Click here to Skip to main content
15,860,972 members
Articles / Desktop Programming / WPF
Article

WPF Diagram Designer - Part 3

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.96/5 (245 votes)
29 Feb 2008CPOL4 min read 660.1K   22.8K   570   153
Connecting items
WPF FlowChart Designer
  • Part 1 - Features: Drag, resize and rotate items on a canvas
  • Part 2 - Features: Toolbox, drag & drop, rubberband selection

Introduction

There exist different techniques to connect items in a typical diagram designer. One approach is to provide connection elements in a toolbox which the user can drop on the designer canvas and then drag the endpoints to the source and sink items. Another approach is that the items themselves provide connection points from which the user can drag a connection to other items. This second strategy is the one I will explain in this article.

Use Case: How to Connect Items

I'm sure you know how to connect items in a designer application, but still I will illustrate this in some detail to make it easier to identify which class is involved in which activity.

If you move your mouse over a designer item four visual elements of type Connector will appear at each side of the item. This default layout is defined in the ConnectorDecoratorTemplate and is part of the default DesignerItem template. Now move your mouse over one of the connectors and the cursor changes to a cross. WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items
If you now click the left mouse button and start dragging, the connector will create an adorner of type ConnectorAdorner. This adorner is responsible for drawing the path between the source connector and the current mouse position. While dragging, the adorner continuously does hit-testing against the DesignerCanvas to check if the mouse is over a potential sink connector. WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items
If you release the mouse button over a Connector element the ConnectorAdorner creates a new Connection instance and adds it to the designer canvas' children. If the mouse button is released elsewhere no Connection instance is created. WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items
Like the DesignerItem the Connection implements the ISelectable interface. If a Connection instance is selected you will see two rectangles at each end of the connection path. They belong to an adorner of type ConnectionAdorner which automatically shows up when a Connection instance gets selected.
Note: A ConnectorAdorner belongs to a Connector and a ConnectionAdorner belongs to a Connection.
WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items
Each of the two rectangles represents a Thumb control and they are part of a ConnectionAdorner instance which allows you to modify existing connections. WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items
E.g. If you drag the sink thumb of the connection to another connector and release it there, you can re-connect the existing connection.
Note: The ConnectorAdorner and the ConnectionAdorner are similar in what they do, but they differ in how they make use of an Adorner class.
WPF Diagram Designer: Connecting items

How is a Connection Glued to an Item?

The default layout of the connectors is defined in the ConnectorDecoratorTemplate, which is part of the DesignerItem's template:

XML
<ControlTemplate x:Key="ConnectorDecoratorTemplate" TargetType="{x:Type Control}">
  <Grid Margin="-5">
    <s:Connector Orientation="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center"
           HorizontalAlignment="Left"/>
    <s:Connector Orientation="Top" VerticalAlignment="Top"
           HorizontalAlignment="Center"/>
    <s:Connector Orientation="Right" VerticalAlignment="Center"
           HorizontalAlignment="Right"/>
    <s:Connector Orientation="Bottom" VerticalAlignment="Bottom"
           HorizontalAlignment="Center"/>
  </Grid>
</ControlTemplate>

A Connector class has a Position property which specifies the relative position of the connector's centre point to the designer canvas. Because the Connector class implements the INotifyPropertyChanged interface it can notify clients that a property value has changed. Now when a designer item changes its position or its size the connector's LayoutUpdated event is automatically fired as part of the WPF layout procedure. And this is when the Position property gets updated and itself fires an event to notify clients.

C#
public class Connector : Control, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
    private Point position;
    public Point Position
    {
        get { return position; }
        set
        {
            if (position != value)
            {
                position = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Position");
            }
        }
    }

      public Connector()
      {
          // fired when layout changes
          base.LayoutUpdated += new EventHandler(Connector_LayoutUpdated);
      }

      void Connector_LayoutUpdated(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
          DesignerCanvas designer = GetDesignerCanvas(this);
          if (designer != null)
          {
              //get center position of this Connector relative to the DesignerCanvas
              this.Position = this.TransformToAncestor(designer).Transform
                   (new Point(this.Width / 2, this.Height / 2));
          }
      }

   ...

}

Now we switch over to the Connection class. The Connection class has a Source and a Sink property, both of type Connector. When the source or sink connector is set we immediately register an event handler that listens to the PropertyChanged event of the connector.

