WPF Tip #5 - Data Binding with IMultiValueConverter

In Tip #4, we examined the use of IValueConverter with WPF binding. If you are using MulitBinding, a converter class that implements IMultiValueConverter is needed.

Like the IValueConverter, the class must implement Convert and ConvertBack methods. The difference being the multiple values come in as an object[] parameter in Convert() and go back out as an object[] return value in ConvertBack(). The following example takes two string values as input and returns them concatenated with a pipe '|'. It will convert them back using the Split function, assuming your text value contains no other pipes.

public class TextAppendMultiConverter : IMultiValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object[] values, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return String.Concat(values[0], "|", values[1]);
    }

    public object[] ConvertBack(object value, Type[] targetTypes, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return (value as string).Split('|');
    }
}

This code will use the converter in a WPF TextBox's Text property MultiBinding.

<TextBox>
    <TextBox.Text>
        <MultiBinding Converter="{StaticResource TextAppendMultiConverter}" FallbackValue="Busy loading...">
            <Binding Path="IntroText"/>
            <Binding Path="ContentText"/>
        </MultiBinding>
    </TextBox.Text>
</TextBox>

The FallbackValue will be displayed if the converter fails or data is unavailable in the attached DataContext.

Next time, we will shift gears away from data binding. Happy coding!

 

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