Browse Solidworks Document UI

8 minute read

Objective

I want to:

Create Browse Solidworks Document User Interface
We will continue from previous article 🚀 Add Syncfusion Busy Indicator.
extend article by adding new controls to previous code.

Demo Video

Below 🎬 video shows how to Browse Solidworks Document UI in Visual Studio 2022.

Update XAML File for UI

Add WindowStartupLocation property to <syncfusion:ChromelessWindow> tag.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

<syncfusion:ChromelessWindow x:Class="BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:prism="http://prismlibrary.com/"
        prism:ViewModelLocator.AutoWireViewModel="True"
        xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"
        Title="{Binding Title}" Height="350" Width="525" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen" >

Now we add <Grid> tag inside <syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator> tag.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

<syncfusion:ChromelessWindow x:Class="BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:prism="http://prismlibrary.com/"
        prism:ViewModelLocator.AutoWireViewModel="True"
        xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"
        Title="{Binding Title}" Height="350" Width="525" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
    <syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator IsBusy="{Binding IsBusy, Mode=TwoWay}" AnimationType="Gear">
        <Grid>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="50" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="50" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

        </Grid>
    </syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator>
</syncfusion:ChromelessWindow>

Add Browse File file button.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

<syncfusion:ChromelessWindow x:Class="BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:prism="http://prismlibrary.com/"
        prism:ViewModelLocator.AutoWireViewModel="True"
        xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"
        Title="{Binding Title}" Height="350" Width="525" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
    <syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator IsBusy="{Binding IsBusy, Mode=TwoWay}" AnimationType="Gear">
        <Grid>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="50" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="50" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <syncfusion:ButtonAdv Grid.Column="1"
                    Grid.Row="1"
                    Height="30" Width="200" Command="{Binding BrowseFileCommand}"
                    Label="Browse File" IconHeight="0" IconWidth="0" />

        </Grid>
    </syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator>
</syncfusion:ChromelessWindow>

In above code, we add BrowseFileCommand command.

Now, we add <TextBox>, which shows browsed file path.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

<syncfusion:ChromelessWindow x:Class="BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:prism="http://prismlibrary.com/"
        prism:ViewModelLocator.AutoWireViewModel="True"
        xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"
        Title="{Binding Title}" Height="350" Width="525" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
    <syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator IsBusy="{Binding IsBusy, Mode=TwoWay}" AnimationType="Gear">
        <Grid>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="50" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="50" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <syncfusion:ButtonAdv Grid.Column="1"
                    Grid.Row="1"
                    Height="30" Width="200" Command="{Binding BrowseFileCommand}"
                    Label="Browse File" IconHeight="0" IconWidth="0" />

            <TextBox Grid.Row="1"
                     Grid.Column="3"
                     Height="30" Width="200"
                     IsEnabled="False"
                     Text="{Binding FilePath, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
                     VerticalContentAlignment="Center"
                       />

        </Grid>
    </syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator>
</syncfusion:ChromelessWindow>

In above code, we add Text property and bind with FilePath property in view model.

Now, we add Open File button, which open browsed file path.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

<syncfusion:ChromelessWindow x:Class="BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:prism="http://prismlibrary.com/"
        prism:ViewModelLocator.AutoWireViewModel="True"
        xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"
        Title="{Binding Title}" Height="350" Width="525" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
    <syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator IsBusy="{Binding IsBusy, Mode=TwoWay}" AnimationType="Gear">
        <Grid>
            <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="50" />
                <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
                <RowDefinition Height="25" />
            </Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="50" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
                <ColumnDefinition Width="25" />
            </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <syncfusion:ButtonAdv Grid.Column="1"
                    Grid.Row="1"
                    Height="30" Width="200" Command="{Binding BrowseFileCommand}"
                    Label="Browse File" IconHeight="0" IconWidth="0" />

            <TextBox Grid.Row="1"
                     Grid.Column="3"
                     Height="30" Width="200"
                     IsEnabled="False"
                     Text="{Binding FilePath, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
                     VerticalContentAlignment="Center"
                       />

            <syncfusion:ButtonAdv Grid.Column="1"
                    Grid.Row="3" Grid.ColumnSpan="3"
                    Height="30" Width="200" 
                    Label="Open File" IconHeight="0" IconWidth="0" Command="{Binding ClickCommand}" />

        </Grid>
    </syncfusion:SfBusyIndicator>
</syncfusion:ChromelessWindow>

In above code, we add ClickCommand command.