C#
public class Connection : Control, ISelectable, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
     private Connector source;
     public Connector Source
     {
         get
         {
             return source;
         }
         set
         {
             if (source != value)
             {
                 if (source != null)
                 {
                     source.PropertyChanged -=
                         new PropertyChangedEventHandler(OnConnectorPositionChanged);
                     source.Connections.Remove(this);
                 }

                 source = value;

                 if (source != null)
                 {
                     source.Connections.Add(this);
                     source.PropertyChanged +=
                         new PropertyChangedEventHandler(OnConnectorPositionChanged);
                 }

                 UpdatePathGeometry();
             }
         }
     }

    void OnConnectorPositionChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (e.PropertyName.Equals("Position"))
        {
            UpdatePathGeometry();
        }
    }

   ....

}

This snippet shows only the source connector, but the sink connector works analogous. The event handler finally updates the connection path geometry, that's it.

Customize Connectors Layout

The default layout and the number of connectors may not always fit your needs. Take the following example of a triangle shaped Path with a customized DragThumbTemplate (see the previous article on how to customize the DragThumbTemplate).

XML
<Path IsHitTestVisible="False"
      Fill="Orange"
      Stretch="Fill"
      Data="M 0,10 5,0 10,10 Z">
  <s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
     <ControlTemplate>
        <Path Fill="Transparent" Stretch="Fill"
                  Data="M 0,10 5,0 10,10 Z"/>
     </ControlTemplate>
  </s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
</Path>

WPF Diagram Designer: Custom connectors

The problem here is that the connectors are only visible when the mouse is over the item. If you try to reach the connector on the left or right side you may have some problems. But the solution comes in the form of an attached property named DesignerItem.ConnectorDecoratorTemplate that lets you define custom templates for the connector decorator. The usage is best explained with an example:

XML
<Path IsHitTestVisible="False"
      Fill="Orange"
      Stretch="Fill"
      Data="M 0,10 5,0 10,10 Z">
  <!-- Custom DragThumb Template -->
  <s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
     <ControlTemplate>
        <Path Fill="Transparent" Stretch="Fill"
              Data="M 0,10 5,0 10,10 Z"/>
     </ControlTemplate>
  <s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
  <!-- Custom ConnectorDecorator Template -->
  <s:DesignerItem.ConnectorDecoratorTemplate>
      <ControlTemplate>
         <Grid Margin="0">
            <s:Connector Orientation="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Center"
                   VerticalAlignment="Top" />
            <s:Connector Orientation="Bottom"  HorizontalAlignment="Center"
                   VerticalAlignment="Bottom" />
            <UniformGrid Columns="2">
               <s:Connector Grid.Column="0" Orientation="Left" />
               <s:Connector Grid.Column="1" Orientation="Right"/>
            </UniformGrid>
         </Grid>
      </ControlTemplate>
   </s:DesignerItem.ConnectorDecoratorTemplate>
</Path>

WPF Diagram Designer: Custom connectors

This solution provides a better result but it still needs some tricky layout, which may not always be feasible. For this I provide a RelativePositionPanel that allows you to position items relative to the bounds of the panel. The following example positions three buttons on a RelativePositionPanel by setting the RelativePosition property, which is an attached property.

XML
<c:RelativePositionPanel>
   <Button Content="TopLeft" c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0,0"/>
   <Button Content="Center" c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0.5,0.5"/>
   <Button Content="BottomRight" c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="1,1"/>
</ControlTemplate>

This panel can be quite handy when it comes to arrange connectors:

XML
<Path IsHitTestVisible="False"
      Fill="Orange"
      Stretch="Fill"
      Data="M 9,2 11,7 17,7 12,10 14,15 9,12 4,15 6,10 1,7 7,7 Z">
  <!-- Custom DragThumb Template -->
  <s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
     <ControlTemplate>
        <Path Fill="Transparent" Stretch="Fill"
              Data="M 9,2 11,7 17,7 12,10 14,15 9,12 4,15 6,10 1,7 7,7 Z"/>
     </ControlTemplate>
  </s:DesignerItem.DragThumbTemplate>
  <!-- Custom ConnectorDecorator Template -->
  <s:DesignerItem.ConnectorDecoratorTemplate>
      <ControlTemplate>
         <c:RelativePositionPanel Margin="-4">
            <s:Connector Orientation="Top"
               c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0.5,0"/>
            <s:Connector Orientation="Left"
               c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0,0.385"/>
            <s:Connector Orientation="Right"
               c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="1,0.385"/>
            <s:Connector Orientation="Bottom"
               c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0.185,1"/>
            <s:Connector Orientation="Bottom"
               c:RelativePositionPanel.RelativePosition="0.815,1"/>
         </c:RelativePositionPanel>
      </ControlTemplate>
   </s:DesignerItem.ConnectorDecoratorTemplate>
</Path>

