WPF: Binding directly to a control

Question

I need to bind a property of a UserControl directly to another control, rather than any specific property on that control. What's the best way to achieve this? I've tried various combinations of the Binding properties to no avail.

For some context, the UserControl has a Next property that specifies which control is next in the navigation hierarchy; it's similar to TabIndex but for context sensitive navigation.

<c:MyControl x:Name="First" Next="{Binding ???}" />
<c:MyControl x:Name="Second" />

From reading the docs, I assumed I should've been able to do: {Binding Source=Second, BindsDirectlyToSource=True}, but that didn't work.

Answer 1

The ElementName property is your friend

Answer 2

ArildF's answer {Binding ElementName=Second} is the best direct answer to your question, but have you considered using the WPF's built in navigation functionality?

<c:MyControl x:Name="First" KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="1" />
<c:MyControl x:Name="Second" KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="2" />

Also check out:

• KeyboardNavigationMode enum

• KeyboardNavigation.DirectionalNavigation / TabNavigation / ControlNavigation

• KeyboardNavigation.IsTabStop

• Using <Grid> instead of <DockPanel> to keep controls in natural order

It may be that the functionality you desire is already covered by WPF.