WPF MVVM Binding Example

Architecting enterprise applications often relies on the Model-View-ViewModel pattern. SciChart is engineered with a highly MVVM-friendly API.

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This WPF MVVM binding example demonstrates how to implement MVVM binding WPF logic to control chart elements directly from your ViewModels without writing code-behind. You’ll learn how to bind axes, dynamic annotations, and chart series cleanly by using the AxisBinding Markup Extension, which forms part of the MVVM API in SciChart

By binding SciChartSurface.YAxes or XAxes to a collection of AxisBaseViewModel derived Types via the AxesBinding Markup Extension, you can have full control over the series type, style, properties and data displayed on the chart from your ViewModel.

The sample covers WPF visibility binding MVVM techniques, allowing you to toggle the visibility of specific data traces or markers based on user interactions.

Explore the provided code samples to understand the implementation of our SeriesBinding features. The comprehensive documentation further details how to manipulate datasets in the ViewModel to ensure automatic, high-performance UI updates backed by the Visual Xccelerator™ engine.

Documentation Links

MVVM Axis API

About SciChart.WPF

SciChart WPF ships with hundreds of WPF Chart Examples which you can browse, play with, view the source-code and even export each WPF Chart Example to a stand-alone Visual Studio solution. All of this is possible with the new and improved SciChart WPF Examples Suite, which ships as part of the SciChart WPF SDK.

The C#/WPF source code for the WPF Axis Binding and Annotations Binding example is included below (Scroll down!).

Did you know you can also view the source code from one of the following sources as well?

Clone the SciChart.WPF.Examples from GitHub.
Or, view source in the SciChart WPF Examples suite.
Also the SciChart WPF Trial contains the full source for the examples (link below).

DOWNLOAD THE WPF CHART EXAMPLES

SciChartMvvmBindingsView.xaml

View source code

<UserControl x:Class="SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding.SciChartMvvmBindingsView"
             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:s="http://schemas.abtsoftware.co.uk/scichart"
             xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding"
             mc:Ignorable="d" 
             d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">

    <Grid>

        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
            <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <Grid.Resources>
            <Style x:Key="DateTimeAxisStyle" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type s:DateTimeAxisForMvvm}}" TargetType="s:DateTimeAxisForMvvm">
                <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="3"/>
                <Setter Property="Background" Value="DarkBlue"/>
                <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="CadetBlue"/>
            </Style>
        </Grid.Resources>

        <!--  The SciChartInteractionToolbar adds zoom, pan, zoom extents and rotate functionality  -->
        <!--  to the chart and is included for example purposes.  -->
        <!--  If you wish to know how to zoom and pan a chart then do a search for Zoom Pan in the Examples suite!  -->
        <!--<ext:SciChartInteractionToolbar TargetSurface="{Binding Source={x:Reference Name=sciChart}}"/>-->

        <s:SciChartSurface x:Name="sciChart"
                           Grid.Column="1"
                           ClipModifierSurface="True"
                           Padding="0"
                           Annotations="{s:AnnotationsBinding AnnotationViewModels}"
                           RenderableSeries="{s:SeriesBinding RenderableSeries}"
                           XAxes="{s:AxesBinding XAxes}"
                           YAxes="{s:AxesBinding YAxes}">
            <s:SciChartSurface.Resources>
                <ControlTemplate x:Key="CustomBoxTemplate">
                    <Border x:Name="PART_BoxAnnotationRoot" Background="Transparent" BorderThickness="0">
                        <Ellipse  Fill="{TemplateBinding Background}" Stretch="Fill"/>
                    </Border>
                </ControlTemplate>
                <Style x:Key="CustomBoxAnnotationStyle" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type s:BoxAnnotationForMvvm}}" TargetType="s:BoxAnnotationForMvvm">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Gold" />
                    <Setter Property="Template" Value="{StaticResource CustomBoxTemplate}"/>
                </Style>
            </s:SciChartSurface.Resources>
        </s:SciChartSurface>

    </Grid>

</UserControl>

SciChartMvvmBindingsView.xaml.cs

View source code

using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for SciChartMvvmBindings.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class SciChartMvvmBindingsView : UserControl
    {
        public SciChartMvvmBindingsView()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }
    }
}

