The software uses a SmartSnowUser object, which contains a SecurityRole object. The client needs SecurityRole to be customizable, so it has a list of enum SecurityTasks, which the clients can add/remove from. Controls should only be visible if their given SecurityTask exists in the current SmartSnowUser's SecurityRole.
With this setup, I am struggling to get all the functionality I need. I need the ability to:
- change control visibility based on whether CurrentUser.Role contains GivenTask
- make control visibility more granular when necessary (e.g. Visibility &= isInEditMode)
- meet the previous two requirements without having to create a separate style for each color/task/extra-qualifier combination
Here are the two main approaches I've tried.
Attempt #1:
Current issue: visibility is not being triggered; breakpoint in Convert() method is never hit
Long-term issue: Uses style, so every other custom style will need to be BasedOn this default; also, have to duplicate functionality for editability
Code:
/**Style.xaml**/
<local:TagToVisibilityConverter x:Key="TagToVisibilityConverter"/>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type FrameworkElement}">
<Setter Property="Visibility">
<Setter.Value>
<MultiBinding Converter="{StaticResource TagToVisibilityConverter}">
<Binding Path="MainData.CurrentUser"/>
<Binding RelativeSource="{RelativeSource Mode=Self}"/>
</MultiBinding>
</Setter.Value>
</Setter>
</Style>
/**Style.xaml.cs**/
public class TagToVisibilityConverter : IMultiValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object[] values, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (values.Length >= 2 && (values[1] as FrameworkElement).GetValue(SecurityLevel.RequiredTaskProperty) is SecurityTask requiredTask)
{
//If element has a task assigned and user is not logged in, do not show
if (values[0] is SmartSnowUser currentUser && currentUser.Role != null)
{
return currentUser.Role.Tasks.Contains(requiredTask) ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;
}
return Visibility.Collapsed;
}
//If element has no task assigned, default to visible
return Visibility.Visible;
}
public object[] ConvertBack(object value, Type[] targetTypes, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
public class SecurityLevel
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty RequiredTaskProperty = DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("RequiredTask", typeof(SecurityTask), typeof(FrameworkElement), new PropertyMetadata(SecurityTask.ControlBasic));
public static void SetRequiredTask(UIElement element, SecurityTask value)
{
element.SetValue(RequiredTaskProperty, value);
}
public static SecurityTask GetRequiredTask(UIElement element)
{
return (SecurityTask)element.GetValue(RequiredTaskProperty);
}
}
/**Implementation in User Control**/
<Button Name="BtnNew" Content="Create New Role" Style="{StaticResource ButtonBlue}" server:SecurityLevel.RequiredTask="{x:Static enums:SecurityTask.EditRoles}" />
Attempt #2:
How to extend instead of overriding WPF Styles
How to add dependency property to FrameworkElement driven classes in WPF?
Attempted to merge these two solutions into one. Set the Tag value to a SecurityTask, then use trigger to set visibility
issue: cannot set visibility at a more granular level without a style (e.g. cannot set 'Visibility' property directly in control); cannot distinguish between visibility/editability
Code:
/**Style.xaml**/
<!--#region Visibility-->
<!-- Default frameworkElement style definition -->
<local:TagToVisibilityConverter x:Key="TagToVisibilityConverter"/>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type FrameworkElement}">
<Setter Property="Visibility">
<Setter.Value>
<MultiBinding Converter="{StaticResource TagToVisibilityConverter}">
<Binding Path="Tag" RelativeSource="{RelativeSource Mode=Self}"/>
<Binding Path="MainData.CurrentUser"/>
</MultiBinding>
</Setter.Value>
</Setter>
</Style>
<!-- Extending default style -->
<Style x:Key="ButtonBasic" TargetType="Button" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type FrameworkElement}}">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource BrushGreyDark}" />
<Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{StaticResource BrushWhite}" />
</Style>
<Style x:Key="ButtonBlue" TargetType="Button" BasedOn="{StaticResource ButtonBasic}">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource BrushBlue}" />
</Style>
/**Style.xaml.cs**/
public class TagToVisibilityConverter : IMultiValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object[] values, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (values.Length >= 2 && values[0] is SecurityTask requiredTask)
{
//If element has a task assigned and user is not logged in, do not show
if (values[1] is SmartSnowUser currentUser && currentUser.Role != null)
{
return currentUser.Role.Tasks.Contains(requiredTask) ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;
}
return Visibility.Collapsed;
}
//If element has no task assigned, default to visible
return Visibility.Visible;
}
public object[] ConvertBack(object value, Type[] targetTypes, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotSupportedException();
}
}
/**Implementation in User Control**/
//This button works great. Exactly what I need.
<Button Name="BtnNew" Content="Create New Role" Style="{StaticResource ButtonBlue}" Tag="{x:Static enums:SecurityTask.EditRoles}" />
//This button does not work, because the newly set Visibility property overrides the style.
<Button Name="BtnEdit" Content="Edit Role" Style="{StaticResource ButtonBlue}" Tag="{x:Static enums:SecurityTask.EditRoles}" Visibility="{Binding IsEditMode, Converter={StaticResource InverseBoolToVisibilityConverter}}" />
Attempt #2 ALMOST works. It's that last stinking button, BtnEdit. It is far too cluttered to create a new style - BasedOn ButtonBlue, which is BasedOn ButtonDefault, which is BasedOn our original up there - every time I need to add another qualifier to my visibility setting.
I seem to be over-complicating this. Is there a cleaner approach to what I'm trying to do?
