XAF: Controllers & Actions

Controller Types

Generic shorthand:

// Instead of TargetViewType + TargetObjectType + casting:
public class MyController : ObjectViewController<DetailView, Employee> {
    // View is DetailView, ViewCurrentObject is Employee — no cast needed
}

Place controllers in the platform-agnostic Module project (not in Blazor/WinForms projects) unless platform-specific.

Controller Lifecycle

public class MyController : ViewController {
    private bool _eventsSubscribed;

    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        if (!_eventsSubscribed) {
            View.CurrentObjectChanged += View_CurrentObjectChanged;
            View.ObjectSpace.ObjectChanged += ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged;
            _eventsSubscribed = true;
        }
    }

    protected override void OnDeactivated() {
        Unsubscribe();
        base.OnDeactivated();
    }

    // Always override Dispose — OnDeactivated is not always called before disposal
    protected override void Dispose(bool disposing) {
        if (disposing) Unsubscribe();
        base.Dispose(disposing);
    }

    private void Unsubscribe() {
        if (!_eventsSubscribed) return;
        if (View != null) View.CurrentObjectChanged -= View_CurrentObjectChanged;
        if (View?.ObjectSpace != null) View.ObjectSpace.ObjectChanged -= ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged;
        _eventsSubscribed = false;
    }

    private void View_CurrentObjectChanged(object sender, EventArgs e) { }
    private void ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged(object sender, ObjectChangedEventArgs e) { }
}

Memory leak risk: Not unsubscribing events is the #1 cause of memory leaks in XAF. Always pair += in OnActivated with -= in both OnDeactivated and Dispose(bool). See xaf-memory-leaks for full patterns including WeakEventSubscription and resource tracker.

Action Types

SimpleAction — Full Pattern

public class ClearTasksController : ViewController {
    private SimpleAction clearTasksAction;

    public ClearTasksController() {
        TargetViewType = ViewType.DetailView;
        TargetObjectType = typeof(Employee);

        clearTasksAction = new SimpleAction(this, "ClearTasksAction", PredefinedCategory.View) {
            Caption = "Clear Tasks",
            ConfirmationMessage = "Are you sure?",
            ImageName = "Action_Clear",
        };
        clearTasksAction.Execute += ClearTasksAction_Execute;
    }

    private void ClearTasksAction_Execute(object sender, SimpleActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        var employee = (Employee)View.CurrentObject;
        while (employee.DemoTasks.Count > 0)
            employee.DemoTasks.Remove(employee.DemoTasks[0]);
        View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
        View.ObjectSpace.Refresh();
    }
}

SimpleAction — Async Pattern (Blazor Critical!)

// CORRECT: async void, no ConfigureAwait(false) in Blazor Server
private async void MyAction_Execute(object sender, SimpleActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
    try {
        var result = await myService.DoWorkAsync(); // NO ConfigureAwait(false)!
        View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
        View.Refresh();
        Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowMessage("Success");
    }
    catch (Exception ex) {
        throw new UserFriendlyException($"Error: {ex.Message}");
    }
}

// If updating UI from non-Blazor thread, use InvokeAsync:
await InvokeAsync(() => {
    View.Refresh();
});
// InvokeAsync is available in BlazorApplication and BlazorController

PopupWindowShowAction — Full Pattern

public class PopupNotesController : ViewController {
    private PopupWindowShowAction showNotesAction;

    public PopupNotesController() {
        TargetObjectType = typeof(DemoTask);
        TargetViewType = ViewType.DetailView;

        showNotesAction = new PopupWindowShowAction(this, "ShowNotesAction", PredefinedCategory.Edit) {
            Caption = "Show Notes",
            AcceptButtonCaption = "Select",   // custom button captions
            CancelButtonCaption = "Back"
        };
        showNotesAction.CustomizePopupWindowParams += Action_CustomizePopupWindowParams;
        showNotesAction.Execute += Action_Execute;
    }

    private void Action_CustomizePopupWindowParams(
        object sender, CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs e) {
        // Option 1: show existing objects list
        e.View = Application.CreateListView(typeof(Note), true);

