Build Binding Paths

• May 27, 2025
• 4 minutes to read

WPF data binding mechanism allows you to bind a dependency property (Target Property) to another property (Source Property).

To use the standard WPF data binding mechanism, the Target Property should be read-write. If you need to bind a read-only property, use the DevExpress ReadOnlyDependencyPropertyBindingBehavior.

The Source Property can be a regular or dependency property.

• If you use a dependency Source Property, the target property is updated when the source property changes.

• If you use a regular Source Property, make sure its class implements the INotifyPropertyChanged interface. The data binding mechanism can then track changes and update the target property.

Common Binding Scenarios

Bind to a Data Context Property

Data binding assumes that DataContext is the source object if you only specify a binding path.

In the following code sample, the TextBox‘s DataContext is the ViewModel object. This object includes the SourceProperty that you can use as a binding source for the Text property:

XAML

<Window x:Class="BindingSample.Window1"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:BindingSample"
        Title="DataContext Binding" Height="300" Width="500">
    <Window.DataContext>
        <local:ViewModel/>
    </Window.DataContext>
    <Grid>
        <TextBox Text="{Binding SourceProperty}"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

C#

using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;

public class ViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged {
    string sourceProperty = "The value of the source property.";
    public string SourceProperty {
        get { return sourceProperty; }
        set {
            if(sourceProperty == value) return;
            sourceProperty = value;
            RaisePropertyChanged();
        }
    }
    public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
    protected virtual void RaisePropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyname = null) {
        PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyname));
    }
}

VB.NET

Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices

Public Class ViewModel
    Implements INotifyPropertyChanged

    Private sourceProperty As String = "The value of the source property."

    Public Property SourceProperty As String
        Get
            Return sourceProperty
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String)
            If sourceProperty = value Then Return
            sourceProperty = value
            RaisePropertyChanged()
        End Set
    End Property

    Public Event PropertyChanged As PropertyChangedEventHandler

    Protected Overridable Sub RaisePropertyChanged(
<CallerMemberName> ByVal Optional propertyname As String = Nothing)
        PropertyChanged?.Invoke(Me, New PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyname))
    End Sub
End Class

You can check which object is an element’s DataContext if you are not sure.

Refer to the following help topic for more information: Data binding overview.

Self Binding

You can bind two properties within the same object:

XAML

<TargetObject TargetProperty="{Binding Path=SourceProperty, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=Self}}"/>

The following code sample binds Foreground to Text in a TextBox:

XAML

<TextBox Text="Red"
         Foreground="{Binding Text, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}"/>
<!-- You can also use the DXBinding mechanism to simplify the binding string like follows: -->
<!-- Foreground="{DXBinding '@s.Text'}" -->

Bind to a Parent Element’s Property

This data binding goes up the visual element tree. It searches for a parent object whose type matches ParentObjectType. Use this binding if you know that a specific container type holds the required data.

XAML

<TargetObject TargetProperty="{Binding Path=SourceProperty, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type ParentObjectType}}}"/>

The following code sample binds the Text property of the TextBox to its parent Window‘s FontSize property value:

XAML

<Window x:Class="BindingSample.Window3"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="FindAncestor Binding" Height="300" Width="500"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:BindingSample"
        FontSize="24">
    <Grid>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding FontSize, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type local:Window3}}}"/>
        <!-- You can also use the DXBinding mechanism to simplify the binding string like follows: -->
        <!-- Text="{DXBinding '@a($local:Window3).FontSize'}" -->
    </Grid>
</Window>

Bind to a Property in a Named Element

You can specify the source object by its Name.

The following code sample binds the Button‘s Content property to the Text property in an element named textBox:

XAML

<StackPanel>
    <TextBox Name="textBox" Text="Press Me"/>
    <Button Content="{Binding Text, ElementName=textBox}"/>
    <!-- You can also use the DXBinding mechanism to simplify the binding string like follows: -->
    <!-- Content="{DXBinding '@e(textBox).Text'}" -->
</StackPanel>

TemplateBinding

TemplateBinding allows you to bind a property in the ControlTemplate to the control’s property.

For example, the following code sample overrides the ContentControl‘s template. The TemplateBinding binds the TextBox‘s property to the ContentControl‘s property:

XAML

<ContentControl Background="Red">
    <ContentControl.Template>
        <ControlTemplate TargetType="ContentControl">
            <TextBox Text="TemplateBinding"
                     Background="{TemplateBinding Background}"/>
            <!-- This binding string is equal the string below: -->
            <!-- Background="{Binding Background, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=TemplatedParent}}" -->
        </ControlTemplate>
    </ContentControl.Template>
</ContentControl>

Refer to the following help topic for more information: TemplateBinding.

Note

To avoid performance issues, use DataContext or Self Binding if possible.

Check What Object is an Element’s DataContext

If you do not know what object is the DataContext for a certain visual element, follow the steps below:

1. Open Live Visual Tree:

   

2. Select an element for which you want to check the DataContext:

   

3. Visual Studio opens the Live Property Explorer where you can find the element’s DataContext object and its properties:

   

Tip

You can also use the Snoop utility to find an element’s DataContext.

If you know the element’s DataContext, you can build the following binding path:

XAML

<TextBox Text="{Binding SourceProperty}"/>

Detect Binding Issues

If you build a binding incorrectly, Visual Studio displays binding errors in the Output window:

You can also use the XAML Binding Failures window to detect binding issues: