ListView DataTemplate in separate folder - xaml

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.

Answer 2

In datatemplate.xaml define datatemplate:
<ResourceDictionary
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
<DataTemplate>
</DataTemplate>
</ResourceDictionary>
In UserControl refer to datatemplate:
<UserControl
x:Class="<assemblyName>.Themes.MyUserControl1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="using:PerpetuumSoft.DataManager.UniApp.UI.Themes"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300"
d:DesignWidth="400">
<UserControl.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="ms-appx:///<AssemblyName>/Themes/DataTemplate.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</UserControl.Resources>
<Grid>
</Grid>
</UserControl>