Open MainWindowViewModel class.
Add FilePath property.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

private string _FilePath;
public string FilePath
{
    get { return _FilePath; }
    set { SetProperty(ref _FilePath, value); }
}

Add Service for Browsing File Dialog

In our project, we add new folder.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Now we add BrowseFileDialogService class to “Service” folder.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Now, we inherit this BrowseFileDialogService class from PubSubEvent class from Prism.Events namespace.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Prism.Events;

namespace BrowseSolidworksDocument.Services
{
    public class BrowseFileDialogService : PubSubEvent
    {

    }
}

Register Service

Open MainWindow.xaml.cs file.
Pass IEventAggregator to constructor, and assigned it to private field.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

using BrowseSolidworksDocument.Services;
using BrowseSolidworksDocument.ViewModels;
using Microsoft.Win32;
using Prism.Events;
using Syncfusion.Windows.Shared;
using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class MainWindow : ChromelessWindow
    {
        private readonly IEventAggregator eventAggregator;

        public MainWindow(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            this.eventAggregator = eventAggregator;
        }
    }
}

Now, we register our service.
When this service is called, a function is executed.
This registration and execution is handle by eventAggregator field.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

using BrowseSolidworksDocument.Services;
using BrowseSolidworksDocument.ViewModels;
using Microsoft.Win32;
using Prism.Events;
using Syncfusion.Windows.Shared;
using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace BrowseSolidworksDocument.Views
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class MainWindow : ChromelessWindow
    {
        private readonly IEventAggregator eventAggregator;

        public MainWindow(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            this.eventAggregator = eventAggregator;
            this.eventAggregator.GetEvent<BrowseFileDialogService>().Subscribe(BrowseFile);
        }

        private void BrowseFile()
        {
            OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
            openFileDialog.Filter = "Solidworks Part|*.sldprt|Solidworks Assembly|*.sldasm|Solidworks Drawing|*.slddrw";
            openFileDialog.DefaultExt = "*.sldprt";

            bool? result = openFileDialog.ShowDialog();

            if (result == false || string.IsNullOrEmpty(openFileDialog.FileName))
                return;

            var viewModel = DataContext as MainWindowViewModel;
            viewModel.FilePath = openFileDialog.FileName;
        }
    }
}

Understand Service Call Execute Function

In this section, let us understand BrowseFile() function.

OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();

In above line, we create a variable of:
- Type: OpenFileDialog
- Variable name: openFileDialog
We use this variable for browsing Solidworks Files.

openFileDialog.Filter = "Solidworks Part|*.sldprt|Solidworks Assembly|*.sldasm|Solidworks Drawing|*.slddrw";

In above line, we set the Filter property of openFileDialog variable.
Filter property value is Solidworks Part, Assembly and Drawing files.
Only these file shown, when we browse for file.

openFileDialog.DefaultExt = "*.sldprt";

In above line, we set the Default file extension for file browsing window.
Default option is Solidworks Part file.
We set default option by setting value of DefaultExt property.
This DefaultExt property is part of openFileDialog variable.
We set the value of DefaultExt property to “*.sldprt”.

bool? result = openFileDialog.ShowDialog();

In above line, we are doing followings:
- We show the file browsing window by ShowDialog() method.
- This ShowDialog() method is part of openFileDialog variable.
- We create a nullable variable.
- This new variable is bool? type variable.
- Name of this new variable is result.
- We store the result of ShowDialog() method in result variable.

