WPF Error: Cannot find governing FrameworkElement for target element

Question

I've got a DataGrid with a row that has an image. This image is bound with a trigger to a certain state. When the state changes I want to change the image.

The template itself is set on the HeaderStyle of a DataGridTemplateColumn. This template has some bindings. The first binding Day shows what day it is and the State changes the image with a trigger.

These properties are set in a ViewModel.

Properties:

public class HeaderItem
{
    public string Day { get; set; }
    public ValidationStatus State { get; set; }
}

this.HeaderItems = new ObservableCollection<HeaderItem>();
for (int i = 1; i < 15; i++)
{
    this.HeaderItems.Add(new HeaderItem()
    {
        Day = i.ToString(),
        State = ValidationStatus.Nieuw,
    });
}

Datagrid:

<DataGrid x:Name="PersoneelsPrestatiesDataGrid" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch"
              AutoGenerateColumns="False" SelectionMode="Single" ItemsSource="{Binding CaregiverPerformances}" FrozenColumnCount="1" >

    <DataGridTemplateColumn HeaderStyle="{StaticResource headerCenterAlignment}" Header="{Binding HeaderItems[1]}" Width="50">
        <DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>
            <DataTemplate>
                <TextBox Text="{ Binding Performances[1].Duration,Converter={StaticResource timeSpanConverter},Mode=TwoWay}"/>
            </DataTemplate>
        </DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>

        <DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
            <DataTemplate>
                <TextBlock TextAlignment="Center" Text="{ Binding Performances[1].Duration,Converter={StaticResource timeSpanConverter}}"/>
            </DataTemplate>
        </DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
    </DataGridTemplateColumn> 
</DataGrid>

Datagrid HeaderStyleTemplate:

<Style x:Key="headerCenterAlignment" TargetType="{x:Type DataGridColumnHeader}">
    <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>

    <Setter Property="Template">
        <Setter.Value>
            <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type DataGridColumnHeader}">
                <Grid>
                    <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                        <RowDefinition />
                        <RowDefinition />
                    </Grid.RowDefinitions>

                    <TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Text="{Binding Day}" />
                    <Image x:Name="imageValidation" Grid.Row="1" Width="16" Height="16" Source="{StaticResource imgBevestigd}" />
                </Grid>

                <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                    <MultiDataTrigger >
                        <MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Binding="{Binding State}" Value="Nieuw"/>                                 
                        </MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter TargetName="imageValidation" Property="Source" Value="{StaticResource imgGeenStatus}"/>
                    </MultiDataTrigger>
                </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
            </ControlTemplate>
        </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
</Style>

Now when I startup the project the images doesn't show and I get this error:

System.Windows.Data Error: 2 : Cannot find governing FrameworkElement or FrameworkContentElement for target element. BindingExpression:Path=HeaderItems[0]; DataItem=null; target element is 'DataGridTemplateColumn' (HashCode=26950454); target property is 'Header' (type 'Object')

Why is this error showing?

Answer 1

Sadly any DataGridColumn hosted under DataGrid.Columns is not part of Visual tree and therefore not connected to the data context of the datagrid. So bindings do not work with their properties such as Visibility or Header etc (although these properties are valid dependency properties!).

Now you may wonder how is that possible? Isn't their Binding property supposed to be bound to the data context? Well it simply is a hack. The binding does not really work. It is actually the datagrid cells that copy / clone this binding object and use it for displaying their own contents!

So now back to solving your issue, I assume that HeaderItems is a property of the object that is set as the DataContext of your parent View. We can connect the DataContext of the view to any DataGridColumn via something we call a ProxyElement.

The example below illustrates how to connect a logical child such as ContextMenu or DataGridColumn to the parent View's DataContext

 <Window x:Class="WpfApplicationMultiThreading.Window5"
         xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
         xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"        
         xmlns:vb="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wpf/2008/toolkit"
         Title="Window5" Height="300" Width="300" >
  <Grid x:Name="MyGrid">
    <Grid.Resources>
        <FrameworkElement x:Key="ProxyElement" DataContext="{Binding}"/>
    </Grid.Resources>
    <Grid.DataContext>
         <TextBlock Text="Text Column Header" Tag="Tag Columne Header"/>
    </Grid.DataContext>
    <ContentControl Visibility="Collapsed"
             Content="{StaticResource ProxyElement}"/>
    <vb:DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="False" x:Name="MyDataGrid">
        <vb:DataGrid.ItemsSource>
            <x:Array Type="{x:Type TextBlock}">
                <TextBlock Text="1" Tag="1.1"/>
                <TextBlock Text="2" Tag="1.2"/>
                <TextBlock Text="3" Tag="2.1"/>
                <TextBlock Text="4" Tag="2.2"/>
            </x:Array>
        </vb:DataGrid.ItemsSource>
        <vb:DataGrid.Columns>
            <vb:DataGridTextColumn
                       Header="{Binding DataContext.Text,
                                     Source={StaticResource ProxyElement}}"
                       Binding="{Binding Text}"/>
            <vb:DataGridTextColumn
                       Header="{Binding DataContext.Tag,
                                     Source={StaticResource ProxyElement}}"
                       Binding="{Binding Tag}"/>
        </vb:DataGrid.Columns>
    </vb:DataGrid>
  </Grid>
</Window>

The view above encountered the same binding error that you have found if I did not have implemented the ProxyElement hack. The ProxyElement is any FrameworkElement that steals the DataContext from the main View and offers it to the logical child such as ContextMenu or DataGridColumn. For that it must be hosted as a Content into an invisible ContentControl which is under the same View.

I hope this guides you in correct direction.