I'm sure this is probably something basic in WPF but I'm new to XAML syntax I'm trying to wrap my head around it.
The Setup
I have a LogItem
Type -- just a POCO:
public class LogItem
{
public string Message {get;set;}
public Color MessageColor {get;set;}
}
and a List of LogItem
in my ViewModel:
private ObservableCollection<LogItem> _logItems;
public ObservableCollection<LogItem> LogItems
{
get { return _logItems; }
set
{
if (value != _logItems)
{
_logItems = value;
OnPropertyChanged("LogItems");
}
}
}
My viewmodel is bound to the view so that I can do the following:
<ListBox Grid.Row="0" Margin="0,10,0,0" Grid.ColumnSpan="3" Height="150" ItemsSource="{Binding LogItems}">
(Obviously I still have to set the display text binding, etc.)
The Question
Given that I have a Message
and MessageColor
property in LogItems, what is the correct XAML syntax to bind the color of the item text to the color I specify?
<ListBox Grid.Row="0" Margin="0,10,0,0" Grid.ColumnSpan="3" Height="150" ItemsSource="{Binding LogItems}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}" Foreground="{Binding MessageColor}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
TextBlock Foreground
expects a Brush
not a Color
. Like a lot of things in WPF, There are lot's of ways to approch this. Here is a couple:
Change to MessageColor
property in your viewModel to Brush
Brush MessageColor {get;set;}
Create a SolidColorBrush
and bind it to your color
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}">
<TextBlock.Foreground>
<SolidColorBrush Color="{Binding MessageColor}"/>
</TextBlock.Foreground>
</TextBlock>
Create a ColorToBrushConverter
public class ColorToBrushConverter : IValueConverter
{
#region IValueConverter Members
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value == null) return Brushes.Black; // Default color
Color color = (Color)value;
return new SolidColorBrush(color);
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
#endregion
}
In xaml, create the converter as static resource
<Window.Resources>
<local:ColorToBrushConverter x:Key="colorToBrushConverter"/>
</Window.Resources>
use it in the binding
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}" Foreground="{Binding MessageColor, Converter={StaticResource colorToBrushConverter}"/>
Good luck