if (result == false || string.IsNullOrEmpty(openFileDialog.FileName))
    return;

In above we are checking 2 conditions.
1. Condition: result == false
  - If this condition is True, then user cancel the function.
  - In this condition, we exit the function.
2. Condition: string.IsNullOrEmpty(openFileDialog.FileName)
  - If this condition is True, then user did not select any file also.
  - In this condition also, we exit the function.
If user select a file, and the value of result variable is true, then we continue to next line of code.

var viewModel = DataContext as MainWindowViewModel;

In above line, we create a new variable.
- Variable Name: viewModel
- Variable Type: MainWindowViewModel
- Value of Variable: DataContext
This DataContext property gives us, view model of current view.
We store this view model value into viewModel variable.

viewModel.FilePath = openFileDialog.FileName;

In above line, we set the value of FilePath property.
This FilePath property is part of viewModel variable.
In our view model, we created this FilePath property.
Value of FilePath property is set to full path of browsed file.
We set the value of FilePath property to FileName property.
This FileName property is part of openFileDialog variable.

Use Browsing File Service

Open MainWindowViewModel class.
In constructor of MainWindowViewModel class, pass IEventAggregator interface.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

/// <summary>
/// Default Constructor
/// </summary>
/// <param name="eventAggregator"></param>
public MainWindowViewModel(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
{
    
}

This passing value to constructor is resolved during Runtime, by Prism WPF framework.
We pass IEventAggregator type variable, named as eventAggregator.

private readonly IEventAggregator eventAggregator;

In above line, we create a private, read-only field (variable).
- Field Name: eventAggregator
- Field Type: IEventAggregator
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

/// <summary>
/// Default Constructor
/// </summary>
/// <param name="eventAggregator"></param>
public MainWindowViewModel(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
{
    
}

private readonly IEventAggregator eventAggregator;

Now we assign the constructor eventAggregator variable to this private, read-only field (variable).
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

/// <summary>
/// Default Constructor
/// </summary>
/// <param name="eventAggregator"></param>
public MainWindowViewModel(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
{
    this.eventAggregator = eventAggregator;
}

private readonly IEventAggregator eventAggregator;

Now, we create BrowseFileCommand command, which we bind to Browse button.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

private DelegateCommand _BrowseFileCommand;
public DelegateCommand BrowseFileCommand =>
    _BrowseFileCommand ?? (_BrowseFileCommand = new DelegateCommand(ExecuteBrowseFileCommand));

void ExecuteBrowseFileCommand()
{
    
}

In above code, we create a Prism Command.
Type of this command is DelegateCommand.
Name of command: BrowseFileCommand
When this command is asked to run, we execute ExecuteBrowseFileCommand method.

Now, in this ExecuteBrowseFileCommand method, we publish the service.
Please see below 👇🏻 image for reference.

Please see below 👇🏻 code sample for reference.

private DelegateCommand _BrowseFileCommand;
public DelegateCommand BrowseFileCommand =>
    _BrowseFileCommand ?? (_BrowseFileCommand = new DelegateCommand(ExecuteBrowseFileCommand));

void ExecuteBrowseFileCommand()
{
    eventAggregator.GetEvent<BrowseFileDialogService>().Publish();
}

eventAggregator.GetEvent<BrowseFileDialogService>().Publish();

In above code line, we publish the BrowseFileDialogService service.
By publish, we mean, we are calling a method, which we want to execute whenever this BrowseFileDialogService service called for publish.
In our case, in MainWindow.xaml.cs file has BrowseFile() method.
This BrowseFile() method will run when we publish the BrowseFileDialogService.

Final Result

Now we run the application as shown in below 👇🏻 image.

Now we are able to browse file in MVVM pattern successfully.

This is it !!!

I hope my efforts will helpful to someone!

If you found anything to add or update, please let me know on my e-mail.

Hope this post helps you to Browse Solidworks Document UI.

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Till then, Happy learning!!!

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