCollection;

or

<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding MyItemsProperty}">

Use a DataTemplate (you do not need a UserControl) to style each item in XAML:

<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding MyItemsProperty}">
  <ListBox.ItemTemplate>
    <DataTemplate>
      <StackPanel>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding FileName}"/>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding State}"/>
        <!--Whatever you want-->
      </StackPanel>
    </DataTemplate>
  </ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>

If your collection is an ObservableCollection<T> changes to that collection (e.g. items added or removed) will be reflected in the ListBox automatically. If T implements INotifyPropertyChanged changes to properties on each item will also automatically show up on the UI.

For more see the WPF Binding Overview.

edited Sep 25, 2013 at 1:31

answered Sep 25, 2013 at 1:24

markmnl

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1 Comment

Mirza Bilal Over a year ago

Yeah right deciding against using a custom control, will use observable collection.

Fede · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-25 01:13:20Z

1

Don't create or manipulate UI elements in procedural code in WPF.

<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding SomeCollection}">
   <ListBox.ItemTemplate>
     <DataTemplate>
       <my:MyControl/>
     </DataTemplate>
   </ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>

where my:MyControl is a UserControl with whatever UI you want.

answered Sep 25, 2013 at 1:13

Fede

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