WPF ListViewItem IsSelected is on Window_Closing allways false?!

Question

WPF ListViewItem IsSelected is on Window_Closing allways false?!

Rosenbohm, Mario 40

Hello,

on my ListView is the ListViewItem-property "IsSelected" binding to object-property.

    <Window.Resources>
        <Style x:Key="ListViewStyle" TargetType="ListBoxItem">
            <Setter Property="Width" Value="250" />
            <Setter Property="IsSelected" Value="{Binding Path=IsSelected, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
        </Style>
    </Window.Resources>

On program is running works all fine, i can read and set the object property "IsSelected" and ListView display them.
I want to save the selected state by "before closing window" and load on program restart.

But on event Windows_Closing are all items unselected, IsSelected == false?

Why?

Best regards Mario

Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-04-20T06:06:36.0133333+00:00

Are you checking the control items or the data collection elements? (It seems that both should work).
Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-04-20T12:17:16.5033333+00:00

Maybe the problem in your particular case is related to a discrepancy. If you are using ListView, then you should indicate TargetType="ListViewItem". The x:Key is not always necessary.

2 answers

Your answer

Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-04-20T06:06:36.0133333+00:00

Are you checking the control items or the data collection elements? (It seems that both should work).
Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-04-20T12:17:16.5033333+00:00

Maybe the problem in your particular case is related to a discrepancy. If you are using ListView, then you should indicate TargetType="ListViewItem". The x:Key is not always necessary.

Answer 1

Window.Closing is raised after WPF has already cleared the selection state of the ListViewItem visuals, so the IsSelected property on the container items is no longer true when that event runs. By the time Closing executes, the ListViewItem containers are transitioning to the Unselected visual state.

To persist selection, do not rely on the ListViewItem.IsSelected value during Window_Closing. Instead:

Bind selection to a property on the data item (as already done with IsSelected), and
Persist that data item property at a point where it still reflects the current selection (for example, when the selection changes, or via a command invoked before the window starts closing).

Because the selection state is stored on the data objects, it remains available even after the window and its visual containers (ListViewItem) are torn down. On the next startup, restore the IsSelected values from the persisted data, and the ListView will re-select the items via the binding.

If visual styling of selected items is needed, use the SelectionStates visual states (Selected, Unselected, SelectedUnfocused) in the ListViewItem template rather than reading IsSelected during Closing.

References:

Answer 2

Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 5,185 Microsoft External Staff

Thank you for reaching out.
When a WPF window starts closing, WPF first begins cleaning up the UI. This includes the visual items inside the ListView. Because of that, the ListViewItem containers start losing their selected state before the Window_Closing event runs. So when you check ListViewItem.IsSelected inside Window_Closing, it may already be reset to false, even though the user had items selected just before closing.

This is why reading selection from the UI at that moment is not reliable.

To save and restore selection correctly, don’t rely on ListViewItem.IsSelected during Window_Closing. Instead, store the selected state in your data model (your IsSelected property) while the application is still running normally, such as when selection changes or before closing starts. When the app starts again, load those saved IsSelected values back into your data objects, and the ListView will automatically show the same selection through data binding.

Please let us know if you require any further assistance, we’re happy to help. If you found this information useful, kindly mark this as "Accept Answer". So that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 5,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-04-23T13:02:27.79+00:00

Hope you're doing well. Could you please let us know if the issue still persists or if it has been resolved? If everything is working fine now, we’d appreciate it if you could mark the response as "Accept Answer". We will proceed with the thread closure by 27 April, so we are hoping for your reply before that.
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 5,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-04-27T11:40:29.96+00:00

We are closing this thread at this moment since we are unable to investigate this issue further without the requested information. If the issue still occurs, please collect the requested information and share it with us. Upon receipt of the additional information, we will reopen this thread and continue to investigate this issue. Thank you.