Routed Events (part 2)

Referring back to Routed Events (to part 1), let’s have a closer look at this part of the example source code:

// bubbling
private void MyMouseUp(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e) {
  FrameworkElement lElement = sender as FrameworkElement;
  string lAppend = Environment.NewLine;
  if (sender is Window) lAppend += Environment.NewLine;
  Results.Text += e.RoutedEvent.RoutingStrategy.ToString() + ": " + lElement.ToString() + lAppend;
  e.Handled = false;
  Results.ScrollToEnd();
} //

 

Suppressing Events

e.Handled allows you to halt the event routing process. Set this boolean to true and the event stops traveling any further. A small change demonstrates the altered behavior:

// bubbling
private void MyMouseUp(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e) {
  FrameworkElement lElement = sender as FrameworkElement;
  string lAppend = Environment.NewLine;
  if (sender is Window) lAppend += Environment.NewLine;
  Results.Text += e.RoutedEvent.RoutingStrategy.ToString() + ": " + lElement.ToString() + lAppend;
  e.Handled = (e.ChangedButton == MouseButton.Right);
  Results.ScrollToEnd();
} //

If you use the right MouseButton now, the bubbling routing event process stops. The same applies to the tunneling process when you change the MyPreviewMouseUp() method accordingly.

 

Raising Suppressed Events

You can avoid the suppression of Routed Events. This cannot be done through XAML. Use the AddHandler() method instead. An overload accepts a boolean for its third parameter. Set this one to true and you will receive events even if the e.Handled flag was set to true.

Let’s slightly change our example source code to:

<Window x:Class="DemoApp.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:app="clr-namespace:DemoApp"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="500" Width="630"
        Name="MyWindow" PreviewMouseUp="MyPreviewMouseUp">
    ...

...
public MainWindow() {
 InitializeComponent();
 
 List<Data> lItems = new List<Data>() {
    new Data() {Name = "Otto", LastName = "Waalkes"},
    new Data() {Name = "Heinz", LastName = "Rühmann"},
    new Data() {Name = "Michael", LastName = "Herbig"},
    new Data() {Name = "Sky", LastName = "du Mont"},
    new Data() {Name = "Dieter", LastName = "Hallervorden"},
    new Data() {Name = "Diether", LastName = "Krebs"},
    new Data() {Name = "Helga", LastName = "Feddersen"},
    new Data() {Name = "Herbert", LastName = "Grönemeyer"},
  };
    
  MyListView.ItemsSource = lItems;
  MyWindow.AddHandler(UIElement.MouseUpEvent, new MouseButtonEventHandler(MyMouseUp), true);      
} //
...

Et voilà! The Routed Event gets executed despite the set e.Handled flag.

 
Attached Events

The Click event is defined in the ButtonBase class. It is a kind of combination of a Button press and release. But how can you use the bubbling behavior on a higher level like eg. a Grid that does not derive from the ButtonBase class? Attached events enable you to add event handlers to arbitrary elements, which do not define or inherit these.
Let’s add a Click event to the window level by adding Button.Click=”MyClick”:

<Window x:Class="DemoApp.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:app="clr-namespace:DemoApp"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="500" Width="630"
        Name="MyWindow" PreviewMouseUp="MyPreviewMouseUp"
        Button.Click="MyClick" >
    ...

private void MyClick(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) {
  MessageBox.Show("Click received!");
} //

The program does not raise any Click events. We did even override the Click event of our TripleClickButton class. You won’t see a lot. But have a look at the two scroll bars. The scroll bar background (not the scroll bar itself) raises click events. As we are on the window level, we now receive these unexpected events. Indeed, this is a good example. A click of the scroll bar background bubbles through the hierarchy and finally raises the attached Click event on the window level.
Don’t forget to analyse the e.Source of your event parameter. You need to filter out the right Click event.

 

Style EventSetter

While Property setters are most common in Styles, EventSetters are rarely seen. They can be used for more complex problems. The simple ones should be solved by using Style.Triggers. Let’s say you want to change the color of a TextBlock when entering or leaving the area with the mouse cursor.

...
<Window.Resources>
    <Style x:Key="ChangeBackgroundColor" TargetType="TextBlock">
        <EventSetter Event="TextBlock.MouseEnter" Handler="ChangeBackgroundColorOnMouseEnter" /> // direct event
        <EventSetter Event="TextBlock.MouseLeave" Handler="ChangeBackgroundColorOnMouseLeave" /> // direct event
    </Style>
</Window.Resources>
...
<TextBlock Text="LastName:  " Grid.Column="2"  VerticalAlignment="Center" FontSize="16" Style="{StaticResource ChangeBackgroundColor}"/>
...

    private void ChangeBackgroundColorOnMouseEnter(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) { ((TextBlock)sender).Background = Brushes.Red; }
    private void ChangeBackgroundColorOnMouseLeave(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) { ((TextBlock)sender).Background = null; }

 

This example could be simplified. No C# code required:

...
<Window.Resources>
    <Style x:Key="ChangeBackgroundColor" TargetType="TextBlock">
        <Style.Triggers>
            <Trigger Property="TextBlock.IsMouseOver" Value="True">
                <Setter Property="TextBlock.Background" Value="Red" />
            </Trigger>
        </Style.Triggers>                       
    </Style>
</Window.Resources>
...
<TextBlock Text="LastName:  " Grid.Column="2"  VerticalAlignment="Center" FontSize="16" Style="{StaticResource ChangeBackgroundColor}"/>
...

 

I see the need for further explanations on Trigger types. I have just added a reminder on my To-Do-List.
But for now a simple list must suffice:

• Trigger: Simplest trigger form. Reacts on DependencyProperty changes and then uses setters to change styles.
• MultiTrigger: Combines multiple Triggers. All conditions must be met.
• DataTrigger: Reacts on changes in bound data.
• MultiDataTrigger: Combines multiple DataTriggers. All conditions must be met.
• EventTrigger: Reacts on events. Used for animations.

In a nutshell: There are three trigger types. They use dependency properties, routed events or data binding.