WPF - Very basic ListBox.ItemTemplate Question

Question

Ok, this is an embarassingly simple-looking problem, but is driving me crazy. I\'m learning about DataTemplating and am trying to apply a very VERY simple ItemTemplate to a List

Answer 1

You can use ItemContainerStyle instead of ItemTemplate if you want to add ListBoxItems directly to the ListBox.

Doing so, however, is only recommended when you need unique characteristics on a per item level.

If you are planning on all the items looking the same or making a dynamic list using ItemsSource, I would recommend you add strings (or another custom object) to your list and use ItemTemplate to display your items. (see Jobi Joy's answer)

Here's an example using ItemContainerStyle:

    <ListBox
        x:Name="TestList"
        SelectionMode="Multiple">

        <ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>
            <Style
                TargetType="ListBoxItem">

                <Setter
                    Property="Template">
                    <Setter.Value>
                        <ControlTemplate
                            TargetType="ListBoxItem">
                            <StackPanel>
                                <CheckBox
                                    Content="Check this checkbox!" />
                                <TextBlock
                                    Text="{TemplateBinding Content}" />
                            </StackPanel>
                        </ControlTemplate>
                    </Setter.Value>
                </Setter>

            </Style>
        </ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>

        <ListBox.Items>
            <ListBoxItem>Bob</ListBoxItem>
            <ListBoxItem>Jim</ListBoxItem>
            <ListBoxItem>Dave</ListBoxItem>
            <ListBoxItem>Larry</ListBoxItem>
            <ListBoxItem>Tom</ListBoxItem>
        </ListBox.Items>
    </ListBox>

Answer 2

For some reason DataTemplate can still be ignored if the ListBox is populated using ItemsSource e.g:

    <ListBox Name="Test" x:FieldModifier="public" ItemsSource="{Binding UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}">
        <ListBox.ItemTemplate>
            <DataTemplate>
                <TextBox Text="{Binding Text, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"/>
            </DataTemplate>
        </ListBox.ItemTemplate>
    </ListBox>

Note that this is bound to an ObservableCollection containing objects (TextAdapter : INotifyPropertyChanged) with one property: string Text {...}

Answer 3

ItemTemplate wont work when you put ListBoxItem directly as items. General concept is you databind a CRL collection to the ListBox.ItemsSource and then specify the ItemTemplate. Check the below code.

 <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
        <ListBox x:Name="TestList"  SelectionMode="Multiple">
            <ListBox.ItemTemplate>
                <DataTemplate>
                    <StackPanel>
                        <CheckBox Content="Check this checkbox!"/>
                        <TextBlock Text="{Binding}"/>
                    </StackPanel>
                </DataTemplate>
            </ListBox.ItemTemplate>
            <ListBox.Items>
                <sys:String>Bob</sys:String>
                <sys:String>Jim</sys:String>
                <sys:String>Dave</sys:String>
                <sys:String>Larry</sys:String>
                <sys:String>Tom</sys:String>
            </ListBox.Items>
        </ListBox>
    </Grid>

where sys is xmlns:sys="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib"

In this way, there are 5 ListBoxItems getting generated in the background and added to the ListBox.