WPF DataGrid multiselect binding

Question

I have a datagrid that is multi-select enabled. I need to change the selection in the viewmodel. However, the SelectedItems property is read only and can't be directly bound to a property in the viewmodel. So how do I signal to the view that the selection has changed?

Answer 1

Andy is correct. DataGridRow.IsSelected is a Dependency Property that can be databound to control selection from the ViewModel. The following sample code demonstrates this:

<Window x:Class="DataGridMultiSelectSample.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:tk="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Windows.Controls;assembly=WPFToolkit"
    Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
    <StackPanel>
        <tk:DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="False" ItemsSource="{Binding}" EnableRowVirtualization="False">
            <tk:DataGrid.Columns>
                <tk:DataGridTextColumn Header="Value" Binding="{Binding Value}" />
            </tk:DataGrid.Columns>
            <tk:DataGrid.RowStyle>
                <Style TargetType="tk:DataGridRow">
                    <Setter Property="IsSelected" Value="{Binding IsSelected, Mode=TwoWay}" />
                </Style>
            </tk:DataGrid.RowStyle>
        </tk:DataGrid>
        <Button Content="Select Even" Click="Even_Click" />
        <Button Content="Select Odd" Click="Odd_Click" />
    </StackPanel>
</Window>

---

using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows;

namespace DataGridMultiSelectSample
{
    public partial class Window1
    {
        public Window1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            DataContext = new[]
                              {
                                  new MyViewModel {Value = "Able"},
                                  new MyViewModel {Value = "Baker"},
                                  new MyViewModel {Value = "Charlie"},
                                  new MyViewModel {Value = "Dog"},
                                  new MyViewModel {Value = "Fox"},
                              };
        }

        private void Even_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            var array = (MyViewModel[]) DataContext;
            for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; ++i)
                array[i].IsSelected = i%2 == 0;
        }

        private void Odd_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            var array = (MyViewModel[])DataContext;
            for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; ++i)
                array[i].IsSelected = i % 2 == 1;
        }
    }

    public class MyViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
    {
        public string Value { get; set; }

        private bool mIsSelected;
        public bool IsSelected
        {
            get { return mIsSelected; }
            set
            {
                if (mIsSelected == value) return;
                mIsSelected = value;
                if (PropertyChanged != null)
                    PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("IsSelected"));
            }
        }

        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
    }
}

Be sure to set EnableRowVirtualisation="False" on the DataGrid element, else there's a risk that the IsSelected bindings fall out of kilter.

Answer 2

I haven't worked with the DataGrid much, but one technique that works for the ListView is to bind to the IsSelected property of the individual ListViewItem. Just set this to true for each object in your list, and then it will get selected.

Maybe the object that represents a row in the DataGrid also has an IsSelected property, and can be used in this way as well?