How to bind ApplicationCommands to a ViewModel?

Question

I have successfully used a few custom commands using MVVM-Light, but I want my application to respond to the standard ApplicationCommands, not just at a Window level, but at a detailed item level as well.

I have a TreeView that I want to be able to copy and paste nodes in. Each TreeViewItem has its own ViewModel, and they are displayed via HierarchicalDataTemplates in XAML as there are several different types. I have implemented methods to copy, paste, as well as CanCopy and CanPaste on my ViewModel classes. If appropriate, I could implement MVVM-Light RelayCommands pointing to these easily enough, but that doesn't seem right.

I would like to access the commands using a menu, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, or eventually a context menu. I also don't want to break copy/paste functionality for other elements in my UI, such as TextBoxes. It seems appropriate to use the built-in ApplicationCommands for this purpose. However, I am only seeing examples of these being handled in a UserControl code-behind. I don't have (or otherwise need) a UserControl, nor is that really following MVVM.

Is there a way I can bind ApplicationCommand.Copy and ApplicationCommand.Paste commands to my ViewModels, i.e., in the data templates?

Answer 1

I have resolved this using Behaviors attached to the TreeView. The TreeViewItems or Templates to not seem to get the commands routed to them. Fortunately, the TreeView also has a SelectedItem property that can be used to get the ViewModel!

(Behaviors are conceptually similar to the solution in the link in @Natxo's answer, but it doesn't resolve everything.)

The Behavior class:

public class TreeViewClipboardBehavior : Behavior<TreeView>
{
    protected override void OnAttached()
    {
        base.OnAttached();

        CommandBinding CopyCommandBinding = new CommandBinding(
            ApplicationCommands.Copy,
            CopyCommandExecuted,
            CopyCommandCanExecute);
        AssociatedObject.CommandBindings.Add(CopyCommandBinding);

        CommandBinding CutCommandBinding = new CommandBinding(
            ApplicationCommands.Cut,
            CutCommandExecuted,
            CutCommandCanExecute);
        AssociatedObject.CommandBindings.Add(CutCommandBinding);

        CommandBinding PasteCommandBinding = new CommandBinding(
            ApplicationCommands.Paste,
            PasteCommandExecuted,
            PasteCommandCanExecute);
        AssociatedObject.CommandBindings.Add(PasteCommandBinding);
    }

    private void CopyCommandExecuted(object target, ExecutedRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null && item.CanCopyToClipboard)
        {
            item.CopyToClipboard();
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }

    private void CopyCommandCanExecute(object target, CanExecuteRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null)
        {
            e.CanExecute = item.CanCopyToClipboard;
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }

    private void CutCommandExecuted(object target, ExecutedRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null && item.CanCutToClipboard)
        {
            item.CutToClipboard();
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }

    private void CutCommandCanExecute(object target, CanExecuteRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null)
        {
            e.CanExecute = item.CanCutToClipboard;
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }


    private void PasteCommandExecuted(object target, ExecutedRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null && item.CanPasteFromClipboard)
        {
            item.PasteFromClipboard();
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }

    private void PasteCommandCanExecute(object target, CanExecuteRoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        NestingItemTreeViewModelBase item = AssociatedObject.SelectedItem as NestingItemTreeViewModelBase;
        if (item != null)
        {
            e.CanExecute = item.CanPasteFromClipboard;
            e.Handled = true;
        }
    }
}

The XAML

<TreeView Grid.Row="2" ItemsSource="{Binding SystemTreeRoot}">
    <i:Interaction.Behaviors>
        <local:TreeViewClipboardBehavior/>
    </i:Interaction.Behaviors>
    <TreeView.Resources>
        <HierarchicalDataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:MyViewModel}" ItemsSource="{Binding Children}">
            <!-- Template content -->
        </HierarchicalDataTemplate>
</TreeView>