        // Option 2: show new-object detail view
        // IObjectSpace os = Application.CreateObjectSpace(typeof(Note));
        // e.View = Application.CreateDetailView(os, os.CreateObject<Note>());
        // e.DialogController.SaveOnAccept = true;  // save on Accept click
    }

    private void Action_Execute(
        object sender, PopupWindowShowActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        var task = (DemoTask)View.CurrentObject;
        foreach (Note note in e.PopupWindowViewSelectedObjects) {
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(task.Description))
                task.Description += Environment.NewLine;
            task.Description += note.Text;
        }
        View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
    }
}

DialogController

DialogController is a WindowController that manages popup windows — provides Accept/Cancel buttons and controls popup lifecycle.

Accessed via CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs.DialogController or Frame.GetController<DialogController>().

Key Properties

Key Events

DialogController Customization Example

private void Action_CustomizePopupWindowParams(
    object sender, CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs e) {
    var os = Application.CreateObjectSpace(typeof(InputObject));
    var inputObj = os.CreateObject<InputObject>();
    e.View = Application.CreateDetailView(os, inputObj);

    // Don't auto-save — handle manually in Execute
    e.DialogController.SaveOnAccept = false;

    // Customize Accept button
    e.DialogController.AcceptAction.Caption = "Confirm";

    // Validate before accepting
    e.DialogController.Accepting += (s, args) => {
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(inputObj.Name)) {
            args.Cancel = true;
            Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowMessage(
                "Name is required", InformationType.Error);
        }
    };

    // Keep window open until explicitly closed
    e.DialogController.CanCloseWindow = false;
    e.DialogController.Accepting += (s, args) => {
        if (IsValid(inputObj)) {
            e.DialogController.CanCloseWindow = true;
        }
    };
}

Access DialogController from Popup's Own Controller

If you place a controller inside the popup view, get DialogController from the Frame:

public class PopupInnerController : ViewController {
    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        // Works only inside a popup window frame
        var dialogController = Frame.GetController<DialogController>();
        if (dialogController != null) {
            dialogController.AcceptAction.Caption = "Apply";
            dialogController.Accepting += DialogController_Accepting;
        }
    }

    private void DialogController_Accepting(object sender, DialogControllerAcceptingEventArgs e) {
        // Access popup object and validate
        var obj = View.CurrentObject as MyObject;
        if (obj == null || !obj.IsValid) {
            e.Cancel = true;
        }
    }
}

Chaining Consecutive Popups

To open a second popup after the first one is accepted, trigger the second PopupWindowShowAction.DoExecute() (or show a view manually) inside the first action's Execute handler.

Pattern: Two Sequential Popups

public class ChainedPopupController : ViewController {
    private PopupWindowShowAction firstPopupAction;
    private PopupWindowShowAction secondPopupAction;

    public ChainedPopupController() {
        firstPopupAction = new PopupWindowShowAction(this, "FirstPopupAction", PredefinedCategory.Edit) {
            Caption = "Step 1: Choose Category"
        };
        firstPopupAction.CustomizePopupWindowParams += FirstPopup_CustomizeParams;
        firstPopupAction.Execute += FirstPopup_Execute;

        secondPopupAction = new PopupWindowShowAction(this, "SecondPopupAction", PredefinedCategory.Edit) {
            Caption = "Step 2: Choose Item"
        };
        secondPopupAction.CustomizePopupWindowParams += SecondPopup_CustomizeParams;
        secondPopupAction.Execute += SecondPopup_Execute;

        // Hide second action from UI — triggered programmatically
        secondPopupAction.Active.SetItemValue("Manual", false);
    }

    private Category _selectedCategory;

    private void FirstPopup_CustomizeParams(object sender, CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs e) {
        e.View = Application.CreateListView(typeof(Category), true);
    }

    private void FirstPopup_Execute(object sender, PopupWindowShowActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        _selectedCategory = e.PopupWindowViewCurrentObject as Category;
        if (_selectedCategory != null) {
            // Open second popup immediately after first closes
            secondPopupAction.DoExecute();
        }
    }

    private void SecondPopup_CustomizeParams(object sender, CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs e) {
        // Filter items by category selected in first popup
        var os = Application.CreateObjectSpace(typeof(Item));
        var items = os.GetObjects<Item>(
            CriteriaOperator.Parse("Category = ?", _selectedCategory));
        e.View = Application.CreateListView(os, Application.FindListViewId(typeof(Item)), true);
    }

    private void SecondPopup_Execute(object sender, PopupWindowShowActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        var selectedItem = e.PopupWindowViewCurrentObject as Item;
        // Use selectedItem — both popups completed
        View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
    }
}

