Using PowerShell Data Binding to create a dynamic ListBox

I use a combination om hashtable and ObservableCollections for my WPF-gui's.

First a hashtable to collect all data and bindings. It is Synchronized so that the hashtable can be used in multipel runspaces. This is sometimes needed if you want a GUI that doesn't freeze.

$syncHash = [hashtable]::Synchronized( @{} )

Then a collection for each purpose

$syncHash.DataContext = New-Object System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection[Object]

In this collection I put values corresponding to what I will be bindning to. I like to keep the index and the purpose as a comment at the end so I can come back to it later. The index is needed later.

$syncHash.DataContext.Add( ( New-Object System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection[Object] ) ) # 1 All files

Now its time to created the binding-objects. "Window" is the name of the variable for the WPF-window object.

$Bindings = New-Object System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection[Object]
0..( $syncHash.DataContext.Count - 1 ) | foreach { [void]$Bindings.Add( ( New-Object System.Windows.Data.Binding -ArgumentList "[$_]" ) ) }
$Bindings | foreach { $_.Mode = [System.Windows.Data.BindingMode]::TwoWay }
$syncHash.Window.DataContext = $syncHash.DataContext

Now we make the bindings to the controls and their properties. Here we need to use the same index as before, The name of the control, the type of the control and the propertyname

[void][System.Windows.Data.BindingOperations]::SetBinding( $syncHash.lvAllFiles [System.Windows.Controls.ListView]::ItemsSourceProperty, $Bindings[1] )

To work with the bindning, call the collectionname and the index then set the desired value. Like one of the following:

$syncHash.DataContext[1] = $List
$syncHash.DataContext[1] += "Text"
$syncHash.DataContext[1].Add( "Text" )

How you use it, depends on what kind of value you bind to (the poperty of the control) and/or what is in the DataContext-collection at that index.

You can also make separate DataContext-collection, or different binding-collections, for each control if you want to make many bindings for many properties. This will make the administration easier, but then keep in mind The names for the bindings and/or what collection you make your bindings to.