Add column dynamically

[ipevo-brooks]

I'm new and need help. I need to dynamically add a column to a table when the user requests it, but the data object I'm binding to doesn't have the corresponding property. In that case, the new column in the table will still be bound to the data object, but because there’s no matching property it will only show the object's ToString() result. Any suggestions on how I can bind that column to the object I want?

Additionally, I tried dynamically adding a TableViewTextColumn and assigning it a converter. I can get the bound data object in the Convert method and use it to map to other storage, but ConvertBack only provides the user’s input string for that column, so I can’t get the data object to map back. This approach currently doesn’t work.

[Georgios1999]

@ipevo-brooks Can you share a code snippet or examples so we can see what's going on in case this didn't help you?

I'm not really experienced in this, but here's some things I have in mind:

• Have you set the BindMode to TwoWay in your TableView or column?

Apart from this, I tried replicating what I think is trying to achieve in this gist: https://gist.github.com/Georgios1999/776579aaae8f854bb2f0460ffd5ad023
Check it out and see if something like this is what you were looking for.

In order to dynamically add an item and access its contents when changed, I don't think you need to use bind for it. For example, let's focus on these lines from the gist:

public void AddDynamicFieldIO()
{
    var item = new Item { Name = "Dynamic Item", Quantity = 1 };

⬆️ This creates a new in the ObservableCollection the TableView is binded to, so it creates a new item. However, instead of just creating it, it also saves it to the item variable so you can access it.

    item.PropertyChanged += (s, e) => Item_PropertyChanged(null, null, item);

⬆️ Now we link it to an event, so every time this item is updated, it triggers the PropertyChanged function

    ViewModel.Items.Add(item);
}

The PropertyChanged function confirms that this is working by setting the Title text block to the item's name property which you can change by double-clicking on it when running the app:

string? name = item.Name ?? String.Empty;
Title.Text = name;

Let me know if this is the solution you were looking for! Otherwise, we'll wait for @w-ahmad's answer so I can also figure out the documentation for this.

[w-ahmad]

@ipevo-brooks This seems like a similar case to #176. If so, please refer to the solution I mentioned here: (#176 (reply in thread)). Let me know if it helps resolve your issue.

[ipevo-brooks]

Thank you for replying so quickly. Using a dictionary might solve my problem. Please give me time to try. I will come back with the results of my test.

[ipevo-brooks]

App1.zip

I built a simple demo to show my current issue. Using a dictionary as the data object does let me display dynamic data objects. But I also need to update the data, so I need a two-way binding converter. The problem is in the converter’s ConvertBack method. I currently can’t find a way to access the corresponding data dictionary.

[ipevo-brooks]

I finally figured out a data binding method that fits my needs. Using index strings for binding was the key step. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions, you saved me.

App1.zip