Is there a simpler way to add data to lists, bindings, etc.?

The Data tab is great, but it's too complex; I just need to fill in some data for a quick preview without all the complexity...

Hi Igorsf, Dorian here!

In Studio, it is possible to add content to typically data-driven 'Collection' Elements by inserting any of the Element's respective 'Item' Elements into them.

These 'Item' Elements (eg ListBoxItem, TabItem, etc...) can be found in the Add Elements Panel, and dragged into the Collection Element directly (eg ListBox, TabControl, etc...) in the Navigator.

Once the 'Item' Elements are introduced to the Page, they can then be populated directly there, by either inserting content into the Item Element itself (Items in Image 1, 2, 4), or by making Templates for any of the individual 'Item' Elements present, and adding all content inside of the Template itself (Items in Image 3 and 5)


Let us know how this works for you, or if you have any other questions!

- Dorian

What I meant is a simpler data structure—without having to create tables or fixed columns just to populate a display list...

For example, importing JSON to populate that ListBoxItem without needing to create a Data object.

Noesis Studio uses design data to test the contract between the UI and the runtime. Data Structures define the properties exposed by the runtime, and Data Sets define the values used to test those connections (bindings).

At the end these are just XML/XAML files found in the .noesis/data folder, so it should be very easy to create a script that converts your (JSON) data into those definitions. This is what other clients are already doing.

Then you can connect a "collection" property of your Data Set to the ListBox's ItemsSource to populate the list. And define a DataTemplate for the ListBox's ItemTemplate to determine how each item should present the data for the item.

Please let us know if you need assistance in any of these steps.

Thanks, that makes sense.

One concern I have is that even if I build a tool to generate the Data Sets from JSON, the tool still needs to generate and maintain the corresponding Data Structures first.

So the workflow becomes:

JSON
→ infer schema
→ generate Data Structure
→ generate Data Set
→ use it in Noesis Studio

For my use case, the main goal is simply to provide rich design-time sample data to the XAML editor, especially collections used by `ItemsSource`.

Is there any supported way in Noesis Studio to create a Data Set **without having to explicitly create a separate Data Structure first**?

For example, does Noesis support any of the following for design-time data?

- inferring the structure directly from the Data Set values;
- defining the structure inline inside the Data Set;
- using a dynamic/object/dictionary-like type;
- importing JSON directly as design-time data;
- or any other mechanism where I can provide the sample values without maintaining a separate Data Structure.

Ideally, I would like the workflow to be simply:

JSON
→ Data Set

rather than:

JSON
→ Data Structure + Data Set

If a Data Structure is fundamentally required by the Studio's design-data system, that's also useful to know. I just want to make sure there isn't a simpler supported workflow before I build the generator around both files.

Is there any supported way in Noesis Studio to create a Data Set **without having to explicitly create a separate Data Structure first**?

This is not possible. Data Structures are native types (C++, C#) and you always require a type assigned to every instance.