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Collection-type dependency properties (WPF .NET)

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This article provides guidance and suggested patterns for implementing a dependency property that's a collection type.

Prerequisites

The article assumes a basic knowledge of dependency properties, and that you've read Dependency properties overview. To follow the examples in this article, it helps if you're familiar with Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) and know how to write WPF applications.

Implement a collection-type dependency property

In general, the implementation pattern for a dependency property is a CLR property wrapper backed by a DependencyProperty identifier instead of a field or other construct. You can follow the same pattern when you implement a collection-type dependency property. The pattern is more complex if the collection element type is a DependencyObject or a Freezable derived class.

Initialize the collection

When you create a dependency property, you typically specify the default value through dependency property metadata instead of specifying an initial property value. However, if your property value is a reference type, the default value should be set in the constructor of the class that registers the dependency property. The dependency property metadata shouldn't include a default reference-type value because that value will be assigned to all instances of the class, creating a singleton class.

The following example declares an Aquarium class that contains a collection of FrameworkElement elements in a generic List<T>. A default collection value isn't included in the PropertyMetadata passed to the RegisterReadOnly(String, Type, Type, PropertyMetadata) method, and instead the class constructor is used to set the default collection value to a new generic List.

public class Aquarium : DependencyObject
{
    // Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    // property type, owner type, and property metadata.
    private static readonly DependencyPropertyKey s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterReadOnly(
          name: "AquariumContents",
          propertyType: typeof(List<FrameworkElement>),
          ownerType: typeof(Aquarium),
          typeMetadata: new FrameworkPropertyMetadata()
          //typeMetadata: new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(new List<FrameworkElement>())
        );

    // Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    public Aquarium() => SetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey, new List<FrameworkElement>());

    // Declare a public get accessor.
    public List<FrameworkElement> AquariumContents =>
        (List<FrameworkElement>)GetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey.DependencyProperty);
}

public class Fish : FrameworkElement { }

Public Class Aquarium
    Inherits DependencyObject

    ' Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    ' property type, owner type, and property metadata.
    Private Shared ReadOnly s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey As DependencyPropertyKey =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterReadOnly(
            name:="AquariumContents",
            propertyType:=GetType(List(Of FrameworkElement)),
            ownerType:=GetType(Aquarium),
            typeMetadata:=New FrameworkPropertyMetadata())
            'typeMetadata:=New FrameworkPropertyMetadata(New List(Of FrameworkElement)))

    ' Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    Public Sub New()
        SetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey, New List(Of FrameworkElement)())
    End Sub

    ' Declare a public get accessor.
    Public ReadOnly Property AquariumContents As List(Of FrameworkElement)
        Get
            Return CType(GetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey.DependencyProperty), List(Of FrameworkElement))
        End Get
    End Property
End Class

Public Class Fish
    Inherits FrameworkElement
End Class

The following test code instantiates two separate Aquarium instances and adds a different Fish item to each collection. If you run the code, you'll see that each Aquarium instance has a single collection item, as expected.

private void InitializeAquariums(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    Aquarium aquarium1 = new();
    Aquarium aquarium2 = new();
    aquarium1.AquariumContents.Add(new Fish());
    aquarium2.AquariumContents.Add(new Fish());
    MessageBox.Show(
        $"aquarium1 contains {aquarium1.AquariumContents.Count} fish\r\n" +
        $"aquarium2 contains {aquarium2.AquariumContents.Count} fish");
}

Private Sub InitializeAquariums(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    Dim aquarium1 As New Aquarium()
    Dim aquarium2 As New Aquarium()
    aquarium1.AquariumContents.Add(New Fish())
    aquarium2.AquariumContents.Add(New Fish())
    MessageBox.Show($"aquarium1 contains {aquarium1.AquariumContents.Count} fish{Environment.NewLine}" +
                    $"aquarium2 contains {aquarium2.AquariumContents.Count} fish")
End Sub

But, if you comment out the class constructor and pass the default collection value as PropertyMetadata to the RegisterReadOnly(String, Type, Type, PropertyMetadata) method, you'll see that each Aquarium instance gets two collection items! This is because both Fish instances are added to the same list, which is shared by all instances of the Aquarium class. So, when the intent is for each object instance to have its own list, the default value should be set in the class constructor.

