Change the Application Model

• Mar 07, 2023
• 2 minutes to read

Use the Model Editor

The Application Model may set settings on multiple levels. You can examine and edit settings on any level that uses a XAFML file. This includes all layers but level zero (settings generated based on Business Model code).

To edit settings on any of those levels, use the Model Editor.

Get or Set Model Settings in Code

You can access the Application Model in code and either read or modify the required values.

Important

Note that the UI does not immediately reflect changes made in the Application Model. If you need to apply changes after XAF creates and initializes a UI control, access the control directly. See How to: Access the Grid Component in a List View for more information. You can also recreate a control with the latest Application Model changes as described in the following article: Apply Application Model Changes to the Current View Immediately.

To access the Application Model in code, use the following objects:

Object	Property
View	View.Model
ActionBase	ActionBase.Model
PropertyEditor	PropertyEditor.Model
XafApplication	XafApplication.Model

These properties return an IModelNode descendant that encapsulates the corresponding node. You can use the Application property to access the Application Model’s root node. Refer to the following topic for additional information: How the XAF Application Model Works.

The following code shows how to access the ‘Contact’ business class and modify its IModelClass.Caption:

C#

using System.Linq;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Actions;

namespace YourSolutionName.Module.Controllers {
    public class CustomController : ViewController {
        public CustomController() {
            var myAction1 = new SimpleAction(this, "MyAction1", null);
            myAction1.Execute += MyAction1_Execute;
        }

        private void MyAction1_Execute(object sender, 
         SimpleActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
            var lst = Application.Model.BOModel.ToList();
            var bo = Application.Model.BOModel.Where(x => x.Name == 
             "YourSolutionName.Module.BusinessObjects.Contact").FirstOrDefault();
            if(bo != null) {
                var oldCaption = bo.Caption;
                bo.Caption = "New test caption";
            }
        }
    }
}

VB.NET

Imports System.Linq
Imports DevExpress.ExpressApp
Imports DevExpress.ExpressApp.Actions
Public Class CustomController
    Inherits ViewController
    Public Sub New()
        Dim myAction1 = New SimpleAction(Me, "MyAction1", String.Empty)
        AddHandler myAction1.Execute, AddressOf MyAction1_Execute
    End Sub
    Private Sub MyAction1_Execute(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As SimpleActionExecuteEventArgs)
        Dim lst = Application.Model.BOModel.ToList()
        Dim bo = Application.Model.BOModel.Where(Function(x) x.Name = "YourSolutionName.Module.BusinessObjects.Contact").FirstOrDefault()

        If bo IsNot Nothing Then
            Dim oldCaption = bo.Caption
            bo.Caption = "New test caption"
        End If
    End Sub
End Class