Unable to facilitate x:Bind between scopes

[weitzhandler]

Hi,

I used to set the DataContext to lower scopes whenever necessary, so I can use shorter binding expressions: (ViewModel is of type ContactViewModel, that exposes a Phones collection property):

<Page DataContext="{Binding ViewModel}">
  <ListView ItemsSource="{Binding Phones}"/>
</Page>

I'm trying to use the above with x:Bind as follows:

<Page DataContext="{x:Bind ViewMode}">
  <ListView ItemsSource="{x:Bind Phones}"/>
</Page>

But I get the following error:
>XLS0432: The property 'Phones' was not found in type 'ContactsPage'. | MyProject.Client.UWP

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Document Details

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• ID: 6dd64d43-7b7b-abed-ff27-fafa2b82df0f
• Version Independent ID: 6c349724-5273-3463-7d7e-b685a89f093f
• Content: xBind markup extension - UWP applications
• Content Source: windows-apps-src/xaml-platform/x-bind-markup-extension.md
• Product: uwp
• Technology: platform
• GitHub Login: @jwmsft
• Microsoft Alias: jimwalk

[MikeHillberg]

x:Bind on a Page (or other x:class markup) binds to properties on the backing class, not to the DataContext like {Binding} does. So if this markup is for a class named ContactsPage, {x:Bind Phones} is looking for a ContactsPage.Phones property.

So your best solution might be the more verbose {x:Bind ViewModel.Phones}. You could also suggest this as a new feature by posting an issue to the repo.

[weitzhandler]

@MikeHillberg

You could also suggest this as a new feature by posting an issue to the repo.

Done: microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml#2237

[hkhmsft]

Thanks @MikeHillberg for the answer and @weitzhandler for filing the suggestion. If anything else arises, feel free to reopen the thread.