Editable Button in WPF

Today I am going to share a code snippet to create an Editable Button in WPF, where we can update the text of a Button at runtime. In this control the user would right-click a button and then click 'Edit' to make to control Editable, and later right-click it to save/cancel the change.

First step to make the Button editable is to change the Style of Button and add a TextBox inside it, which we will make visible when the user clicks on 'Edit'.

01.<Style TargetType="my:EditableButton">

02.    <Setter Property="FocusVisualStyle">

03.        <Setter.Value>

04.            <Style>

05.                <Setter Property="Control.Template">

06.                    <Setter.Value>

07.                        <ControlTemplate>

08.                            <Rectangle Margin="2" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" Stroke="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.ControlTextBrushKey}}" StrokeThickness="1" StrokeDashArray="1 2"/>

09.                        </ControlTemplate>

10.                    </Setter.Value>

11.                </Setter>

12.            </Style>

13.        </Setter.Value>

14.    </Setter>

15.    <Setter Property="Background" Value="#FFDDDDDD"/>

16.    <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="#FF707070"/>

17.    <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.ControlTextBrushKey}}"/>

18.    <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="1"/>

19.    <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>

20.    <Setter Property="VerticalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>

21.    <Setter Property="Padding" Value="1"/>

22.    <Setter Property="Template">

23.        <Setter.Value>

24.            <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type Button}">

25.                <Border x:Name="border" BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}" BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}" Background="{TemplateBinding Background}" SnapsToDevicePixels="True">

26.                    <Grid>

27.                        <ContentPresenter x:Name="tbkContent" ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" Focusable="False" HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" Margin="{TemplateBinding Padding}" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="{TemplateBinding SnapsToDevicePixels}" VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}"/>

28.                        <TextBox   Name="txtContent" Height="{TemplateBinding Height}" TextAlignment="Center" Visibility="Collapsed" Text="{TemplateBinding Content}" Padding="0" Background="Transparent" BorderBrush="Transparent" BorderThickness="0" HorizontalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}"  VerticalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}" Margin="{TemplateBinding Padding}"/>

29.                    </Grid>

30.                </Border>

31.                <ControlTemplate.Triggers>

32.                    <Trigger Property="IsDefaulted" Value="True">

33.                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="border" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.HighlightBrushKey}}"/>

34.                    </Trigger>

35.                    <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="True">

36.                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="border" Value="#FFBEE6FD"/>

37.                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="border" Value="#FF3C7FB1"/>

38.                    </Trigger>

39.                    <Trigger Property="IsPressed" Value="True">

40.                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="border" Value="#FFC4E5F6"/>

41.                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="border" Value="#FF2C628B"/>

42.                    </Trigger>

43.                    <Trigger Property="ToggleButton.IsChecked" Value="True">

44.                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="border" Value="#FFBCDDEE"/>

45.                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="border" Value="#FF245A83"/>

46.                    </Trigger>

47.                    <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">

48.                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="border" Value="#FFF4F4F4"/>

49.                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="border" Value="#FFADB2B5"/>

50.                        <Setter Property="TextElement.Foreground" TargetName="tbkContent" Value="#FF838383"/>

51.                    </Trigger>

52.                </ControlTemplate.Triggers>

53.            </ControlTemplate>

54.        </Setter.Value>

55.    </Setter>

56.</Style>

As you can see in the above code, I have added a "txtContent" textbox which is hidden. Also to make editing look like a part of the Button, the Background and BorderBrush properties of textbox are transparent

01.Public Class EditableButton

02.    Inherits Button

03.    Private mButtonContentPresenter As ContentPresenter

04.    Private mButtonTextBox As TextBox

05. 

06.    Public Sub New()

07.        Me.DefaultStyleKey = GetType(EditableButton)

08.        AddHandler Me.Loaded, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf EditableButton_Loaded)

09.    End Sub

10. 

11.    Private Sub EditableButton_Loaded(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

12. 

