Binding to a WPF hosted control's DependencyProperty in WinForms

Question

I have a WinForms app with some elements that are hosted WPF user controls (using ElementHost).

I want to be able to bind my WinForm's control property (Button.Enabled) to a custom DependencyProperty of the hosted WPF user control (SearchResults.IsAccountSelected).

Is it possible to bind a System.Windows.Forms.Binding to a property managed by a DependencyProperty?

Also, since I know the System.Windows.Forms.Binding watches for INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged events - will a property backed by a DependencyProperty automatically fire these events or will I have to implement and manage the sending of PropertyChanged events manually?

Seems like if you could, would be a severe hack. Might not be the best route to take. — jsmith
@jsmith - Using a binding might not be the best route to take? What other problems do you perceive? Is UI cross-threading a consideration? — Reddog

Ray Burns Ray Burns · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-15T07:46:34

DependencyObject doesn't implement INotifyPropertyChanged, so if you take this route you will have to implement the sending of PropertyChanged events manually.

Fortunately DependencyObject does have the OnPropertyChanged method, so implementing INotifyPropertyChanged in your DependencyObject-derived class is trivial, for example:

public class MyClass : HeaderedContentControl, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
  protected override void OnPropertyChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
  {
    var handler = PropertyChanged;
    if(handler!=null) handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(e.Property.Name));
    base.OnPropertyChanged(e);
  }
  public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}

I'd like to echo jsmith's thought that binding directly to a UserControl property may not be the best route to take. In most cases MVVM is a better way to go. There are exceptions, of course.

Binding to a WPF hosted control's DependencyProperty in WinForms

1 Answers