WPF Grid’s Row/Column Count Properties

One of my pet peeves with using WPF is that a Grid needs to have it’s Rows and Columns defined. One day I decided I was tired of messing with Row/Column definitions for simple Grids, so sat down to write some AttachedProperties.

Now, instead of writing something like this:

<Grid>
    <Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="*" />
    </Grid.RowDefinitions>
    <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
        <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
        <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
        <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
    </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
</Grid>

I can write this:

<Grid local:GridHelpers.RowCount="6"
      local:GridHelpers.StarRows="5"
      local:GridHelpers.ColumnCount="4"
      local:GridHelpers.StarColumns="1,3">

</Grid>

I can also use this to draw a Grid with a dynamic number of rows or columns, or where I don’t know the number of rows/columns beforehand such as an ItemsPanelTemplate for an ItemsControl.

<Grid local:GridHelpers.RowCount="{Binding RowCount}"
      local:GridHelpers.ColumnCount="{Binding ColumnCount}" />

GridHelpers Code

Here is the AttachedProperty code:

public class GridHelpers
{
    #region RowCount Property
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Adds the specified number of Rows to RowDefinitions. 
    /// Default Height is Auto
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty RowCountProperty =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
            "RowCount", typeof(int), typeof(GridHelpers),
            new PropertyMetadata(-1, RowCountChanged));
    
    // Get
    public static int GetRowCount(DependencyObject obj)
    {
        return (int)obj.GetValue(RowCountProperty);
    }
    
    // Set
    public static void SetRowCount(DependencyObject obj, int value)
    {
        obj.SetValue(RowCountProperty, value);
    }
    
    // Change Event - Adds the Rows
    public static void RowCountChanged(
        DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (!(obj is Grid) || (int)e.NewValue < 0)
            return;
    
        Grid grid = (Grid)obj;
        grid.RowDefinitions.Clear();
    
        for (int i = 0; i < (int)e.NewValue; i++)
            grid.RowDefinitions.Add(
                new RowDefinition() { Height = GridLength.Auto });
    
        SetStarRows(grid);
    }
    
    #endregion
    
    #region ColumnCount Property
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Adds the specified number of Columns to ColumnDefinitions. 
    /// Default Width is Auto
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty ColumnCountProperty =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
            "ColumnCount", typeof(int), typeof(GridHelpers),
            new PropertyMetadata(-1, ColumnCountChanged));
    
    // Get
    public static int GetColumnCount(DependencyObject obj)
    {
        return (int)obj.GetValue(ColumnCountProperty);
    }
    
    // Set
    public static void SetColumnCount(DependencyObject obj, int value)
    {
        obj.SetValue(ColumnCountProperty, value);
    }
    
    // Change Event - Add the Columns
    public static void ColumnCountChanged(
        DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (!(obj is Grid) || (int)e.NewValue < 0)
            return;
    
        Grid grid = (Grid)obj;
        grid.ColumnDefinitions.Clear();
    
        for (int i = 0; i < (int)e.NewValue; i++)
            grid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(
                new ColumnDefinition() { Width = GridLength.Auto });
    
        SetStarColumns(grid);
    }
    
    #endregion
    
    #region StarRows Property
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Makes the specified Row's Height equal to Star. 
    /// Can set on multiple Rows
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty StarRowsProperty =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
            "StarRows", typeof(string), typeof(GridHelpers),
            new PropertyMetadata(string.Empty, StarRowsChanged));
    
    // Get
    public static string GetStarRows(DependencyObject obj)
    {
        return (string)obj.GetValue(StarRowsProperty);
    }
    
    // Set
    public static void SetStarRows(DependencyObject obj, string value)
    {
        obj.SetValue(StarRowsProperty, value);
    }
    
    // Change Event - Makes specified Row's Height equal to Star
    public static void StarRowsChanged(
        DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (!(obj is Grid) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(e.NewValue.ToString()))
            return;
    
        SetStarRows((Grid)obj);
    }
    
    #endregion
    
    #region StarColumns Property
    
    /// <summary>
    /// Makes the specified Column's Width equal to Star. 
    /// Can set on multiple Columns
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty StarColumnsProperty =
        DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
            "StarColumns", typeof(string), typeof(GridHelpers),
            new PropertyMetadata(string.Empty, StarColumnsChanged));
    
    // Get
    public static string GetStarColumns(DependencyObject obj)
    {
        return (string)obj.GetValue(StarColumnsProperty);
    }
    
    // Set
    public static void SetStarColumns(DependencyObject obj, string value)
    {
        obj.SetValue(StarColumnsProperty, value);
    }
    
    // Change Event - Makes specified Column's Width equal to Star
    public static void StarColumnsChanged(
        DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (!(obj is Grid) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(e.NewValue.ToString()))
            return;
    
        SetStarColumns((Grid)obj);
    }
    
    #endregion
    
    private static void SetStarColumns(Grid grid)
    {
        string[] starColumns = 
            GetStarColumns(grid).Split(',');
    
        for (int i = 0; i < grid.ColumnDefinitions.Count; i++)
        {
            if (starColumns.Contains(i.ToString()))
                grid.ColumnDefinitions[i].Width = 
                    new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star);
        }
    }
    
    private static void SetStarRows(Grid grid)
    {
        string[] starRows = 
            GetStarRows(grid).Split(',');
    
        for (int i = 0; i < grid.RowDefinitions.Count; i++)
        {
            if (starRows.Contains(i.ToString()))
                grid.RowDefinitions[i].Height = 
                    new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star);
        }
    }
}