Create a custom ListViewItem (subclass ListViewItem)

Question

I derived a class from ListViewItem, it has some custom dependency properties:

public class CustomListViewItem : ListViewItem
{
    public static DependencyProperty CustomDependencyProperty;
    ...
}

There is also a ControlTemplate for this class.

<Style TargetType="{x:Type local:CustomListViewItem}">
    <Style.Setters>
        <Setter Property="Template">
            <Setter.Value>
                <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type local:CustomListViewItem}">
                    ...
                </ControlTemplate>
            </Setter.Value>
        </Setter>
    </Style.Setters>
</Style>

Now I want to use this CustomListViewItem in a ListView instead of ListViewItem. But when I try to do something like:

<ListView.ItemContainerStyle>
    <Style TargetType="{x:Type local:CustomListViewItem}">
        ...            
    </Style>
</ListView.ItemContainerStyle>

compiler says: "A style intended for type 'CustomItem' cannot be applied to type 'ListViewItem".

I know that I can use ControlTemplate with ListViewItem TargetType to customize ItemContainerStyle or DataTemplate to customize ItemTemplate, but how can I subclass ListViewItem to substitute my own Item type?

Any help will be appreciated.

why do you need custom listview item.. there could be some other way of achieving what you are trying to do — Nitin

undermind undermind · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-22T13:11:36

I found the answer after considering this question. The core idea is that it is necessary to create not only a custom ListViewItem, but also a custom ListView and override GetContainerForItemOverride() method for it:

public class CustomListView : ListView
{
    static CustomListView()
    {
        DefaultStyleKeyProperty.OverrideMetadata(typeof(CustomListView), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(typeof(CustomListView)));
    }

    protected override DependencyObject GetContainerForItemOverride()
    {
        return new CustomListViewItem();
    }
}

Of course, it's also necessary to provide a proper ControlTemplate for a CustomListView. Also PrepareContainerForItemOverride method will be useful.

Create a custom ListViewItem (subclass ListViewItem)

1 Answers