I have a ParameterView and ParameterViewModel, and I need the ParameterViewModel to have a reference to the Parameter view (more on that later). In the window I have a list of ParameterViewModels and in the ResourceDictionary I add the DataTemplate:

<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type my:ParameterViewModel}" >
    <my:ParameterView HorizontalAlignment="Left"/> 
</DataTemplate>

I then bind an ItemsControl.ItemSource to the List of ParameterViewModels The problem is: How can I pass the ParameterView to the ParameterViewModel in this scenario?

The reason I need the ParameterView in the ParameterViewModel is the following: I have a TextBox whose Text property is binded to the PropertyModelView.Name property. But I want to display a default string when the Name is empty or Null. I've tried to set the property value to the default string I want when that happens but the TextBox.Text is not set in this scenario. I do something like this:

private string _name;
public string Name
{
    get { return _name; }
    set
    {
        if (value == null || value.Length == 0)
            Name = _defaultName;
        else
            _name = value;
    }
}

I've also tried to specifically set the TextBox.Text binding mode to TwoWay without success. I think this is a defense mechanism to prevent an infinite loop from happening but I don't know for sure. Any help on this front would also be highly appreciated.

Thanks, José Tavares