Binding WPF DataGrid to Array of Objects

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I'm trying to bind my grid to data from an Xml file. I've used xsd.exe to create a first a schema from the xml, and then a class file from the schema. I can bind the data to the grid in code, but can't find how to do so in the designer. In winforms I would create a DataSource from the object, and could use that to configure the DataGridView columns in the designer; but I can't find a way to point DataGrid.ItemSource to it in the WPF designer.

My xaml,

<DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="True" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Margin="12,320,12,12" Name="dataGrid1" VerticalAlignment="Stretch"  />

XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(filePath);
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(myXml));
myXml data = new myXml();
data = (myXml)serializer.Deserialize(myXml);

//data.entry is an array of myXmlEntry objects
dataGrid1.ItemsSource = data.entry;

Posted 7-Nov-10 7:02am

Dan Neely

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Pete O'Hanlon · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-07T08:44:00

Solution 1

You need to reference the XML in the resources, you can do this typically by :

XML

<Window.Resources>
  <XmlDataProvider x:Key="MyXML" d:IsDataSource="True" Source="MyXml.xml" />
</Window.Resources>

Then, hook up in your datagrid using

ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource MyXML}}"

Posted 7-Nov-10 8:44am

Pete O'Hanlon

Comments

Dan Neely 7-Nov-10 14:55pm

Is the 1st code snippet supposed to go into the .xaml file? If so, where do I need to place it so that it compiles?

Pete O'Hanlon 7-Nov-10 14:57pm

Dan - take a look at my article at http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WPF/Wpf4Asp.aspx to see an example, including where to put this.

Dan Neely 7-Nov-10 15:13pm

When I put the xml there, the compiler pukes on me; it appears that d:IsDataSource="True" is only supported by Expression Blend which I don't have, and which is completely outside my budget for a personal project. I tried removing the offending attribute, at which point the compiler was happy and I could specify the binding source; but the generate/remove/edit property bound columns items in the visual studio properties panel all still error out with "you must set ItemSource before you can perform this action."

Dan Neely 7-Nov-10 15:14pm

A second question, is that setup locking me into a single file as the datasource? I hard coded one in for my initial testing but will need to be able to support switching between several once I'm finished.

Pete O'Hanlon 7-Nov-10 15:20pm

Dan - you've now reached the point where you need to look into MVVM. Basically, you'd read your data in and hook up through your ViewModel.

Dan Neely 7-Nov-10 17:00pm

Thanks Pete; at this point I'm going to have to step back and rethink a bit. Going more deeply into it seems like it might be more effort than I want to take at this point. Wetting my feet with WPF is a fairly low priority on what I'm working on, and I'm limited in how quickly I need to get it done, and I already know how to do at least 90% of the GUI in winforms.