The default behavior for DataUiGrid is to reflect properties from the assigned Instance. When the Instance is assigned, the Grid automatically populates its Categories with members based on reflection.

// Initially categories will be empty
DataGrid.Instance = someObject;
// Now, the Categories contains one instance, 
// and this category contains one InstanceMember for each reflected property

Properties which have the System.ComponentModel.CategoryAttribute will be categorized according to the category assigned. Otherwise, properties will be put in the Uncategorized category.

Manually Selecting Properties

By default all public fields and properties are displayed in a DataUiGrid. To control which properties are shown, the categories can be cleared, and individual InstanceMembers can be added for the desired properties.

For example, the following code clears the properties, and shows only X, Y, and Z:

var dataGrid = MainSpineControl.DataGrid;
dataGrid.Instance = viewModel;

var category = dataGrid.Categories[0];

category.Members.Clear();

category.Members.Add(new InstanceMember("X", viewModel));
category.Members.Add(new InstanceMember("Y", viewModel));
category.Members.Add(new InstanceMember("Z", viewModel));

Introduction

The DataUiGrid is similar to Winforms PropertyGrid - a reflection-based UI object which can be used to display the properties on objects in real-time. It is used for the properties on Gum objects, but is written to be general purpose to be used in any applications.

It is included in the WpfDataUi.dll file which is part of Gum, so this library can be pulled out and used in any other application.

The DataUiGrid can be used with reflection or its Categories can be manually populated. Using reflection is easier to set up, but does not provide as much flexibility. Manually building up Categories takes more work, but provide the most flexibility.

Adding References

The following references are needed for displaying the DataUiGrid:

• PresentationCore

• PresentationFramework

• System.Xaml

• WindowsBase

Adding a DataUiGrid to XAML

To add a grid to your XAML you'll need to:

If using .NET 6+, add the following using:

xmlns:WpfDataUi="clr-namespace:WpfDataUi;assembly=WpfDataUiCore"

If using .NET 4.7, add the following using:

xmlns:WpfDataUi="clr-namespace:WpfDataUi;assembly=WpfDataUi"

Add the following inside a layout container (like a Grid):

<WpfDataUi:DataUiGrid Name="DataGrid"></WpfDataUi:DataUiGrid>

Adding a DataUiGrid in Code

You can construct a grid in code just like any other WPF control.

var grid = new DataUiGrid();
// add the grid to some layout object like a Grid or StackLayout...

Using the grid in code

To use the grid in code you simply need to set its Instance member to an instance object you want to view. For example:

// We'll use a MemoryStream to show that it works,
// but we could really use anything.
MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();

this.DataGrid.Instance = memoryStream;

This will produce a grid which looks like this:

Alternatively the Instance property can be data bound as shown in the following XAML:

<wpfdataui:DataUiGrid Instance="{Binding SelectedItem}"></wpfdataui:DataUiGrid>

Introduction

The Categories member provides more detailed control over a DataUiGrid. The easiest way to work with a DataUiGrid is to assign its Instance and let it automatically create UI for all public members. Working with Categories requires more code but gives the most flexibility in setting up a grid.

Example

The following makes the grid only show a single value called "Some Value" which always has a value of 10. An actual implementation may modify some backing variable.