SciChartMvvmBindingsViewModel.cs

View source code

using System;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Media;
using SciChart.Charting.Model.ChartSeries;
using SciChart.Charting.Model.DataSeries;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.Annotations;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.Axes;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.PointMarkers;
using SciChart.Data.Model;
using SciChart.Examples.ExternalDependencies.Common;

namespace SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding
{
    public class SciChartMvvmBindingsViewModel : BaseViewModel
    {
        public SciChartMvvmBindingsViewModel()
        {
            AnnotationViewModels = new ObservableCollection<IAnnotationViewModel>();
            InitializeAnnotations();

            RenderableSeries = new ObservableCollection<IRenderableSeriesViewModel>();
            InitializeRenderableSeries();

            XAxes = new ObservableCollection<IAxisViewModel>();
            YAxes = new ObservableCollection<IAxisViewModel>();

            InitializeAxes();
        }

        private void InitializeAnnotations()
        {
            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new TextAnnotationViewModel
            {
                Text = "Annotations are Easy!",
                FontSize = 24,
                X1 = 0.3,
                Y1 = 9.7
            });

            // Text with anchor points
            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new TextAnnotationViewModel
            {
                HorizontalAnchorPoint = HorizontalAnchorPoint.Center,
                Text = "Anchor Center (X1, Y1)",
                VerticalAnchorPoint = VerticalAnchorPoint.Bottom,
                X1 = 5.0,
                Y1 = 8
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new TextAnnotationViewModel
            {
                HorizontalAnchorPoint = HorizontalAnchorPoint.Right,
                Text = "Anchor Right",
                VerticalAnchorPoint = VerticalAnchorPoint.Top,
                X1 = 5.0,
                Y1 = 8.0
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new TextAnnotationViewModel
            {
                HorizontalAnchorPoint = HorizontalAnchorPoint.Left,
                VerticalAnchorPoint = VerticalAnchorPoint.Top,
                Text = "or Anchor Left",
                X1 = 5.0,
                Y1 = 8.0
            });

            // Watermark
            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new TextAnnotationViewModel
            {
                AnnotationCanvas = AnnotationCanvas.BelowChart,
                CoordinateMode = AnnotationCoordinateMode.Relative,
                HorizontalAnchorPoint = HorizontalAnchorPoint.Center,
                Text = "Create a Watermark",
                VerticalAnchorPoint = VerticalAnchorPoint.Center,
                X1 = 0.5,
                Y1 = 0.5,
                FontSize = 56,
                FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold,
                Foreground = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(101, 247, 161, 161))
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new LineAnnotationViewModel
            {
                Stroke = Colors.Chartreuse,
                StrokeThickness = 2,
                Tooltip = "Hi, I am tooltip!",
                X1 = 1,
                X2 = 2,
                Y1 = 4,
                Y2 = 6
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new HorizontalLineAnnotationViewModel
            {
                HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Right,
                FontSize = 12,
                FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold,
                LabelPlacement = LabelPlacement.TopLeft,
                LabelValue = "Right Aligned, with text on left",
                ShowLabel = true,
                Stroke = Colors.Orange,
                StrokeThickness = 2,
                X1 = 5,
                X2 = 6,
                Y1 = 3.2,
                IsEditable = true
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new LineArrowAnnotationViewModel
            {
                Stroke = Colors.Cyan,
                StrokeThickness = 2,
                X1 = 1.2,
                X2 = 2.5,
                Y1 = 3.8,
                Y2 = 6,
                HeadWidth = 8,
                HeadLength = 4
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new VerticalLineAnnotationViewModel
            {
                VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Stretch,
                FontSize = 12,
                FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold,
                ShowLabel = true,
                Stroke = Colors.Brown,
                LabelValue = "Vertical Line, hello everybody",
                LabelPlacement = LabelPlacement.Bottom,
                StrokeThickness = 2,
                X1 = 9,
                Y1 = 4,
                IsEditable = true
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new BoxAnnotationViewModel
            {
                Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.LawnGreen),
                BorderBrush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.DarkGreen),
                BorderThickness = new Thickness(5),
                CornerRadius = new CornerRadius(3),
                X1 = 5.5,
                X2 = 7,
                Y1 = -2,
                Y2 = -5,
                IsEditable = true
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new AxisMarkerAnnotationViewModel
            {
                X1 = 4,
                Y1 = 3,
                Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red),
                IsEditable = true
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new ArrowAnnotationViewModel
            {
                X1 = 6.96,
                Y1 = 5.05,
                IsEditable = true
            });

