TypeConverter from string to UserControl

Question

Suppose in a xaml window I have <UserControl x:Name="Test">... I have a custom MyListBoxItem with only one dependencyproperty UserControlProperty added, typeof UserControl.

I want to use the syntax <c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="Test">Information</c:MyListBoxItem> and I am not sure how to write a typeconverter from the string "Test" or perhaps "local:Test" to the usercontrol Test on that xaml page.

In answer to a comment of 'nit':

<Window.Resources>
    <UserControl x:Key="Test" x:Name="Test"
                 x:Shared="False">
        <Button Height="50"
                Width="50" />
    </UserControl>
</Window.Resources>

with <c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{StaticResource Test}">Information</c:MyListBoxItem> works. However I wanted the UserControl in the regular xaml definitions and found two other ways of doing it:

<c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{x:Reference Test}">

However x:Reference gives a complie time error: method/operation not implemented. It still runs which btw is weird imo. And:

<c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{Binding ElementName=Test}"

which is the good solution.

As for what you can achieve by this:

private void Menu_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
  foreach (var item in e.RemovedItems)
  {
    // collapse usercontrol
    UserControl uc = (item as MyListBoxItem).UserControl;
    if (uc != null) uc.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
            }
  foreach (var item in e.AddedItems)
  {
     // uncollapse usercontrol
     UserControl uc = (item as MyListBoxItem).UserControl;
     if (uc != null) uc.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
  }
}

This is a nice way to support this kind of menu structure and the xaml definition is also clarifying:

<c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{Binding ElementName=Information}" IsSelected="True">Information</c:MyListBoxItem>
<c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{Binding ElementName=Edit}" IsSelected="False">Edit</c:MyListBoxItem>

<Grid>
   <UserControl x:Name="Information" Visibility="Visible"><Button Content="Placeholder for usercontrol Information" /></UserControl>
   <UserControl x:Name="Edit" Visibility="Collapsed"> <Button Content="Placeholder for usercontrol Edit" /></UserControl>

Answer 1

I am not sure what you want to achieve by doing this, but you will have to put that UserControl in the resources

<Window.Resources>
 <UserControl x:Key="Test" x:Shared="false">
</Window.Resources>

Then you can set your DP as

    <c:MyListBoxItem UserControl="{StaticResource Test}">Information</c:MyListBoxItem>