Question

I have a WPF UserControl with a textbox. Here’s how the textbox and it’s parent control are defined:

   <DockPanel Margin="10,20,10,10" FocusManager.FocusedElement="{Binding ElementName=uxJobNumber}" >
     <TextBox x:Name="uxJobNumber" Text="{Binding JobNumber, Mode=TwoWay, ValidatesOnDataErrors=True}" TextWrapping="Wrap" FontSize="48" BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="1"  Margin="10"/>
   </DockPanel>

With the FocusManager.FocusedElement set, I can see a cursor bar present within the textbox. However, the cursor bar is not blinking, and does not allow the user to immediately start typing.

Without the FocusManager.FocusedElement set, when the application starts there is no cursor bar within the text box at all.

Here’s the complete XAML

<UserControl x:Class=""
         xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
         xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
         xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
         xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" 
         xmlns:converters="clr-namespace:.Modules.Converters"
         xmlns:toolkit="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation/toolkit/extended"
         xmlns:extToolkit="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation/toolkit/extended"
         mc:Ignorable="d">
<UserControl.Resources>
    <converters:VisibilityConverter x:Key="Visibility" />
</UserControl.Resources>
<Canvas Width="1024" Height="768" >

    <Border Style="{DynamicResource GroupBox}" Canvas.Left="36.261" Canvas.Top="32.131" Width="426.936">
        <StackPanel>
            <Border>
                <TextBlock Text="STEP 1"/>
            </Border>
            <TextBlock Text="Enter the five (5) digit Job Number and click Verify." />
            <Path/>
            <DockPanel Margin="10,20,10,10" FocusManager.FocusedElement="{Binding ElementName=uxJobNumber}" >
                <Button Content="Verify" Width="125" Height="65" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Command="{Binding SearchJobCommand}" Style="{DynamicResource RedButton}" Margin="0" DockPanel.Dock="Right" IsDefault="True"/>
                <TextBox Text="{Binding JobNumber, Mode=TwoWay, ValidatesOnDataErrors=True}" TextWrapping="Wrap" FontSize="48" BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="1" x:Name="uxJobNumber" Margin="10" KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="0" />
            </DockPanel>
        </StackPanel>
    </Border>
    <TextBlock Text="{Binding Error}" Visibility="{Binding HasError, Converter={StaticResource Visibility}}" Canvas.Left="48" Canvas.Top="288" FontSize="16" Width="403" Foreground="Red" />       
</Canvas>

Answer 1

We finally resorted to using the Focus() method in the code behind when the form is done loading.

private void UserControl_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
   uxJobNumber.Focus();
}