How do I invert BooleanToVisibilityConverter?

Question

I'm using a BooleanToVisibilityConverter in WPF to bind the Visibility property of a control to a Boolean. This works fine, but I'd like one of the controls to hide if the boolean is true, and show if it's false.

Answer 1

Implement your own implementation of IValueConverter. A sample implementation is at

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.data.ivalueconverter.aspx

In your Convert method, have it return the values you'd like instead of the defaults.

Answer 2

Instead of inverting, you can achieve the same goal by using a generic IValueConverter implementation that can convert a Boolean value to configurable target values for true and false. Below is one such implementation:

public class BooleanConverter<T> : IValueConverter
{
    public BooleanConverter(T trueValue, T falseValue)
    {
        True = trueValue;
        False = falseValue;
    }

    public T True { get; set; }
    public T False { get; set; }

    public virtual object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return value is bool && ((bool) value) ? True : False;
    }

    public virtual object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return value is T && EqualityComparer<T>.Default.Equals((T) value, True);
    }
}

Next, subclass it where T is Visibility:

public sealed class BooleanToVisibilityConverter : BooleanConverter<Visibility>
{
    public BooleanToVisibilityConverter() : 
        base(Visibility.Visible, Visibility.Collapsed) {}
}

Finally, this is how you could use BooleanToVisibilityConverter above in XAML and configure it to, for example, use Collapsed for true and Visible for false:

<Application.Resources>
    <app:BooleanToVisibilityConverter 
        x:Key="BooleanToVisibilityConverter" 
        True="Collapsed" 
        False="Visible" />
</Application.Resources>

This inversion is useful when you want to bind to a Boolean property named IsHidden as opposed IsVisible.

Answer 3

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Data;

public sealed class BooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var flag = false;
        if (value is bool)
        {
            flag = (bool)value;
        }
        else if (value is bool?)
        {
            var nullable = (bool?)value;
            flag = nullable.GetValueOrDefault();
        }
        if (parameter != null)
        {
            if (bool.Parse((string)parameter))
            {
                flag = !flag;
            }
        }
        if (flag)
        {
            return Visibility.Visible;
        }
        else
        {
            return Visibility.Collapsed;
        }
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var back = ((value is Visibility) && (((Visibility)value) == Visibility.Visible));
        if (parameter != null)
        {
            if ((bool)parameter)
            {
                back = !back;
            }
        }
        return back;
    }
}

and then pass a true or false as the ConverterParameter

       <Grid.Visibility>
                <Binding Path="IsYesNoButtonSetVisible" Converter="{StaticResource booleanToVisibilityConverter}" ConverterParameter="true"/>
        </Grid.Visibility>

Answer 4

Write your own is the best solution for now. Here is an example of a Converter that can do both way Normal and Inverted. If you have any problems with this just ask.

[ValueConversion(typeof(bool), typeof(Visibility))]
public class InvertableBooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    enum Parameters
    {
        Normal, Inverted
    }

    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType,
                          object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var boolValue = (bool)value;
        var direction = (Parameters)Enum.Parse(typeof(Parameters), (string)parameter);

        if(direction == Parameters.Inverted)
            return !boolValue? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;

        return boolValue? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType,
        object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return null;
    }
}

<UserControl.Resources>
  <Converters:InvertableBooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="_Converter"/>
</UserControl.Resources>

<Button Visibility="{Binding IsRunning, Converter={StaticResource _Converter}, ConverterParameter=Inverted}">Start</Button>

Answer 5

There's also the WPF Converters project on Codeplex. In their documentation they say you can use their MapConverter to convert from Visibility enumeration to bool

<Label>
    <Label.Visible>
        <Binding Path="IsVisible">
            <Binding.Converter>
                <con:MapConverter>
                    <con:Mapping From="True" To="{x:Static Visibility.Visible}"/>
                    <con:Mapping From="False" To="{x:Static Visibility.Hidden}"/>
                </con:MapConverter>
            </Binding.Converter>
        </Binding>
    </Label.Visible>
</Label>

Answer 6

One more way to Bind ViewModel Boolean Value (IsButtonVisible) with xaml Control Visibility Property. No coding, No converting, just styling.

