Contextual Tabs via MVVM

[sean]

Hello

I've been looking at upgrading from RadRibbonBar to RadRibbonView. Previously, to bind the contextual tabs in an mvvm way I used the ContextualGroupContainer property and bound it to an ObservableCollection<RadContextualGroup>, felt slightly non-mvvm as the view model for the ribbon had a collection of view elements.

I was hoping with the RadRibbonView there would be a nicer way but the contextualgroups property on the control is readonly?  Is there a way of binding the contextual tabs this time around?

Alternatively, I could do it with an attached property or code behind - but I'd prefer not to.

Another side question, is binding the tabs and using the keytip service possible? If you use a HierarchicalDataTemplate I don't see a way of setting the AccessText property?

Thanks.

[Tina Stancheva]

Hello Sean,

I attached a sample project demonstrating how to take advantage of the RadRibbonView in a databinding scenario that can help you get started on your task.

Unfortunately in the RadRibbonView control for Silverlight you cannot bind the KeyTipService.AccessText property and we logged this item as a bug in our PITS where you can track its progress. We will do our best to fix this issue as soon as possible and I updated your Telerik points for bringing it to our attention.

Kind regards,
Tina Stancheva
the Telerik team

[Jonathan]

Hi,

I'm trying to do this to. The example you gave does not bind the ContextualGroups (they are hard-coded in the xaml). Is there a way to bind to the model? ContextualGroups doesn't have an ItemsSource.

Thanks,
Jon

[sean]

Hi Jonathan,

After looking at the code i came to the conclusion its still not possible in a true MVVM way.

However, i used something similar to my first workaround. Using an AP, i can do this:

<t:RadRibbonView myAPs:RibbonExtensions.ContextualGroupsBinding="{Binding ContextualGroups}">

The ContextualGroups collection is a business object, not telerik's ribbon groups. I can supply the code for the AP if desired.

[Jonathan]

Thanks Sean, would be great if you can post the code :)

[sean]

This relies on a class RibbonContextualGroup, which represents the business object of the group:

public static readonly DependencyProperty ContextualGroupsBindingProperty =
           DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
               "ContextualGroupsBinding",
               typeof(INotifyCollectionChanged),
               typeof(RadRibbonView),
               new System.Windows.PropertyMetadata(null, new PropertyChangedCallback(OnContextualGroupsBindingChanged))
               );

        public static void SetContextualGroupsBinding(RadRibbonView element, INotifyCollectionChanged value)
        {
            element.SetValue(ContextualGroupsBindingProperty, value);
        }

        public static INotifyCollectionChanged GetContextualGroupsBinding(RadRibbonView element)
        {
            return (INotifyCollectionChanged)element.GetValue(ContextualGroupsBindingProperty);
        }

        private static void OnContextualGroupsBindingChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
        {
            if (e.NewValue is INotifyCollectionChanged)
            {
                RadRibbonView ribbon = sender as RadRibbonView;

                INotifyCollectionChanged collection = (INotifyCollectionChanged)e.NewValue;

                collection.CollectionChanged += (object o, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs args) =>
                {
                    switch (args.Action)
                    {
                        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add:


                            RadRibbonContextualGroup newGroup = null;

                            foreach (RibbonContextualGroup group in args.NewItems)
                            {
                                newGroup = new RadRibbonContextualGroup(); // or load from template

                                if (newGroup != null)
                                {
                                    newGroup.Name = group.Name;
                                    newGroup.DataContext = group;
                                    ribbon.ContextualGroups.Add(newGroup);
                                }
                            }

                            break;
                        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove:
                            throw new Exception("Remove action is unsupported");

                        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace:
                            throw new Exception("Replace action is unsupported");

                        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset:
                            ribbon.ContextualGroups.Clear();
                            break;
                    }
                };
            }
        }

[kilhoffer]

Why would you guys post a zipped up solution that doesn't at all bind contextual groups as you've stated? They're hardcoded in XAML. Does Telerik have a real solution for this much needed feature??

[Tina Stancheva]

Hello Anthony,

Unfortunately the RibbonView ContextualGroups cannot be data-bound at the moment. We have logged this task in our to-do list but at the moment I can't bind to any time frame for an implementation.

Regards,
Tina Stancheva
Telerik