WPF Diagram Designer: Custom connectors

Outlook

In the next article I will concentrate on commands:

  • Cut, copy, paste
  • Grouping of items
  • Align items
  • Z-ordering (bring to front, send to back,...)

History

  • 24 February, 2008 -- Original version submitted

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Austria Austria
This member has not yet provided a Biography. Assume it's interesting and varied, and probably something to do with programming.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionHow to connect itself? Pin
sss ccc 202311-Jan-23 22:59
sss ccc 202311-Jan-23 22:59 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Erika.Franco16-Mar-22 2:00
Erika.Franco16-Mar-22 2:00 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Erika.Franco16-Mar-22 1:59
Erika.Franco16-Mar-22 1:59 
PraisePlease take my knee!!!! Pin
li shun28-May-21 1:59
li shun28-May-21 1:59 
QuestionDiagram Designer Part 4 Auto Connection as we drop Image Pin
Member 108429801-Mar-20 19:02
Member 108429801-Mar-20 19:02 
QuestionCreate a Connector in C# Code Pin
Member 136370719-Jul-18 7:05
Member 136370719-Jul-18 7:05 
Questionsutomatic connection of two shape Pin
Member 138578735-Jul-18 23:36
Member 138578735-Jul-18 23:36 
QuestionAdd connection without using Adorner Pin
radhwabe15-Jun-16 9:41
radhwabe15-Jun-16 9:41 
QuestionConnection Shapes Automatically(wpf c#) Pin
Member 1204014113-May-16 1:08
Member 1204014113-May-16 1:08 
QuestionAdd Connector runtime Pin
Member 125088149-May-16 16:44
Member 125088149-May-16 16:44 
QuestionChange color of a designer item in the canvas at runtime Pin
albert franz26-Nov-15 9:16
albert franz26-Nov-15 9:16 
Questionhow can i change the connecting line color at runtime ? Pin
Member 115749267-Jul-15 21:47
Member 115749267-Jul-15 21:47 
QuestionRemove connection shadow Pin
Saffa Shujah7-Mar-15 1:44
Saffa Shujah7-Mar-15 1:44 
AnswerRe: Remove connection shadow Pin
Member 115326478-Apr-15 4:19
Member 115326478-Apr-15 4:19 
QuestionOne doubt Pin
Ravishankar chinnur14-Dec-14 23:20
Ravishankar chinnur14-Dec-14 23:20 
QuestionCreating connections behind in the background Pin
Decarlos12-Dec-14 1:28
Decarlos12-Dec-14 1:28 
QuestionHow can i enable connector for 1 Stencil and disable it for 2nd? Pin
Saffa Shujah6-Oct-14 6:09
Saffa Shujah6-Oct-14 6:09 
Questionconnector creation Pin
Member 109164965-Jul-14 4:15
Member 109164965-Jul-14 4:15 
SuggestionUsing wpf diagram designer as class library Pin
Member 1087019319-Jun-14 0:55
Member 1087019319-Jun-14 0:55 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
Member 1087019318-Jun-14 1:19
Member 1087019318-Jun-14 1:19 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
Member 1087019313-Jun-14 0:54
Member 1087019313-Jun-14 0:54 
QuestionConnectors Pin
Member 1057315617-Feb-14 17:41
Member 1057315617-Feb-14 17:41 
AnswerRe: Connectors Pin
Member 1087019319-Jun-14 1:00
Member 1087019319-Jun-14 1:00 
QuestionCustom DesignerItem Pin
Citroonek5-Jan-14 6:55
Citroonek5-Jan-14 6:55 
AnswerRe: Custom DesignerItem Pin
Member 1092000521-Jul-14 3:52
Member 1092000521-Jul-14 3:52 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.