After having the same problem as you and doing some reading, I discovered the solution - Pack URIs.
I did the following in code:
Image finalImage = new Image();
finalImage.Width = 80;
...
BitmapImage logo = new BitmapImage();
logo.BeginInit();
logo.UriSource = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/AssemblyName;component/Resources/logo.png");
logo.EndInit();
...
finalImage.Source = logo;
Or shorter, by using another BitmapImage constructor:
finalImage.Source = new BitmapImage(
new Uri("pack://application:,,,/AssemblyName;component/Resources/logo.png"));
The URI is broken out into parts:
The three slashes after application: have to be replaced with commas:
Note: The authority component of a pack URI
is an embedded URI that points to a
package and must conform to RFC 2396.
Additionally, the "/" character must
be replaced with the "," character,
and reserved characters such as "%"
and "?" must be escaped. See the OPC
for details.
And of course, make sure you set the build action on your image to Resource.
You set the DisplayMemberPath and the SelectedValuePath to "Name", so I assume that you have a class PhoneBookEntry with a public property Name.
Have you set the DataContext to your ConnectionViewModel object?
I copied you code and made some minor modifications, and it seems to work fine.
I can set the viewmodels PhoneBookEnty property and the selected item in the combobox changes, and I can change the selected item in the combobox and the view models PhoneBookEntry property is set correctly.
Here is my XAML content:
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication6.Window1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
<Grid>
<StackPanel>
<Button Click="Button_Click">asdf</Button>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=PhonebookEntries}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
SelectedValuePath="Name"
SelectedValue="{Binding Path=PhonebookEntry}" />
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
And here is my code-behind:
namespace WpfApplication6
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for Window1.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
ConnectionViewModel vm = new ConnectionViewModel();
DataContext = vm;
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
((ConnectionViewModel)DataContext).PhonebookEntry = "test";
}
}
public class PhoneBookEntry
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public PhoneBookEntry(string name)
{
Name = name;
}
public override string ToString()
{
return Name;
}
}
public class ConnectionViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ConnectionViewModel()
{
IList<PhoneBookEntry> list = new List<PhoneBookEntry>();
list.Add(new PhoneBookEntry("test"));
list.Add(new PhoneBookEntry("test2"));
_phonebookEntries = new CollectionView(list);
}
private readonly CollectionView _phonebookEntries;
private string _phonebookEntry;
public CollectionView PhonebookEntries
{
get { return _phonebookEntries; }
}
public string PhonebookEntry
{
get { return _phonebookEntry; }
set
{
if (_phonebookEntry == value) return;
_phonebookEntry = value;
OnPropertyChanged("PhonebookEntry");
}
}
private void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}
}
Edit: Geoffs second example does not seem to work, which seems a bit odd to me. If I change the PhonebookEntries property on the ConnectionViewModel to be of type ReadOnlyCollection, the TwoWay binding of the SelectedValue property on the combobox works fine.
Maybe there is an issue with the CollectionView? I noticed a warning in the output console:
System.Windows.Data Warning: 50 : Using CollectionView directly is not fully supported. The basic features work, although with some inefficiencies, but advanced features may encounter known bugs. Consider using a derived class to avoid these problems.
Edit2 (.NET 4.5): The content of the DropDownList can be based on ToString() and not of DisplayMemberPath, while DisplayMemberPath specifies the member for the selected and displayed item only.
Best Solution
The target in a binding must always be a
DependencyProperty, but any property (even plain properties) can be the source.The problem with plain properties is that the binding will only pick up the value once and it won't change after that because change notification is missing from the plain source property.
To provide that change notification without making it a
DependencyProperty, one can:Implement
INotifyPropertyChangedon the class defining the property.Create a
PropertyNameChangedevent. (Backward compatibility.)WPF will work better with the first choice.