UI Automation Support for the Data Item Control Type
This topic provides information about Microsoft UI Automation support for the Data Item control type. In UI Automation a control type is a set of conditions that a control must meet in order to use the ControlTypeProperty property. The conditions include specific guidelines for UI Automation tree structure, UI Automation property values and control patterns.
An entry in a Contacts list is an example of a data item control. A data item control contains information that is of interest to an end user. It is more complicated than the simple list item because it contains richer information.
The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the Data Item control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all data item controls, whether Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Win32, or Windows Forms.
This topic contains the following sections.
- Required UI Automation Tree Structure
- Required UI Automation Properties
- Required UI Automation Control Patterns
- Working with Data Items in Large Lists
- Required UI Automation Events
- Data Item Control Type Example
- Related Topics
Required UI Automation Tree Structure
The following table depicts the control view and the content view of the UI Automation tree that pertains to data item controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information about the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.
| UI Automation Tree - Control View | UI Automation Tree - Content View |
|---|---|
|
|
Required UI Automation Properties
The following table lists the properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to data item controls. For more information about UI Automation properties, see UI Automation Properties for Clients.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
See notes. |
The value of this property needs to be unique across all controls in an application. |
|
See notes. |
The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control. |
|
See notes. |
Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and you perform specialized hit testing, then override and provide a clickable point. |
|
DataItem |
This value is the same for all UI frameworks. |
|
True |
The data item control must always be content. |
|
True |
The data item control must always be a control. |
|
See notes. |
If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property. |
|
See notes. |
If the control contains status that is being updated dynamically then this property must be supported so that an assistive technology can receive updates when the status of the element changes. |
|
See notes. |
This is the string value that conveys to the end user the underlying object that the item represents. Examples are "Media File" or "Contact". |
|
Null |
Data item controls do not have a static text label. |
|
"item" |
Localized string corresponding to the Data Item control type. |
|
See notes. |
The data item control always contains a primary text element that relates to what the user would associate as the most semantic identifier for the item. |
Required UI Automation Control Patterns
The following table lists the Microsoft UI Automation control patterns required to be supported by all data item controls. For more information about control patterns, see UI Automation Control Patterns Overview.
| Control Pattern/Pattern Property | Support/Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Depends |
If the data item can be expanded or collapsed to show and hide information, the Expand Collapse pattern must be supported. |
|
Depends |
Data items will support the Grid Item pattern when a collection of data items is available within a container that can be spatially navigated item-to-item. |
|
Depends |
All data items support the ability to be scrolled into view with the Scroll Item pattern when their data container has more items than can fit on the screen. |
|
Yes |
All data items must support the Selection Item pattern to indicate when the item is selected. |
|
Depends |
If the data item is contained within a Data Grid control type then it will support this pattern. |
|
Depends |
If the data item contains a state that can be cycled through. |
|
Depends |
If the data item's primary text is editable then the Value pattern must be supported. |
Working with Data Items in Large Lists
Large lists are often data virtualized within UI frameworks to assist in performance. Due to this, a UI Automation client cannot use the UI Automation query feature to scrape the contents of the full tree in the same way that it can in other item containers. A client should scroll the item into view prior to accessing the full set of information from the data item.
When calling SetFocus on the UI Automation element for the data item, the Microsoft Windows Explorer case will return successfully and cause focus to be set to the Edit within the data item subtree.
Required UI Automation Events
The following table lists the UI Automation events required to be supported by all button controls. For more information about events, see UI Automation Events Overview.
| UI Automation Event | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Required |
None |
|
BoundingRectangleProperty property-changed event. |
Required |
None |
IsEnabledProperty property-changed event. |
Required |
None |
IsOffscreenProperty property-changed event. |
Required |
None |
NameProperty property-changed event. |
Required |
None |
Required |
None |
|
Depends |
None |
|
ExpandCollapseStateProperty property-changed event. |
Depends |
None |
Required |
None |
|
Required |
None |
|
Required |
None |
|
ToggleStateProperty property-changed event. |
Depends |
None |
ValueProperty property-changed event. |
Depends |
None |
Data Item Control Type Example
The following image illustrates a Data Item control type in a List View control.
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The Control View and the Content View of the UI Automation tree that pertains to the Data Item control is displayed below. The control patterns for each automation element are shown in parentheses.
| UI Automation Tree - Control View | UI Automation Tree - Content View |
|---|---|
Data Item (Sort, Table, Selection, Grid)
|
Data Item (Sort, Table, Selection, Grid)
|