How do I create collections of sample data in Blend?
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28-09-2019 - |
Question
Let's say I have a class Person:
public class Person
{
public string Name {get; set;}
public int Age {get; set;}
}
I would like to create some sample data in Blend to help me design my user interface visually. I choose to create sample data based on a class in Blend, but what I get is a sample Person - singular. I want to create a collection of Person to bnd to a list box. How do I tell it to do this? I can't find anywhere where it asks. Do I have to create a class that is a collection of Person. Surely there has to be a way to do this?
Thanks in advance.
Solution
I found a way to do this, though not ideal.
The creation of sample data based on a class is a one-time thing. Here's what I did to get my list of Person objects in sample data:
public class Person
{
public string Name {get; set;}
public int Age {get; set;}
}
public class PersonCollection : List<Person> {}
I created the PersonCollection class, which is simply a collection of Person objects. I then created my sample data based on the PersonCollection class - giving me the sample data I was after. I then removed the PersonCollection, leaving the sample data in place.
I'd call this a workaround rather than a solution. If anyone can offer a true solution - a way to do this in Blend without having to create summy classes, I'll be more than happy to mark that as the solution.
OTHER TIPS
You can use data pane->Add sample datasource->Define New Sample Data
to do this.