<Style TargetType={x:Type Button} x:Key="HideShow">
   <Style.Triggers>
      <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsButtonVisible}" Value="False">
          <Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Hidden"/>
      </DataTrigger>
   </Style.Triggers>
</Style>

<Button Style="{StaticResource HideShow}">Hello</Button>

Answer 7

Or the real lazy mans way, just make use of what is there already and flip it:

public class InverseBooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    private BooleanToVisibilityConverter _converter = new BooleanToVisibilityConverter();

    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var result = _converter.Convert(value, targetType, parameter, culture) as Visibility?;
        return result == Visibility.Collapsed ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var result = _converter.ConvertBack(value, targetType, parameter, culture) as bool?;
        return result == true ? false : true;
    }
}

Answer 8

If you don't like writing custom converter, you could use data triggers to solve this:

<Style.Triggers>
        <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding YourBinaryOption}" Value="True">
                 <Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Visible" />
        </DataTrigger>
        <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding YourBinaryOption}" Value="False">
                 <Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Collapsed" />
        </DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>

Answer 9

I just did a post on this. I used a similar idea as Michael Hohlios did. Only, I used Properties instead of using the "object parameter".

Binding Visibility to a bool value in WPF

Using Properties makes it more readable, in my opinion.

<local:BoolToVisibleOrHidden x:Key="BoolToVisConverter" Collapse="True" Reverse="True" />

Answer 10

Here's one I wrote and use a lot. It uses a boolean converter parameter that indicates whether or not to invert the value and then uses XOR to perform the negation:

[ValueConversion(typeof(bool), typeof(System.Windows.Visibility))]
public class BooleanVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    System.Windows.Visibility _visibilityWhenFalse = System.Windows.Visibility.Collapsed;

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets the <see cref="System.Windows.Visibility"/> value to use when the value is false. Defaults to collapsed.
    /// </summary>
    public System.Windows.Visibility VisibilityWhenFalse
    {
        get { return _visibilityWhenFalse; }
        set { _visibilityWhenFalse = value; }
    }

    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        bool negateValue;
        Boolean.TryParse(parameter as string, out negateValue);

        bool val = negateValue ^ System.Convert.ToBoolean(value); //Negate the value when negateValue is true using XOR
        return val ? System.Windows.Visibility.Visible : _visibilityWhenFalse;
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        bool negateValue;
        Boolean.TryParse(parameter as string, out negateValue);

        if ((System.Windows.Visibility)value == System.Windows.Visibility.Visible)
            return true ^ negateValue;
        else
            return false ^ negateValue;
    }
}

Here's an XOR truth table for reference:

        XOR
        x  y  XOR
        ---------
        0  0  0
        0  1  1
        1  0  1
        1  1  0

Answer 11

I was looking for a more general answer, but could not find it. I wrote a converter that might help others.

It is based on the fact that we need to distinguish six different cases:

• True 2 Visible, False 2 Hidden
• True 2 Visible, False 2 Collapsed
• True 2 Hidden, False 2 Visible
• True 2 Collapsed, False 2 Visible
• True 2 Hidden, False 2 Collapsed
• True 2 Collapsed, False 2 Hidden

Here is my implementation for the first 4 cases:

[ValueConversion(typeof(bool), typeof(Visibility))]
public class BooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    enum Types
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// True to Visible, False to Collapsed
        /// </summary>
        t2v_f2c,
        /// <summary>
        /// True to Visible, False to Hidden
        /// </summary>
        t2v_f2h,
        /// <summary>
        /// True to Collapsed, False to Visible
        /// </summary>
        t2c_f2v,
        /// <summary>
        /// True to Hidden, False to Visible
        /// </summary>
        t2h_f2v,
    }
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType,
                          object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var b = (bool)value;
        string p = (string)parameter;
        var type = (Types)Enum.Parse(typeof(Types), (string)parameter);
        switch (type)
        {
            case Types.t2v_f2c:
                return b ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed; 
            case Types.t2v_f2h:
                return b ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Hidden; 
            case Types.t2c_f2v:
                return b ? Visibility.Collapsed : Visibility.Visible; 
            case Types.t2h_f2v:
                return b ? Visibility.Hidden : Visibility.Visible; 
        }
        throw new NotImplementedException();
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType,
        object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        var v = (Visibility)value;
        string p = (string)parameter;
        var type = (Types)Enum.Parse(typeof(Types), (string)parameter);
        switch (type)
        {
            case Types.t2v_f2c:
                if (v == Visibility.Visible)
                    return true;
                else if (v == Visibility.Collapsed)
                    return false;
                break;
            case Types.t2v_f2h:
                if (v == Visibility.Visible)
                    return true;
                else if (v == Visibility.Hidden)
                    return false;
                break;
            case Types.t2c_f2v:
                if (v == Visibility.Visible)
                    return false;
                else if (v == Visibility.Collapsed)
                    return true;
                break;
            case Types.t2h_f2v:
                if (v == Visibility.Visible)
                    return false;
                else if (v == Visibility.Hidden)
                    return true;
                break;
        }
        throw new InvalidOperationException();
    }
}

example:

Visibility="{Binding HasItems, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}, ConverterParameter='t2v_f2c'}"

I think the parameters are easy to remember.

