XAF: Conditional Appearance

Overview

Conditional Appearance controls UI elements dynamically based on business rules: visibility, enabled state, colors, font style, and custom CSS — all without writing controller code for simple cases.

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Setup

// In Module:
public class MyModule : ModuleBase {
    public MyModule() {
        RequiredModuleTypes.Add(typeof(ConditionalAppearanceModule));
    }
}

// Or in Program.cs:
b.AddModule<ConditionalAppearanceModule>();

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[Appearance] Attribute — All Parameters

[Appearance(
    "RuleId",                                  // unique rule identifier (required)
    Criteria = "Status = 'Cancelled'",         // XAF criteria expression (required)
    TargetItems = "CancellationReason",        // property name(s), "*" = all, ";" = multiple
    Context = "DetailView",                    // "Any", "DetailView", "ListView", or custom
    AppearanceItemType = "ViewItem",           // "ViewItem", "Action", "LayoutItem"
    Visibility = ViewItemVisibility.Show,      // Show, Hide, ShowEmptySpace
    Enabled = false,                           // true/false
    FontColor = "Red",                         // named color or hex (#FF0000)
    BackColor = "LightYellow",                 // background color
    FontStyle = FontStyle.Bold,                // Bold, Italic, Strikeout, Underline
    Priority = 0                               // higher priority wins when multiple rules apply
)]

Apply to a class to affect properties within it:

[Appearance("Rule", Criteria = "...", TargetItems = "PropertyName")]
public class Order : BaseObject { ... }

Apply to a property itself (targets that property):

public class Order : BaseObject {
    [Appearance("RequiredWhenActive", Criteria = "Status = 'Active'",
        FontColor = "Red")]
    public virtual string ResponsiblePerson { get; set; }
}

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Common Patterns

Hide field based on enum value

[Appearance("HideCancellationReason",
    Criteria = "Status != 'Cancelled'",
    TargetItems = "CancellationReason",
    Visibility = ViewItemVisibility.Hide)]
[Appearance("ShowCancellationReason",
    Criteria = "Status = 'Cancelled'",
    TargetItems = "CancellationReason",
    Visibility = ViewItemVisibility.Show)]
public class Order : BaseObject {
    public virtual OrderStatus Status { get; set; }
    public virtual string CancellationReason { get; set; }
}

Disable field based on boolean

[Appearance("LockWhenApproved",
    Criteria = "IsApproved = true",
    TargetItems = "Amount;Description;Category",
    Enabled = false)]
public class Invoice : BaseObject {
    public virtual bool IsApproved { get; set; }
    public virtual decimal Amount { get; set; }
    public virtual string Description { get; set; }
    public virtual Category Category { get; set; }
}

Color list view row based on status

[Appearance("OverdueRow",
    Criteria = "DueDate < LocalDateTimeToday() AND Status != 'Completed'",
    Context = "Any",
    AppearanceItemType = "DataRow",
    BackColor = "#FFEEEE",
    FontColor = "DarkRed")]
public class Task : BaseObject {
    public virtual DateTime DueDate { get; set; }
    public virtual TaskStatus Status { get; set; }
}

Hide action based on condition

[Appearance("HideDeleteWhenLocked",
    Criteria = "IsLocked = true",
    AppearanceItemType = "Action",
    TargetItems = "DeleteAction",
    Visibility = ViewItemVisibility.Hide)]
public class Contract : BaseObject {
    public virtual bool IsLocked { get; set; }
}

Custom CSS class in Blazor

[Appearance("HighlightPremium",
    Criteria = "IsPremium = true",
    Context = "DetailView",
    CssClass = "premium-highlight")]
public class Customer : BaseObject {
    public virtual bool IsPremium { get; set; }
}

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Criteria Expression Syntax

Operator	Example
Equals	Status = 'Active'
Not equals	Status != 'Cancelled'
Comparison	Amount > 1000
AND / OR / NOT	Active = true AND Amount > 0
IsNull	IsNull([Manager])
IsNullOrEmpty	IsNullOrEmpty([Email])
Contains	Contains([Name], 'Smith')
StartsWith	StartsWith([Code], 'ORD')
Date functions	DueDate < LocalDateTimeToday()
CurrentUser	Owner.UserName = CurrentUserId()
Enum	Status = ##Enum#MyNamespace.Status,Active##

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Targeting Multiple Properties

// Multiple properties: separate with semicolon
TargetItems = "FirstName;LastName;Email"

// All properties
TargetItems = "*"

// All properties except exclusions: no direct support
// Use separate rules with Priority to handle order

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Multiple Appearance Rules (Priority)

[Appearance("Rule1", Criteria = "Amount > 1000", BackColor = "LightGreen", Priority = 1)]
[Appearance("Rule2", Criteria = "Amount > 5000", BackColor = "Gold", Priority = 2)]
public virtual decimal Amount { get; set; }
// Higher Priority wins when multiple criteria are true

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Dynamic Appearance from Code

Using IAppearanceEnabled / IAppearanceVisibility

public class OrderViewController : ObjectViewController<DetailView, Order> {
    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        View.CurrentObjectChanged += UpdateAppearance;
        UpdateAppearance(null, null);
    }

    protected override void OnDeactivated() {
        View.CurrentObjectChanged -= UpdateAppearance;
        base.OnDeactivated();
    }

    private void UpdateAppearance(object sender, EventArgs e) {
        if (View.CurrentObject is not Order order) return;

        // Find view items and change appearance programmatically
        var amountItem = View.FindItem("Amount") as IAppearanceEnabled;
        if (amountItem != null)
            amountItem.Enabled = !order.IsLocked;

        var cancelReasonItem = View.FindItem("CancellationReason") as IAppearanceVisibility;
        if (cancelReasonItem != null)
            cancelReasonItem.Visibility = order.Status == OrderStatus.Cancelled
                ? ViewItemVisibility.Show
                : ViewItemVisibility.Hide;
    }
}

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Model-Based Rules (Application Model)

Define rules in the Application Model (Model Editor) without code changes:

Path: Views > <ClassName>_DetailView > AppearanceRules

Add AppearanceRule node with:

• Criteria — condition expression
• TargetItems — property names
• Visibility, Enabled, FontColor, BackColor, FontStyle

Useful for rules that business users need to modify without code deployment.

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AppearanceItemType Values

Value	Targets
ViewItem	Property editor (field)
DataRow	Entire list view row
Action	Action button
LayoutItem	Layout group or tab

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Source Links

• Conditional Appearance: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/113286/conditional-appearance
• AppearanceAttribute: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/DevExpress.ExpressApp.ConditionalAppearance.AppearanceAttribute
• IAppearanceEnabled: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/DevExpress.ExpressApp.ConditionalAppearance.IAppearanceEnabled
• IAppearanceVisibility: https://docs.devexpress.com/eXpressAppFramework/DevExpress.ExpressApp.ConditionalAppearance.IAppearanceVisibility
• Criteria Expression Syntax: https://docs.devexpress.com/CoreLibraries/4928/devexpress-data-library/criteria-language-syntax