WPF/C# - example for programmatically create & use Radio Buttons

Normally, we use RadioButtons to present an Enum data type to the user. And what we usually do is use an ItemsControl to present a group of RadioButtons, with each one bound to a ViewModel.

Below is a sample application I just wrote that demonstrates how RadioButtons could be used in two ways: the first is somewhat of a direct approach (and this may answer your questions above), and the second one uses an MVVM approach.

BTW, this is just something I wrote quickly (yeah, I got a lot of time in my hands) so I won't say that everything in here is the perfect way of doing things. But I hope you find this helpful:

XAML:

<Window x:Class="RadioButtonSample.MainWindow"        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:RadioButtonSample"        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">    <StackPanel>        <StackPanel x:Name="sp"/>        <Button x:Name="showChoice" Click="showChoice_Click">Show Choice</Button>        <StackPanel x:Name="sp2">            <StackPanel.DataContext>                <local:ViewModel/>            </StackPanel.DataContext>            <ItemsControl x:Name="itemsControl" ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Choices}">                <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>                    <DataTemplate>                        <RadioButton IsChecked="{Binding Path=IsChecked}" Content="{Binding Path=Choice}" GroupName="ChoicesGroup"/>                    </DataTemplate>                </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>            </ItemsControl>        <Button x:Name="showChoice2" Click="showChoice2_Click">Show Choice2</Button>    </StackPanel></StackPanel>

Code-behind:

using System;using System.Collections;using System.Linq;using System.Text;using System.Windows;using System.Windows.Controls;using System.Windows.Data;using System.Windows.Documents;using System.Windows.Input;using System.Windows.Media;using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;using System.Windows.Navigation;using System.Windows.Shapes;using System.ComponentModel;using System.Collections.Generic;namespace RadioButtonSample{    /// <summary>    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml    /// </summary>    public partial class MainWindow : Window    {        public MainWindow()        {            InitializeComponent();            //Initialize the first group of radio buttons and add them to the panel.            foreach (object obj in Enum.GetValues(typeof(ChoicesEnum)))            {                RadioButton rb = new RadioButton() { Content = obj, };                sp.Children.Add(rb);                rb.Checked += new RoutedEventHandler(rb_Checked);                rb.Unchecked += new RoutedEventHandler(rb_Unchecked);            }        }        void rb_Unchecked(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)        {            Console.Write((sender as RadioButton).Content.ToString() + " checked.");        }        void rb_Checked(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)        {            Console.Write((sender as RadioButton).Content.ToString() + " unchecked.");        }        private void showChoice_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)        {            foreach (RadioButton rb in sp.Children)            {                if (rb.IsChecked == true)                {                    MessageBox.Show(rb.Content.ToString());                    break;                }            }        }        private void showChoice2_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)        {            //Show selected choice in the ViewModel.            ChoiceVM selected = (sp2.DataContext as ViewModel).SelectedChoiceVM;            if (selected != null)                MessageBox.Show(selected.Choice.ToString());        }    }    //Test Enum    public enum ChoicesEnum    {        Choice1,        Choice2,        Choice3,    }    //ViewModel for a single Choice    public class ChoiceVM : INotifyPropertyChanged    {        public ChoicesEnum Choice { get; private set; }        public ChoiceVM(ChoicesEnum choice)        {            this.Choice = choice;        }        private bool isChecked;        public bool IsChecked        {            get { return this.isChecked; }            set            {                this.isChecked = value;                this.OnPropertyChanged("IsChecked");            }        }        #region INotifyPropertyChanged Members        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;        private void OnPropertyChanged(string propName)        {            if (this.PropertyChanged != null)            {                this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propName));            }        }        #endregion    }    //Sample ViewModel containing a list of choices    //and exposes a property showing the currently selected choice    public class ViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged    {        public List<ChoiceVM> Choices { get; private set; }        public ViewModel()        {            this.Choices = new List<ChoiceVM>();            //wrap each choice in a ChoiceVM and add it to the list.            foreach (var choice in Enum.GetValues(typeof(ChoicesEnum)))                this.Choices.Add(new ChoiceVM((ChoicesEnum)choice));        }        public ChoiceVM SelectedChoiceVM        {            get            {                ChoiceVM selectedChoice = this.Choices.FirstOrDefault((c) => c.IsChecked == true);                return selectedChoice;            }        }        #region INotifyPropertyChanged Members        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;        private void OnPropertyChanged(string propName)        {            if (this.PropertyChanged != null)            {                this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propName));            }        }        #endregion    }}