Pattern: Popup Opened from ShowViewStrategy (manual)

private void FirstPopup_Execute(object sender, PopupWindowShowActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
    var firstResult = e.PopupWindowViewCurrentObject as Category;

    // Manually show second popup view
    var os = Application.CreateObjectSpace(typeof(Item));
    var obj = os.CreateObject<Item>();
    obj.Category = os.GetObject(firstResult);

    var detailView = Application.CreateDetailView(os, obj);
    var showParams = new ShowViewParameters(detailView) {
        TargetWindow = TargetWindow.NewModalWindow,
        Context = TemplateContext.PopupWindow
    };

    // Add a DialogController to the new popup window
    var dc = new DialogController();
    dc.SaveOnAccept = true;
    showParams.Controllers.Add(dc);

    Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowView(showParams, new ShowViewSource(Frame, null));
}

Important:

• secondAction.DoExecute() — works cleanly when using PopupWindowShowAction
• TargetWindow.NewModalWindow with ShowViewStrategy.ShowView — for custom views without a pre-configured action
• Do NOT call DoExecute() inside CustomizePopupWindowParams — always in Execute

View Refresh Patterns

ObjectSpace.ObjectChanged — React to Property Changes

Fires when a persistent object's property value changes (tracked via INotifyPropertyChanged).

protected override void OnActivated() {
    base.OnActivated();
    View.ObjectSpace.ObjectChanged += ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged;
}

private void ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged(object sender, ObjectChangedEventArgs e) {
    // e.Object      — the modified object
    // e.PropertyName — name of changed property (null if indeterminate)
    // e.OldValue    — previous value (XPO: only if passed to SetPropertyValue/OnChanged)
    // e.NewValue    — new value (EF Core: requires INotifyPropertyChanging + INotifyPropertyChanged)

    if (e.Object is OrderLine line && e.PropertyName == nameof(OrderLine.Quantity)) {
        line.TotalPrice = line.Quantity * line.UnitPrice;
    }
}

protected override void OnDeactivated() {
    View.ObjectSpace.ObjectChanged -= ObjectSpace_ObjectChanged;
    base.OnDeactivated();
}

Note: For XPO, OldValue/NewValue are only populated if the model calls SetPropertyValue or OnChanged with explicit old/new values. For EF Core, implement both INotifyPropertyChanging and INotifyPropertyChanged to get those values.

View.CurrentObjectChanged — React to Navigation

Fires when the user navigates to a different record (focused object changes), not when properties change.

protected override void OnActivated() {
    base.OnActivated();
    View.CurrentObjectChanged += View_CurrentObjectChanged;
}

private void View_CurrentObjectChanged(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    var current = View.CurrentObject as Employee;
    // Update action state or side-panel based on new current object
    myAction.Enabled.SetItemValue("HasObject", current != null);
}

Refresh Reference

// Reload single object without affecting whole ObjectSpace
ObjectSpace.ReloadObject(View.CurrentObject);
View.Refresh();

// Full ObjectSpace refresh (may prompt user to save changes)
View.ObjectSpace.Refresh();

// Commit and refresh after action
ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
View.ObjectSpace.Refresh();

ObjectSpace.ModifiedChanged — React to Dirty State

View.ObjectSpace.ModifiedChanged += (s, e) => {
    // ObjectSpace.IsModified changed
    saveAction.Enabled.SetItemValue("IsModified", View.ObjectSpace.IsModified);
};

