Using a DataTemplate for a MenuItem causes extra space on the left side to appear?

c#, menuitem, wpf

Solution

It's because the visual tree produced by your `DataTemplate` will be wrapped in a container - in this case, a `MenuItem`. Therefore, you actually have a `MenuItem` within a `MenuItem`, which explains the extra space and the lack of interactivity. There's no need to include the `MenuItem` in your `ItemTemplate`.

Your example might instead be written as:

<Menu>
    <MenuItem Header="Enemies" ItemsSource="{Binding AvailableEnemyClasses}">
        <MenuItem.ItemTemplate>
            <DataTemplate>
                <TextBlock Text="{Binding}"/>
            </DataTemplate>
        </MenuItem.ItemTemplate>
    </MenuItem>
</Menu>

Or, perhaps more succinctly:

<Menu>
    <MenuItem Header="Enemies" ItemsSource="{Binding AvailableEnemyClasses}">
        <MenuItem.ItemContainerStyle>
            <Style TargetType="MenuItem">
                <Setter Property="Header" Value="{Binding}"/>
                <Setter Property="IsChecked">
                    <Setter.Value>
                        <MultiBinding Converter="{StaticResource YourConverter}">
                            <Binding .../>
                            <Binding .../>
                        </MultiBinding>
                    </Setter.Value>
                </Setter>
            </Style>
        </MenuItem.ItemContainerStyle>
    </MenuItem>
</Menu>

Problem

Original source