XAML Basics Series Index Page

The next post in the series originally written by Beatriz Stollnitz. Original post available on Github.

How to change the layout of an ItemsControl

I will show in this sample two ways to change the layout of an ItemsControl. This sample uses XmlDataProvider, which allows binding to XML data.

The easiest way to change the layout of an ItemsControl is simply by setting the ItemsPanel property to the Panel that will contain the items:

<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource xmlData}}" (...) >
    <ListBox.ItemsPanel>
        <ItemsPanelTemplate>
            <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" />
        </ItemsPanelTemplate>
    </ListBox.ItemsPanel>
</ListBox>

Alternatively, for more extensive customizations, you can create a ControlTemplate. This ControlTemplate allows you to replace the whole VisualTree, including picking a new Panel to hold the items. For example, the following markup shows a ControlTemplate that adds a Border and changes the Panel on the ItemsControl:

<ControlTemplate x:Key="listBoxTemplate">
    <Border BorderBrush="Orange" 
            BorderThickness="2" 
            Margin="10,0,10,10">
        <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
            IsItemsHost="True" />
    </Border>
</ControlTemplate>

<ListBox 
    ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource xmlData}}" 
    Template="{StaticResource listBoxTemplate}" (...) />

Most people get this far in this scenario, but often forget to set the IsItemsHost property in the Panel. IsItemsHost is a property that says “Use this Panel to lay out the items in the ItemsControl.” Notice that selection still works as usual.

If you want your items to wrap onto multiples lines, you can use a WrapPanel in place of the StackPanel. In this scenario, bear in mind that the default template for ListBox contains a ScrollViewer, so your items won’t wrap. To make them wrap, you can either provide your own ControlTemplate or, if you don’t need selection to work, use an ItemsControl instead of a ListBox.

As I mentioned before, I am using XmlDataProvider to bind to XML data. This is how I converted the GreekGods CLR data source I’ve used in previous samples:

<Window.Resources>
    <XmlDataProvider XPath="/GreekGods/GreekGod" x:Key="xmlData">
        <x:XData>
            <GreekGods xmlns="">
                <GreekGod>
                    <Name>Aphrodite</Name>
                    <Description>Goddess of love, beauty and fertility</Description>
                    <RomanName>Venus</RomanName>
                </GreekGod>
                (...)
            </GreekGods>
        </x:XData>
    </XmlDataProvider>
</Window.Resources>

The only thing to keep in mind when binding to XML is that instead of using the Path property in the Binding object, you should use the XPath property. You can use either Path or XPath syntax for DisplayMemberPath.

WPF Source Code

UWP/Uno Notes

The XmlDataProvider doesn’t exist for UWP applications. Instead the GreekGods XML data has been added as an XML file with build action of Embedded Resource. The data is loaded on startup and set as the ItemsSource for each ListBox.

There is also no support for binding using an XPath expression. For this a simple XmlElementConverter has been added.

UWP/Uno Source Code

Update 31st August 2020

Uno sample has been updated to v3 of Uno and supports iOS, Android, Windows and MacOS.

WinUI with Uno and WinUI for Desktop samples added.

WinUI with Uno and WinUI Desktop Source Code