When values are transferred to or from the target, value conversions can be made – using intrinsic conversions, string formats, or data converters.

Intrinsic Conversions

The intrinsic conversions do not have to be configured, and are applied automatically when needed.

The Live Binding infrastructure contains following intrinsic conversions :

• System.Drawing.Color is converted to System.Windows.Media.Color when the target is of that type. This allows to use colors in the same way in both Windows Forms and WPF.
• System.Drawing.Color is converted to System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush when the target is of that type. This allows to use colors in the same way in both Windows Forms and WPF.

String Formats

In order to format the bound value according to a string format, simply set the StringFormat property of the binding. An empty string means no formatting. The format string is constructed according to usual .NET rules, and can contain following placeholders:

• {0}: The value.
• {1}: The type of the value (or null if the value itself is null)

The string formatting is only applied in one direction – for values being transferred from the binding source to the binding target.

In addition to formats defined by the .NET Framework, OPC Data Client defines format strings for various its types, and especially the types used in Live Binding, such as DAQuality, DAVtq, UAAttributeData, UAStatusCode, etc. This makes it easy to format compound values for display purposes, without having to write any code. For details, please refer to Format Strings in the Reference.

Data Converters

When string formatting is not sufficient, any kind of conversion can be made using data converters, and possibly in both directions. Data converters are objects that implement the IDataConverter interface. You can place converters on the design surface of the form, and then select from them for the Converter property of any binding.

OPC Data Client ships with several data converters, described in the subsequent chapters.

Besides using the data converter(s) that ship with the product, you can create your own data converter objects or components, and assign them to your bindings.