ListView DataTemplate in separate folder

Question

I'm trying to learn programming apps for Universal Windows Platform. I'm currently working with ListView and I define its layout in <DataTemplate>, but the code is a one mess. Is there a way to define <DataTemplate> in a separate folder? I searched the net but I wasn't able to find a solution. Could you please help me with that? Thanks.

Answer 1

I would always recommend creating a ResourceDictionary for this kind of thing. Here's an example setup:

Create a folder Resources > Add > New item > Resource Dictionary "Templates.xaml"

In your App.xaml add

<Application.Resources>
    <ResourceDictionary>
        <ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
            <ResourceDictionary Source="Resources/Templates.xaml"/>
        </ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
    </ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>

In Templates.xaml you can add any template you want, like so:

<ResourceDictionary
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="using:thestory.Resources">


<DataTemplate x:Key="ListItemTemplate">

</DataTemplate>

You can now reference this template wherever you need it using {StaticResource ListItemTemplate}

Good Luck!

PS: I would actually also recommend doing the same for styles and other application wide resources like font sizes, brushes, backgrounds etc.