Is it possible to Bind the DataContext of a UserControl to a property

I have a user control that I would like to use in two diff开发者_如何学Goerent contexts. The user control needs its DataContext set to an instance of an appropriate ViewModel that has been created by the parent view/viewmodel.

I was hoping for something like:

<local:Child DataContext="{Binding ChildViewModel}"/>

where ChildViewModel is a inpc-styled property of the ViewModel that the page is bound to.

That doesn't seem to work. Is it possible to assign the DataContext by using Binding?

It would probably be simpler to bind the Content of an ContentControl to your child ViewModel like this:

<ContentControl Content="{Binding ChildViewModel}" />

..and then have a DataTemplate to apply your local:Child View, like this

<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:ChildViewModel}">
    <local:Child />
</DataTemplate>