Setting a property with an EventTrigger

Question

I want to be able to set a property with an EventTrigger, there's a number of problems with this.

1) EventTriggers only support Actions, so I must use a storyBoard to set my properties.

2) Once I use a storyboard, I have two options:

• Stop: Once the animation has stopped the value reverts back to before the animation started
• HoldEnd: This locks the property, so that neither code, nor user interaction can change the property that the animation is holding.

In the below example, I want to set the IsChecked property to False when the button is clicked and I want the user to be able to change the IsChecked and/or I want to be able to change the property in code.

Example:

<EventTrigger
    SourceName="myButton"
    RoutedEvent="Button.Click">
    <EventTrigger.Actions>
        <BeginStoryboard>
            <Storyboard>
                <BooleanAnimationUsingKeyFrames
                    Storyboard.TargetName="myCheckBox"
                    Storyboard.TargetProperty="IsChecked"
                    FillBehavior="Stop">
                    <DiscreteBooleanKeyFrame
                        KeyTime="00:00:00"
                        Value="False" />
                </BooleanAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
            </Storyboard>
        </BeginStoryboard>
    </EventTrigger.Actions>
</EventTrigger>

I realize that I can use the "Completed" event after the storyboard completes to set the value to False. However, in this instance I want to contain the logic within the XAML, as this logic will be used on a custom control and is only specific to the UI.

Answer 1

Just create your own action.

namespace WpfUtil
{
    using System.Reflection;
    using System.Windows;
    using System.Windows.Interactivity;


    /// <summary>
    /// Sets the designated property to the supplied value. TargetObject
    /// optionally designates the object on which to set the property. If
    /// TargetObject is not supplied then the property is set on the object
    /// to which the trigger is attached.
    /// </summary>
    public class SetPropertyAction : TriggerAction<FrameworkElement>
    {
        // PropertyName DependencyProperty.

        /// <summary>
        /// The property to be executed in response to the trigger.
        /// </summary>
        public string PropertyName
        {
            get { return (string)GetValue(PropertyNameProperty); }
            set { SetValue(PropertyNameProperty, value); }
        }

        public static readonly DependencyProperty PropertyNameProperty
            = DependencyProperty.Register("PropertyName", typeof(string),
            typeof(SetPropertyAction));


        // PropertyValue DependencyProperty.

        /// <summary>
        /// The value to set the property to.
        /// </summary>
        public object PropertyValue
        {
            get { return GetValue(PropertyValueProperty); }
            set { SetValue(PropertyValueProperty, value); }
        }

        public static readonly DependencyProperty PropertyValueProperty
            = DependencyProperty.Register("PropertyValue", typeof(object),
            typeof(SetPropertyAction));


        // TargetObject DependencyProperty.

        /// <summary>
        /// Specifies the object upon which to set the property.
        /// </summary>
        public object TargetObject
        {
            get { return GetValue(TargetObjectProperty); }
            set { SetValue(TargetObjectProperty, value); }
        }

        public static readonly DependencyProperty TargetObjectProperty
            = DependencyProperty.Register("TargetObject", typeof(object),
            typeof(SetPropertyAction));


        // Private Implementation.

        protected override void Invoke(object parameter)
        {
            object target = TargetObject ?? AssociatedObject;
            PropertyInfo propertyInfo = target.GetType().GetProperty(
                PropertyName,
                BindingFlags.Instance|BindingFlags.Public
                |BindingFlags.NonPublic|BindingFlags.InvokeMethod);

            propertyInfo.SetValue(target, PropertyValue);
        }
    }
}

In this case I'm binding to a property called DialogResult on my viewmodel.

<Grid>

    <Button>
        <i:Interaction.Triggers>
            <i:EventTrigger EventName="Click">
                <wpf:SetPropertyAction PropertyName="DialogResult" TargetObject="{Binding}"
                                       PropertyValue="{x:Static mvvm:DialogResult.Cancel}"/>
            </i:EventTrigger>
        </i:Interaction.Triggers>
        Cancel
    </Button>

</Grid>