Accessing a resource via codebehind in WPF

c# wpf xaml resources code-behind
randomsequence picture randomsequence · Jan 22, 2010 · Viewed 102.6k times · Source

I have a custom collection defined in my window resources as follows (in a Sketchflow app so the window is actually a UserControl):

<UserControl.Resources>
    <ds:MyCollection x:Key="myKey" x:Name="myName" />
</UserControl.Resources>

I want to be able to refer to this collection in the codebehind, which I expected would be by the x:Name, but I can't seem to access it.

I can get a reference to it using

myRef = (MyCollection) this.FindName("myKey");

but this seems hackish. Is this bad practice, and what would be better? Thanks :)

Answer

japf picture japf · Jan 22, 2010

You should use System.Windows.Controls.UserControl's FindResource() or TryFindResource() methods.

Also, a good practice is to create a string constant which maps the name of your key in the resource dictionary (so that you can change it at only one place).

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