I have a user control like this: ``` <UserControl x:Class="MyApp.UserControls.MyContextMenu" 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" mc:Ignorable="d" ContextMenuOpening="OnContextMenuOpening" d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300"> ... ``` My question is: how do I use that context menu for something like a data grid: ``` <DataGrid ContextMenu="{usercontrols:MyContextMenu}" ``` Unfortunately that does not work because the specified value is incorrect and expected a `ContextMenu`. Note: I need to reuse my context menu in several places, so I have put it in its own file. Also, I need to be able to listen to `OnContextMenuOpening` events, because the menu upon opening needs to do so…

Regardless of how you call your UserControl, it is not a ContextMenu. You would have to derive from ContextMenu instead of UserControl: ``` ... ``` and ``` public partial class MyContextMenu : ContextMenu { public MyContextMenu() { InitializeComponent(); } } ``` But why would you do that at all?

How to use a ContextMenu UserControl in WPF?

c#, mvvm, wpf

Solution

Regardless of how you call your UserControl, it is not a ContextMenu. You would have to derive from ContextMenu instead of UserControl:

<ContextMenu x:Class="MyApp.MyContextMenu"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
    <MenuItem Header="Item 1"/>
    <MenuItem Header="Item 2"/>
    ...
</ContextMenu>

and

public partial class MyContextMenu : ContextMenu
{
    public MyContextMenu()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
}

But why would you do that at all?

Problem

I have a user control like this: ``` <UserControl x:Class="MyApp.UserControls.MyContextMenu" 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" mc:Ignorable="d" ContextMenuOpening="OnContextMenuOpening" d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300"> <UserControl.ContextMenu> <ContextMenu> ... </ContextMenu> </UserControl.ContextMenu> </UserControl> ``` My question is: how do I use that context menu for something like a data grid: ``` <DataGrid ContextMenu="{usercontrols:MyContextMenu}" ``` Unfortunately that does not work because the specified value is incorrect and expected a `ContextMenu`. Note: I need to reuse my context menu in several places, so I have put it in its own file. Also, I need to be able to listen to `OnContextMenuOpening` events, because the menu upon opening needs to do some work regarding the menu and the event is not fired for the context menu sadly: http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/353112/contextmenu-opening-event-doesnt-fire-properly "ContextMenu itself is a FrameworkElement derived class, but this event will not be raised from the context menu being opened as a source. The event is raised from the element that "owns" the context menu as a property and is only raised when a user attempts to open a context menu in the UI." This event problem is the reason I have put the menu for a user control -- so that the user control can get the event and do the work. Update: I tried to have it as a root element and extend the context menu: And code-behind: But I'm getting: `ContextMenu cannot have a logical or visual parent`.

Original source