            AnnotationViewModels.Add(new BoxAnnotationViewModel
            {
                X1 = 2,
                X2 = 5,
                Y1 = -2,
                Y2 = -4,
                IsEditable = true,
                StyleKey = "CustomBoxAnnotationStyle"
            });
        }

        private void InitializeRenderableSeries()
        {
            var renderableSeries = new LineRenderableSeriesViewModel
            {
                Stroke = Colors.Blue,
                StrokeThickness = 2,
                PointMarker = new EllipsePointMarker()
            };

            var dataSeries = new UniformXyDataSeries<double>();

            renderableSeries.DataSeries = dataSeries;

            for (int i = 0; i < 11; ++i)
            {
                dataSeries.Append(i - 3);
            }

            RenderableSeries.Add(renderableSeries);
        }

        private void InitializeAxes()
        {
            var xNumAxis = new NumericAxisViewModel
            {
                AxisAlignment = AxisAlignment.Bottom,
                AxisTitle = "XAxis",
                DrawMajorBands = false,
                TextFormatting = "0.00#",
                VisibleRange = new DoubleRange(0, 10),
                BorderThickness = new Thickness(3),
                BorderBrush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.CadetBlue)
            };

            XAxes.Add(xNumAxis);

            var xDateTimeAxis = new DateTimeAxisViewModel
            {
                AxisAlignment = AxisAlignment.Top,
                Id = "DateTimeAxis",
                VisibleRange = new DateRange(new DateTime(2017, 1, 1), new DateTime(2017, 1, 31)),
                StyleKey = "DateTimeAxisStyle"
            };

            XAxes.Add(xDateTimeAxis);

            var yNumAxis = new NumericAxisViewModel
            {
                AxisTitle = "YAxis",
                DrawMajorBands = false,
                TextFormatting = "0.0#",
                VisibleRange = new DoubleRange(-10, 10)
            };

            YAxes.Add(yNumAxis);

            var yTimeSpanAxis = new TimeSpanAxisViewModel
            {
                Id = "TimeSpanAxis",
                DrawMajorBands = false,
                VisibleRange = new TimeSpanRange(TimeSpan.FromHours(1), TimeSpan.FromHours(24)),
                AxisAlignment = AxisAlignment.Left
            };

            YAxes.Add(yTimeSpanAxis);
        }

        public ObservableCollection<IAnnotationViewModel> AnnotationViewModels { get; set; }
        public ObservableCollection<IRenderableSeriesViewModel> RenderableSeries { get; set; }

        public ObservableCollection<IAxisViewModel> XAxes { get; set; }
        public ObservableCollection<IAxisViewModel> YAxes { get; set; }
    }
}

ArrowAnnotationView.xaml

View source code

<s:CustomAnnotationForMvvm x:Class="SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding.ArrowAnnotation"
             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:s="http://schemas.abtsoftware.co.uk/scichart"
             mc:Ignorable="d"  Margin="0,15,0,0"

             >
    <Path Data="m 3.5 0.5 4 0 0 8 3 0 -5 5 -5 -5 3 0 z"
                          Fill="#57B22020"
                          Stroke="#FF990000"
                          StrokeThickness="1" />

</s:CustomAnnotationForMvvm>

ArrowAnnotationView.xaml.cs

View source code

using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.Annotations;

namespace SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for ArrowAnnotation.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class ArrowAnnotation : CustomAnnotationForMvvm
    {
        public ArrowAnnotation()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }
    }
}

ArrowAnnotationViewModel.cs

View source code

using System;
using SciChart.Charting.Model.ChartSeries;


namespace SciChart.Examples.Examples.UseSciChartWithMvvm.SciChartMVVMBinding
{
    public class ArrowAnnotationViewModel : BaseAnnotationViewModel
    {
        public override Type ViewType
        {
            get { return typeof(ArrowAnnotation); }
        }
    }
}

Back to WPF Chart Examples Examples

WPF MVVM Binding for Axes & Annotations