Need help handling events of a DataTemplate in the Application.xaml file

Question

I have in my application a data template that has a few buttons. I want those buttons' even handler to be fired in the current page (I am using this template in many pages) rather than in the Application.xaml.vb/cs file, since I want different actions on each page.

I hope I am clear.

Selfexecuting

Answer 1

You can use commanding to achieve this. Have the Buttons in the DataTemplate execute specific Commands:

<Button Command="{x:Static MyCommands.SomeCommand}"/>

Then have each view that uses that DataTemplate handle the Command:

<UserControl>
    <UserCommand.CommandBindings>
         <CommandBinding Command="{x:Static MyCommands.SomeCommand}"
                         Executed="_someHandler"/>
    </UserCommand.CommandBindings>
</UserControl>

EDIT after comments: Once you have created a code-behind for your ResourceDictionary as per these instructions, you can simply connect events in the usual fashion:

In MyResources.xaml:

<ListBox x:Key="myListBoxResource" ItemSelected="_listBox_ItemSelected"/>

Then in MyResources.xaml.cs:

private void _listBox_ItemSelected(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    ...
}

Timothee

Then how would you set some of the events in the code behind? And what if I use ResourceDictionary (that doesn't have a code behind file) and I want to refer to a handler in the ResourceDictionary page itself. – Selfexecuting

You can easily have a code-behind file for a ResourceDictionary. See #92600 – Timothee

1) please edit the 2nd snippet regarding how to address the event to a local handler. 2) what's MyCommands, a declaration? – Selfexecuting

1) OK, edited. 2) You'll need to read up on commanding and routed commands in particular. – Timothee

I don't want to fire the ItemSelected event, I want to fire the event in the DataTemplate's button, since I have many button's in the template (i.e. remove, edit, move up, move down and more plenty of buttons). thanks. – Selfexecuting

Answer 2

If you use events and not commands, then in your Click event handler just write

private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    var dataItem = (FrameworkElement)sender).DataContext;
    // process dataItem
}

Demonstration