Can I define a XAML element in the ViewModel and use it directly in the View using C++/WinRT and WinUI 3? - xaml

Question

Many questions have been asked about using a XAML element from the View in the ViewModel. But what about defining a XAML element in the ViewModel and using that in the XAML markup of the View? So that the ViewModel knows about the element from the get-go(and owns the element).
I was trying to do this thinking it would be more MVVM-compliant--the ViewModel doesn't have to know about the entire View in order to use this component. But I recognize it's still not really in the spirit of MVVM to define a XAML element in the ViewModel. But at this point, I just want to know if this technique is possible.
I know I can define a property in the ViewModel, and then bind that to a property of a XAML element defined in the View. E.g. defining a string in the ViewModel and binding that to the Text property of a TextBlock XAML element. But is it possible to simply define the XAML element itself in the ViewModel and use that in the XAML markup of the View?
Example code. I'm using C++/WinRT with WinUI 3:
MainWindowViewModel.idl
namespace MyApp
{
runtimeclass FooViewModel
{
MainWindowViewModel();
Int32 IntProperty; // I can bind this to a XAML element's property
Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.Frame Frame; // Can I use this in the View?
}
}
MainWindow.idl (View)
import "ViewModel/MainWindowViewModel.idl";
namespace MyApp
{
runtimeclass MainWindow : Micorosoft.UI.Xaml.Window
{
MainWindow();
MainWindowViewModel MainWindowViewModel{ get; };
}
}
MainWindow.xaml (View's XAML)
<Window
x:Class="MyApp.MainWindow"
//...
>
<StackPanel>
// I can bind to a property of MainWindowViewModel as such:
<Slider Minimum="0" Maximum="{x:Bind MainWindowViewModel.IntProperty}" />
// Is there a way to use the Frame defined in MainWindowViewModel here, or can you only create a new Frame instance?
<Frame/>
</StackPanel
</Window>

Answer 1

Is it possible to simply define the XAML element itself in the
ViewModel and use that in the XAML markup of the View?
Yes, It will be work.
I tested it in WinUI3 C# and the code works fine.