Initialize a read-write collection

The following example declares a read-write collection-type dependency property in the Aquarium class, using the non-key signature methods Register(String, Type, Type) and SetValue(DependencyProperty, Object).

public class Aquarium : DependencyObject
{
    // Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    // property type, and owner type. Store the dependency property
    // identifier as a public static readonly member of the class.
    public static readonly DependencyProperty AquariumContentsProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
          name: "AquariumContents",
          propertyType: typeof(List<FrameworkElement>),
          ownerType: typeof(Aquarium)
        );

    // Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    public Aquarium() => SetValue(AquariumContentsProperty, new List<FrameworkElement>());

    // Declare public get and set accessors.
    public List<FrameworkElement> AquariumContents
    {
        get => (List<FrameworkElement>)GetValue(AquariumContentsProperty);
        set => SetValue(AquariumContentsProperty, value);
    }
}

Public Class Aquarium
    Inherits DependencyObject

    ' Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    ' property type, and owner type. Store the dependency property
    ' identifier as a static member of the class.
    Public Shared ReadOnly AquariumContentsProperty As DependencyProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            name:="AquariumContents",
            propertyType:=GetType(List(Of FrameworkElement)),
            ownerType:=GetType(Aquarium))

    ' Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    Public Sub New()
        SetValue(AquariumContentsProperty, New List(Of FrameworkElement)())
    End Sub

    ' Declare public get and set accessors.
    Public Property AquariumContents As List(Of FrameworkElement)
        Get
            Return CType(GetValue(AquariumContentsProperty), List(Of FrameworkElement))
        End Get
        Set
            SetValue(AquariumContentsProperty, Value)
        End Set
    End Property
End Class

FreezableCollection dependency properties

A collection-type dependency property doesn't automatically report changes in its subproperties. As a result, if you're binding to a collection, the binding might not report changes, invalidating some data binding scenarios. But, if you use FreezableCollection<T> for the dependency property type, changes to the properties of collection elements are properly reported and binding works as expected.

To enable subproperty binding in a collection of dependency objects, use the collection type FreezableCollection, with a type constraint of any DependencyObject derived class.

The following example declares an Aquarium class that contains a FreezableCollection with a type constraint of FrameworkElement. A default collection value isn't included in the PropertyMetadata passed to the RegisterReadOnly(String, Type, Type, PropertyMetadata) method, and instead the class constructor is used to set the default collection value to a new FreezableCollection.

public class Aquarium : DependencyObject
{
    // Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    // property type, and owner type.
    private static readonly DependencyPropertyKey s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterReadOnly(
          name: "AquariumContents",
          propertyType: typeof(FreezableCollection<FrameworkElement>),
          ownerType: typeof(Aquarium),
          typeMetadata: new FrameworkPropertyMetadata()
        );

    // Store the dependency property identifier as a static member of the class.
    public static readonly DependencyProperty AquariumContentsProperty =
        s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey.DependencyProperty;

    // Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    public Aquarium() => SetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey, new FreezableCollection<FrameworkElement>());

    // Declare a public get accessor.
    public FreezableCollection<FrameworkElement> AquariumContents =>
        (FreezableCollection<FrameworkElement>)GetValue(AquariumContentsProperty);
}

Public Class Aquarium
    Inherits DependencyObject

    ' Register a dependency property with the specified property name,
    ' property type, and owner type.
    Private Shared ReadOnly s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey As DependencyPropertyKey =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterReadOnly(
            name:="AquariumContents",
            propertyType:=GetType(FreezableCollection(Of FrameworkElement)),
            ownerType:=GetType(Aquarium),
            typeMetadata:=New FrameworkPropertyMetadata())

    ' Set the default collection value in a class constructor.
    Public Sub New()
        SetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey, New FreezableCollection(Of FrameworkElement)())
    End Sub

    ' Declare a public get accessor.
    Public ReadOnly Property AquariumContents As FreezableCollection(Of FrameworkElement)
        Get
            Return CType(GetValue(s_aquariumContentsPropertyKey.DependencyProperty), FreezableCollection(Of FrameworkElement))
        End Get
    End Property
End Class

See also