Third-Party and Custom Controls

You can use custom and third-party WPF controls in PowerBuilder .NET, in WPF windows and DataWindow object. Using custom and third-party controls allows you to extend the software system to support a wider range of applications.

Note: WPF controls must be descendants of the FrameworkElement class. You can inherit visual third-party controls that are written in code (such as C# or Visual Basic .NET) and not created using XAML; XAML does not support visual object inheritance.

WPF controls in windows

If the custom control defines public events, they are dynamically added to the event list of the custom control. You can define your own event handler for any event of a WPF control.

WPF controls in DataWindow objects

In DataWindow objects, insert custom and third-party WPF controls using the CustomControl component.

A third-party control encapsulated in the CustomControl may have different capabilities of presenting and processing data. If the third-party control can present data (for example, a TextBlock), CustomControl feeds data to this third-party control; if the third-party control can modify data (such as a TextBox), CustomControl retrieves modified data from the third-party control.

XAML and third-party or custom controls

When working with third-party or custom controls:

Add the third-party or custom WPF controls defined in an external XAML file before pasting the XAML file into the XAML view.
Add controls from the Toolbox to third-party or custom control containers. Do not use the XAML view.
Make sure there are no duplicate control names before pasting the code into the XAML view and saving the window. If there are duplicates, PowerBuilder .NET prompts you to change them before saving the window.

Adding WPF Controls to the Toolbox
You can specify the components that appear in the Toolbox.
Adding Third-Party and Custom WPF Controls to Windows
You can add third-party and custom WPF controls to objects.
Adding Third-Party and Custom Controls to DataWindow Objects
Add third-party and custom controls to DataWindow objects using the Custom Control.

Parent topic: User Objects