Question

Consider the following code:

[Serializable]
public class Region
{
   public double North {get; set;}
   public double South {get; set;}
   public double East {get; set;}
   public double West {get; set;}

   public static Region Europe { get { return new BoundingBox() { North= 71, South= 36, East= 42, West= -9 }; } }
   public static Region GulfMexico { get { return new BoundingBox() { North = 30, South = 18, East = -97, West = -80 }; } }
   public static Region Australia { get { return new BoundingBox() { North = -11, South = -40, East = 154, West = 114 }; } }
   public static Region ...
}

public class MyClass
{
    public Region SelectedRegion { get; set; }
}

I would like to create an instance of MyClass in XAML and set its SelectedRegion property both of the following ways just like we can do with Brush-es when setting Grid.Background:

First:

   <MyClass>
        <MyClass.SelectedRegion>
            <Region North ="5" South = "6" East = "7" West = "8"/>
        </MyClass.SelectedRegion>
    </MyClass>

Second:

<MyClass SelectedRegion = "Australia"/>

The first way of setting SelectedRegion works, of course. What is it I need to add to my code to facilitate the second way?

Answer 1

You need to create a TypeConverter that will convert a string (“Australia”) to an instance of the Region type. See the following link for details on how to do it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa970913.aspx.