13.        Me.OnApplyTemplate()

14.    End Sub

15. 

16.    Public Overrides Sub OnApplyTemplate()

17.        MyBase.OnApplyTemplate()

18.        mButtonContentPresenter = DirectCast(Me.GetTemplateChild("tbkContent"), ContentPresenter)

19.        mButtonTextBox = DirectCast(Me.GetTemplateChild("txtContent"), TextBox)

20.        CreateSaveContextMenu()

21.        CreateEditContextMenu()

22.    End Sub

23. 

24.    Public Property IsEditMode() As Boolean

25.        Get

26.            Return CBool(GetValue(IsEditModeProperty))

27.        End Get

28.        Private Set(value As Boolean)

29.            SetValue(IsEditModeProperty, value)

30.        End Set

31.    End Property

32. 

33.    ' Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for IsEditMode.  This enables animation, styling, binding, etc...

34.    Public Shared ReadOnly IsEditModeProperty As DependencyProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("IsEditMode", GetType(Boolean), GetType(EditableButton), New PropertyMetadata(False))

35. 

36.    Private Sub CreateSaveContextMenu()

37.        Dim menu As New ContextMenu

38.        Dim itm As New MenuItem()

39.        itm.Header = "Save"

40.        AddHandler itm.Click, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf itmSave_Click)

41.        menu.Items.Add(itm)

42. 

43.        itm = New MenuItem()

44.        itm.Header = "Cancel"

45.        AddHandler itm.Click, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf itmCancel_Click)

46.        menu.Items.Add(itm)

47. 

48.        ContextMenuService.SetContextMenu(mButtonTextBox, menu)

49.    End Sub

50. 

51. 

52. 

53.    Private Sub CreateEditContextMenu()

54.        Dim menu As New ContextMenu

55.        Dim itm As New MenuItem

56.        itm.Header = "Edit"

57.        AddHandler itm.Click, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf itmEdit_Click)

58.        menu.Items.Add(itm)

59. 

60.        ContextMenuService.SetContextMenu(mButtonContentPresenter, menu)

61.    End Sub

62. 

63.    Private Sub itmEdit_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

64.        mButtonContentPresenter.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed

65.        mButtonTextBox.Visibility = Visibility.Visible

66.        IsEditMode = True

67.    End Sub

68. 

69.    Private Sub itmSave_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

70.        mButtonContentPresenter.Visibility = Visibility.Visible

71.        mButtonTextBox.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed

72.        Me.Content = mButtonTextBox.Text

73.        IsEditMode = False

74.    End Sub

75. 

76.    Private Sub itmCancel_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

77.        mButtonContentPresenter.Visibility = Visibility.Visible

78.        mButtonTextBox.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed

79.        IsEditMode = False

80.    End Sub

81.End Class

In the above code we have an "IsEditMode" property which the user can use to know whether the control is in Edit Mode or not. Also, we have two different Context Menus, one to Edit the Control, and the another to Save/Cancel the changes. Based on the menuitems that are clicked, we are going to set the visibility of TextBox and ContentPresenter, defined in XAML.

Now we can use the control in our application as below

01.<Window x:Class="MainWindow"

02.    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"

03.    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"

04.    xmlns:my="clr-namespace:WpfApplication1"

05.    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">

06.   

07.    <Grid>

08.        <my:EditableButton x:Name="MyButton" Width="100" Height="25" Content="Edit Me"/>

09.    </Grid>

10.</Window>

Hope the above control helps you in your development.

MultiPanel Control in WPF/Silverlight

Many time during designing we require different pages similar to a TabControl but without displaying Tabs. There are few article to create similar control for Windows Form and ASP.NET but not much for WPF or Silverlight. So I decide the create my own Custom MultiPanel.

MultiPanel is a simple control which inherits an ItemsControl and has SelectedIndex and SelectedPanel property to change the selected panel.

