I've a hard time understanding why ICommand.CanExecutes always contains the previous value instead of the new value if a nested property is used instead of a normal property.
The problem is described below and I seriously can't figure out a way to fix this besides using some form of "Facade" pattern where I create properties in the viewmodel and hook them to their corresponding property in the model.
Or use the damn CommandManager.RequerySuggested event. The reason this is not optimal is because the view presents over 30 commands, just counting the menu, and if all CanExecute updates every time something changes, it will take a few seconds for all menuitems / buttons to update. Even using the example down below with only a single command and button together with the command manager it takes around 500ms for the button to enable/disable itself.
The only reason I can think of is that the CommandParameter binding is not updated before the CanExecute is fired and then I guess there is nothing you can do about it.
Thanks in advance :!
For example
Let's say we've this basic viewmodel
public class BasicViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string name;
public string Name
{
get { return name; }
set {
this.name = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Name");
Command.RaiseCanExecuteChanged();
}
}
private Project project;
public Project Project
{
get { return project; }
set {
if (project != null) project.PropertyChanged -= ChildPropertyChanged;
if (value != null) value.PropertyChanged += ChildPropertyChanged;
project = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Project");
}
}
private void ChildPropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e) {
Command.RaiseCanExecuteChanged();
}
public DelegateCommand<string> Command { get; set; }
public BasicViewModel()
{
this.Project = new Example.Project();
Command = new DelegateCommand<string>(this.Execute, this.CanExecute);
}
private bool CanExecute(string arg) {
return !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(arg);
}
private void Execute(string obj) { }
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void RaisePropertyChanged(string propertyName = null) {
if (this.PropertyChanged != null)
this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
and this model
public class Project : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string text;
public string Text
{
get { return text; }
set
{
text = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Text");
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void RaisePropertyChanged(string propertyName = null)
{
var handler = this.PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
Now in my view I've this textbox and button.
<Button Content="Button" CommandParameter="{Binding Path=Project.Text}" Command="{Binding Path=Command}" />
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=Project.Text, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
It works, every time I type something in the textbox the CanExecute is invoked, BUT the parameter is always set to the previous value. Let say I write 'H' in the textbox, CanExecute is fired with parameter set to NULL. Next I write 'E', now the textbox contains "HE" and the CanExecute fires again. This time with the parameter set to 'H' only.
For some strange reason the parameter is always set to the previous value and when I check the Project.Text it's set to "HE" but parameter is still set to only 'H'.
If I now change the command parameter to
CommandParameter="{Binding Path=Name}"
and the Textbox.Text to
Text={Binding Path=Name, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
everything works perfectly. The CanExecute parameter always contain the latest value and not the previous value.
I found this great attached property from swythan on the prism codeplex discussion forum that did the trick very well. Of course it does not answer why the command parameter is set to the previous value but it fixes the problem in a nice way.
The code is slightly modified from the source, enabling the possibility to use it on controls in a TabItem by calling HookCommandParameterChanged when the OnLoaded event is invoked.
public static class CommandParameterBehavior
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty IsCommandRequeriedOnChangeProperty =
DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("IsCommandRequeriedOnChange",
typeof(bool),
typeof(CommandParameterBehavior),
new UIPropertyMetadata(false, new PropertyChangedCallback(OnIsCommandRequeriedOnChangeChanged)));
public static bool GetIsCommandRequeriedOnChange(DependencyObject target)
{
return (bool)target.GetValue(IsCommandRequeriedOnChangeProperty);
}
public static void SetIsCommandRequeriedOnChange(DependencyObject target, bool value)
{
target.SetValue(IsCommandRequeriedOnChangeProperty, value);
}
private static void OnIsCommandRequeriedOnChangeChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (!(d is ICommandSource))
return;
if (!(d is FrameworkElement || d is FrameworkContentElement))
return;
if ((bool)e.NewValue)
HookCommandParameterChanged(d);
else
UnhookCommandParameterChanged(d);
UpdateCommandState(d);
}
private static PropertyDescriptor GetCommandParameterPropertyDescriptor(object source)
{
return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(source.GetType())["CommandParameter"];
}
private static void HookCommandParameterChanged(object source)
{
var propertyDescriptor = GetCommandParameterPropertyDescriptor(source);
propertyDescriptor.AddValueChanged(source, OnCommandParameterChanged);
// N.B. Using PropertyDescriptor.AddValueChanged will cause "source" to never be garbage collected,
// so we need to hook the Unloaded event and call RemoveValueChanged there.
HookUnloaded(source);
}
private static void UnhookCommandParameterChanged(object source)
{
var propertyDescriptor = GetCommandParameterPropertyDescriptor(source);
propertyDescriptor.RemoveValueChanged(source, OnCommandParameterChanged);
UnhookUnloaded(source);
}
private static void HookUnloaded(object source)
{
var fe = source as FrameworkElement;
if (fe != null)
{
fe.Unloaded += OnUnloaded;
fe.Loaded -= OnLoaded;
}
var fce = source as FrameworkContentElement;
if (fce != null)
{
fce.Unloaded += OnUnloaded;
fce.Loaded -= OnLoaded;
}
}
private static void UnhookUnloaded(object source)
{
var fe = source as FrameworkElement;
if (fe != null)
{
fe.Unloaded -= OnUnloaded;
fe.Loaded += OnLoaded;
}
var fce = source as FrameworkContentElement;
if (fce != null)
{
fce.Unloaded -= OnUnloaded;
fce.Loaded += OnLoaded;
}
}
static void OnLoaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
HookCommandParameterChanged(sender);
}
static void OnUnloaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
UnhookCommandParameterChanged(sender);
}
static void OnCommandParameterChanged(object sender, EventArgs ea)
{
UpdateCommandState(sender);
}
private static void UpdateCommandState(object target)
{
var commandSource = target as ICommandSource;
if (commandSource == null)
return;
var rc = commandSource.Command as RoutedCommand;
if (rc != null)
CommandManager.InvalidateRequerySuggested();
var dc = commandSource.Command as IDelegateCommand;
if (dc != null)
dc.RaiseCanExecuteChanged();
}
}