使用VS2012 GUI将ListBox绑定到列表<T>

Question

I feel like this is such a basic question, but I've spent 2 days trying to get it working with no success. Thank you for your time.

Problem Definition

• Visual Studio Express 2012 - Visual C# Windows Form Project
• Classes and Members
  • MyForm ( Form )
    • myListBox - ListBox
  • MyDataElement
    • firstName - string
    • lastName - string
  • MyDataManager
    • myDataList - List<MyDataElement>

Using the GUI, how can I bind myListBox to myDataList ? More specifically, how do I go about instantiating MyDataManager so that myListBox gets populated with the list's values?

Steps Already Taken

I can create DataSources without trouble, but I cannot get the ListBox to show the contents of the underlying list. I have tried:

• Binding the ListBox to a standalone MyDataManager object
• Creating a member in MyForm of type MyDataManager and binding the ListBox to that member

I couldn't get either to work. I've also tried changing the DisplayMember property to no avail.

Incidentally, I can get it to work properly by manually setting the DataSource (eg, myListBox.DataSource = myDM.myDataList ) in the main method of MyForm , but for future reference and my own edification I would love to learn how to do this through the GUI (if it's even possible).

Sample Code

public class MyDataElement
{
    public string firstName { get; set; }
    public string lastName { get; set; }

    public override string ToString()
    {
        return firstName + " " + lastName;
    }
}

public class MyDataManager
{
    public List<MyDataElement> myDataList { get; set; }

    // Constructor.
    public MyDataManager()
    {
        myDataList = new List<MyDataElement>();

        // Populate list for testing purposes.
        myDataList.Add(new MyDataElement { firstName = "John", lastName = "Smith" });
        myDataList.Add(new MyDataElement { firstName = "Jane", lastName = "Doe" });
    }
}

In the main method of MyForm :

// ...
myDM = new myDataManager();
InitializeComponents();
// ...

I have also tried reversing this order.

Answer 1

You need to bind your View's DataContext with MyDataManager using Resources(In your case MyDataManager is considered as the ViewModel), see these anwsers . The VS GUI will be able to find your MyDataManager class members then. Hope it helps