SingleChoiceAction — Full Pattern

public class SetTaskController : ViewController {
    private SingleChoiceAction setTaskAction;

    public SetTaskController() {
        TargetObjectType = typeof(DemoTask);

        setTaskAction = new SingleChoiceAction(this, "SetTaskAction", PredefinedCategory.Edit) {
            Caption = "Set Task",
            ItemType = SingleChoiceActionItemType.ItemIsOperation,
            SelectionDependencyType = SelectionDependencyType.RequireMultipleObjects
        };

        var setPriorityItem = new ChoiceActionItem("Set Priority", null);
        setTaskAction.Items.Add(setPriorityItem);
        foreach (Priority value in Enum.GetValues(typeof(Priority))) {
            setPriorityItem.Items.Add(new ChoiceActionItem(value.ToString(), value));
        }

        setTaskAction.Execute += SetTaskAction_Execute;
    }

    private void SetTaskAction_Execute(object sender, SingleChoiceActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        if (e.SelectedChoiceActionItem.Data is Priority priority) {
            foreach (DemoTask task in e.SelectedObjects.OfType<DemoTask>())
                task.Priority = priority;
            View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
            View.ObjectSpace.Refresh();
        }
    }
}

ParametrizedAction

public class FindController : ViewController {
    private ParametrizedAction findAction;

    public FindController() {
        findAction = new ParametrizedAction(this, "FindByName", PredefinedCategory.View, typeof(string)) {
            Caption = "Find",
            NullValuePrompt = "Enter name..."
        };
        findAction.Execute += FindAction_Execute;
    }

    private void FindAction_Execute(object sender, ParametrizedActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        var searchText = e.ParameterCurrentValue as string;
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchText)) return;

        var obj = ObjectSpace.FindObject<Contact>(
            CriteriaOperator.Parse("Contains([Name], ?)", searchText));
        if (obj != null)
            View.SelectObject(obj);
    }
}

Activation Conditions

// Active: action shown only if all values are true
MyAction.Active.SetItemValue("HasPermission", security.CanCreate(typeof(Order)));
MyAction.Active.SetItemValue("IsCorrectView", View is DetailView);

// Enabled: action visible but grayed out if any value is false
MyAction.Enabled.SetItemValue("HasSelection", View.SelectedObjects.Count > 0);

Frame & NestedFrame

// Access nested frame (e.g., in a MasterDetail view)
if (Frame is NestedFrame nestedFrame) {
    var parentController = nestedFrame.ParentFrame
        .GetController<ParentViewController>();
}

// Find controller in current frame
var refreshCtrl = Frame.GetController<RefreshController>();
refreshCtrl?.RefreshAction.DoExecute();

Common Patterns

// Show message
Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowMessage("Operation complete", InformationType.Success);

// Navigate to object detail view
var showViewParams = Application.CreateDetailViewShowViewParameters(obj, objectSpace);
Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowView(showViewParams, new ShowViewSource(Frame, null));

// Navigate programmatically to ListView
var listView = Application.CreateListView(typeof(Order), true);
Application.ShowViewStrategy.ShowView(
    new ShowViewParameters(listView), new ShowViewSource(Frame, null));

// Find objects
var obj = ObjectSpace.FindObject<Contact>(
    CriteriaOperator.Parse("Email = ?", "user@example.com"));
var selected = View.SelectedObjects.OfType<Employee>().ToList();

Related Skills

• xaf-memory-leaks — full disposal patterns, WeakEventSubscription, ObjectSpace lifetime, diagnostic tools

Source Links

• Controllers: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/112623/ui-construction/controllers-and-actions/controllers
• Actions: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/112622/ui-construction/controllers-and-actions/actions
• DialogController: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/112805/ui-construction/controllers-and-actions/dialog-controller
• DialogController API: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/DevExpress.ExpressApp.SystemModule.DialogController
• PopupWindowShowAction How-To: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/113539/ui-construction/controllers-and-actions/actions/how-to-create-and-use-a-popup-window-action
• Add Actions to Popup: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/112804/ui-construction/controllers-and-actions/add-actions-to-a-popup-window
• ObjectChanged Event: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/DevExpress.ExpressApp.IObjectSpace.ObjectChanged
• Execute Logic on Property Change: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/403621/data-manipulation-and-business-logic/create-read-update-and-delete-data/execute-business-logic-when-a-property-is-changed-and-track-modifications-in-objects
• Refresh Objects: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/403622/data-manipulation-and-business-logic/create-read-update-and-delete-data/refresh-objects-and-rollback-changes