Public Class MultiPanel
    Inherits ItemsControl

    Public Sub New()
        MyBase.New()
        Me.DefaultStyleKey = GetType(MultiPanel)
    End Sub

    Public Property SelectedIndex() As Integer
        Get
            Return CInt(GetValue(SelectedIndexProperty))
        End Get

        Set(value As Integer)
            SetValue(SelectedIndexProperty, value)
        End Set
    End Property

    Public Event SelectionChanged As EventHandler(Of EventArgs)

    Public Shared ReadOnly SelectedIndexProperty As DependencyProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedIndex", GetType(Integer), GetType(MultiPanel), New PropertyMetadata(-1, New PropertyChangedCallback(AddressOf SelectedIndexChanged)))

    Public Property SelectedPanel() As Object
        Get
            Return GetValue(SelectedPanelProperty)
        End Get

        Set(value As Object)
            SetValue(SelectedPanelProperty, value)
        End Set
    End Property


    Public Shared ReadOnly SelectedPanelProperty As DependencyProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedPanel", GetType(Object), GetType(MultiPanel), New PropertyMetadata(Nothing, New PropertyChangedCallback(AddressOf SelectedPanelChanged)))

    Private Shared Sub SelectedIndexChanged(sender As DependencyObject, e As DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)
        Dim mp As MultiPanel = DirectCast(sender, MultiPanel)
        Dim index As Integer = Integer.Parse(e.NewValue.ToString())
        Dim oldIndex As Integer = Integer.Parse(e.OldValue.ToString())

        If index <> -1 AndAlso index <> oldIndex Then
            mp.SelectedPanel = mp.Items(index)
        ElseIf index = -1 Then
            mp.SelectedPanel = Nothing
        End If

        mp.RaiseSelectionChanged()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RaiseSelectionChanged()
        RaiseEvent SelectionChanged(Me, New EventArgs())
    End Sub

    Private Shared Sub SelectedPanelChanged(sender As DependencyObject, e As DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)
        Dim mp As MultiPanel = DirectCast(sender, MultiPanel)
        Dim pnl As Panel = DirectCast(e.NewValue, Panel)

        If pnl Is Nothing OrElse mp.Items.IndexOf(pnl) = -1 Then
            mp.SelectedPanel = Nothing
            mp.SelectedIndex = -1
        Else
            mp.SelectedPanel = pnl
            mp.SelectedIndex = mp.Items.IndexOf(pnl)
        End If
    End Sub

   
End Class

And below is the MultiPanel Style

    <Style TargetType="local:MultiPanel">
        <Setter Property="HorizontalAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
        <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
        <Setter Property="VerticalAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
        <Setter Property="VerticalContentAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
        <Setter Property="Template">
            <Setter.Value>
                <ControlTemplate TargetType="local:MultiPanel">
                    <Border Background="{TemplateBinding Background}"
                            BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}"
                            BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}" HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}" >

                        <ContentPresenter Content="{TemplateBinding SelectedPanel}"
                                                Margin="{TemplateBinding Padding}" HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}" />
                    </Border>
                </ControlTemplate>
            </Setter.Value>
        </Setter>
    </Style>

Below is a simple XAML Code example of using this control

<Window x:Class="MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:my="clr-namespace:WpfApplication2"
    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Grid>
        <my:MultiPanel x:Name="MainMultiPanel">
            <my:MultiPanel.Items>
                <Grid Name="grdCustomer">
                    <my:CustomerDetailControl />
                </Grid>
                <Grid Name="grdEmployee">
                    <my:EmployeeDetailControl />
                </Grid>
                <Grid Name="grdOrder">
                    <my:OrderDetailControl />
                </Grid>
            </my:MultiPanel.Items>
        </my:MultiPanel>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Now you can use SelectedIndex or SelectedPanel property of MultiPanel to display the required grid

MainMultiPanel.SelectedIndex = 2

Hope this control help you in your designing task. Look forward to your feedbacks.