Hope it helps somebody.

Answer 12

Write your own convert.

public class ReverseBooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
   {
       // your converter code here
   }
}

Answer 13

You can use QuickConverter.

With QuickConverter you can write the converter logic inline with your BindingExpression

Here is an inverted BooleanToVisibility converter:

Visibility="{qc:Binding '!$P ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed', P={Binding Example}}"

You can add QuickConverter via NuGet. Have a look at the documentation for setup. Link: https://quickconverter.codeplex.com/

Answer 14

A simple one way version which can be used like this:

Visibility="{Binding IsHidden, Converter={x:Static Ui:Converters.BooleanToVisibility}, ConverterParameter=true}

can be implemented like this:

public class BooleanToVisibilityConverter : IValueConverter
{
  public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
  {
    var invert = false;

    if (parameter != null)
    {
      invert = Boolean.Parse(parameter.ToString());
    }

    var booleanValue = (bool) value;

    return ((booleanValue && !invert) || (!booleanValue && invert)) 
      ? Visibility.Visible : Visibility.Collapsed;
  }

  public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
  {
    throw new NotImplementedException();
  }
}

Answer 15

Convert everything to everything (bool,string,enum,etc):

public class EverythingConverterValue
{
    public object ConditionValue { get; set; }
    public object ResultValue { get; set; }
}

public class EverythingConverterList : List<EverythingConverterValue>
{

}

public class EverythingConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public EverythingConverterList Conditions { get; set; } = new EverythingConverterList();

    public object NullResultValue { get; set; }
    public object NullBackValue { get; set; }

    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType,
        object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return Conditions.Where(x => x.ConditionValue.Equals(value)).Select(x => x.ResultValue).FirstOrDefault() ?? NullResultValue;
    }
    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType,
        object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        return Conditions.Where(x => x.ResultValue.Equals(value)).Select(x => x.ConditionValue).FirstOrDefault() ?? NullBackValue;
    }
}

XAML Examples:

<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
                xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
                xmlns:conv="clr-namespace:MvvmGo.Converters;assembly=MvvmGo.WindowsWPF"
                xmlns:sys="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib">

<conv:EverythingConverter x:Key="BooleanToVisibilityConverter">
    <conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="{x:Static Visibility.Visible}">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>True</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="{x:Static Visibility.Collapsed}">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>False</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
    </conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>

</conv:EverythingConverter>

<conv:EverythingConverter x:Key="InvertBooleanToVisibilityConverter">
    <conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="{x:Static Visibility.Visible}">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>False</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="{x:Static Visibility.Collapsed}">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>True</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
    </conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>
</conv:EverythingConverter>

<conv:EverythingConverter x:Key="MarriedConverter" NullResultValue="Single">
    <conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="Married">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>True</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
        <conv:EverythingConverterValue ResultValue="Single">
            <conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
                <sys:Boolean>False</sys:Boolean>
            </conv:EverythingConverterValue.ConditionValue>
        </conv:EverythingConverterValue>
    </conv:EverythingConverter.Conditions>
    <conv:EverythingConverter.NullBackValue>
        <sys:Boolean>False</sys:Boolean>
    </conv:EverythingConverter.NullBackValue>
</conv:EverythingConverter>

Answer 16

I know this is dated, but, you don't need to re-implement anything.

What I did was to negate the value on the property like this:

<!-- XAML code -->
<StackPanel Name="x"  Visibility="{Binding    Path=Specials, ElementName=MyWindow, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}}"></StackPanel>    
<StackPanel Name="y"  Visibility="{Binding Path=NotSpecials, ElementName=MyWindow, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}}"></StackPanel>        

....

//Code behind
public bool Specials
{
    get { return (bool) GetValue(SpecialsProperty); }
    set
    {
        NotSpecials= !value; 
        SetValue(SpecialsProperty, value);
    }
}

public bool NotSpecials
{
    get { return (bool) GetValue(NotSpecialsProperty); }
    set { SetValue(NotSpecialsProperty, value); }
}

And it works just fine!

Am I missing something?