How to Build a Datatemplate in C# Code

How do I build a DataTemplate in c# code?

Assuming that you've already set up the ItemsSource etc for drpCreditCardNumberWpf...

//create the data template
DataTemplate cardLayout = new DataTemplate();
cardLayout.DataType = typeof(CreditCardPayment);

//set up the stack panel
FrameworkElementFactory spFactory = new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(StackPanel));
spFactory.Name = "myComboFactory";
spFactory.SetValue(StackPanel.OrientationProperty, Orientation.Horizontal);

//set up the card holder textblock
FrameworkElementFactory cardHolder = new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(TextBlock));
cardHolder.SetBinding(TextBlock.TextProperty, new Binding("BillToName"));
cardHolder.SetValue(TextBlock.ToolTipProperty, "Card Holder Name");
spFactory.AppendChild(cardHolder);

//set up the card number textblock
FrameworkElementFactory cardNumber = new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(TextBlock));
cardNumber.SetBinding(TextBlock.TextProperty, new Binding("SafeNumber"));
cardNumber.SetValue(TextBlock.ToolTipProperty, "Credit Card Number");
spFactory.AppendChild(cardNumber);

//set up the notes textblock
FrameworkElementFactory notes = new FrameworkElementFactory(typeof(TextBlock));
notes.SetBinding(TextBlock.TextProperty, new Binding("Notes"));
notes.SetValue(TextBlock.ToolTipProperty, "Notes");
spFactory.AppendChild(notes);

//set the visual tree of the data template
cardLayout.VisualTree = spFactory;

//set the item template to be our shiny new data template
drpCreditCardNumberWpf.ItemTemplate = cardLayout;

You can use the same way I have set the ToolTip on the TextBlocks to set other properties such as margins.

How to create a DataTemplate using C# and set child control's resources?

FrameworkElementFactory:

This class is a deprecated way to programmatically create templates, which are subclasses of FrameworkTemplate such as ControlTemplate or DataTemplate; not all of the template functionality is available when you create a template using this class. The recommended way to programmatically create a template is to load XAML from a string or a memory stream using the Load method of the XamlReader class.

This means, you should use the XmlReader to activate the DataTemplate from a string:

var dataTemplateString = 
  @"<DataTemplate xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"" 
                  xmlns:x=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"">    
      <ContentControl Content=""{Binding}"" Focusable=""False"">
        <ContentControl.Resources>
          <DataTemplate DataType=""{x:Type data:DataItem}"">
            <StackPanel Orientation=""Horizontal"">
              <TextBox Text=""{Binding FirstProperty}""/>
              <Label Content="" - ""/>
              <TextBox Text=""{Binding SecondProperty}""/>
            </StackPanel>
          </DataTemplate>
        </ContentControl.Resources>
      </ContentControl>
    </DataTemplate>";

var stringReader = new StringReader(dataTemplateString);
XmlReader xmlReader = XmlReader.Create(stringReader);
DataTemplate dataTemplate = (DataTemplate) XamlReader.Load(xmlReader);

Alternatively you can serialize an existing DataTemplate using XamlWriter.Save() and then actually activate it using XamlReader.Load() (Serialization Limitations of XamlWriter.Save).

There also exists an asynchronous implementation to load XAML objects at runtime: XamlReader.LoadAsync.

How to create DataTemplate with ItemsControl from code behind WPF

You could use the XamlReader.Parse method to create an elements from a XAML string dynamically:

const string Xaml = "<ItemsControl ItemsSource=\"{Binding ListOfSubObjects}\">" +
"                <ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>" +
"                    <ItemsPanelTemplate>" +
"                        <StackPanel Orientation=\"Vertical\"></StackPanel>" +
"                    </ItemsPanelTemplate>" +
"                </ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>" +
"                <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>" +
"                    <DataTemplate>" +
"                        <TextBlock Text=\"{Binding SubObjectName}\"/>" +
"                    </DataTemplate>" +
"                </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>" +
"            </ItemsControl>";

ParserContext parserContext = new ParserContext();
parserContext.XmlnsDictionary.Add("", "http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation");
parserContext.XmlnsDictionary.Add("x", "http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml");

ItemsControl itemsControl = XamlReader.Parse(Xaml, parserContext) as ItemsControl;

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