observablecollection - When will the ValueConverter's Convert method be called in wpf

Question

I have an ObservableCollection bound to a list box and a boolean property bound to a button. I then defined two converters, one that operates on the collection and the other operates on the boolean property. Whenever I modify the boolean property, the converter's Convert method is called, where as the same is not called if I modify the observable collection. What am I missing??

Snippets for your reference,

xaml snipet,

<Window.Resources>
    <local:WrapPanelWidthConverter x:Key="WrapPanelWidthConverter" />
    <local:StateToColorConverter x:Key="StateToColorConverter" />
</Window.Resources>
<StackPanel>
    <ListBox x:Name="NamesListBox" ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Names}">
        <ListBox.ItemsPanel>
            <ItemsPanelTemplate>
                <WrapPanel x:Name="ItemWrapPanel" Width="500" Background="Gray">
                    <WrapPanel.RenderTransform>
                        <TranslateTransform x:Name="WrapPanelTranslatation" X="0" />
                    </WrapPanel.RenderTransform>
                    <WrapPanel.Triggers>
                        <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="WrapPanel.Loaded">
                            <BeginStoryboard>
                                <Storyboard>
                                    <DoubleAnimation Storyboard.TargetName="WrapPanelTranslatation" Storyboard.TargetProperty="X" To="{Binding Path=Names,Converter={StaticResource WrapPanelWidthConverter}}" From="525"  Duration="0:0:2" RepeatBehavior="100" />
                                </Storyboard>
                            </BeginStoryboard>
                        </EventTrigger>
                    </WrapPanel.Triggers>
                </WrapPanel>
            </ItemsPanelTemplate>
        </ListBox.ItemsPanel>
        <ListBox.ItemTemplate>
            <DataTemplate>
                <Grid>
                    <Label Content="{Binding}" Width="50" Background="LightGray" />
                </Grid>
            </DataTemplate>
        </ListBox.ItemTemplate>
    </ListBox>
    <Button Content="{Binding Path=State}" Background="{Binding Path=State, Converter={StaticResource StateToColorConverter}}" Width="100" Height="100" Click="Button_Click" />
</StackPanel>   

code behind snippet

public class WrapPanelWidthConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        ObservableCollection<string> aNames = value as ObservableCollection<string>;
        return -(aNames.Count * 50);
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException();
    }
}


public class StateToColorConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        bool aState = (bool)value;
        if (aState)
            return Brushes.Green;
        else
            return Brushes.Red;
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException();
    }
}   

Answer 1

A multibinding converter can be used to overcome this issue. You can then bind to the Collection.Count property and the collection at the same time. The count will trigger the binding to get re-evaluated and then you use the second binding to actually transform the values as required

<TextBlock IsHitTestVisible="false"
    Margin="5,0"
    TextTrimming="CharacterEllipsis"
    VerticalAlignment="Center"
    DockPanel.Dock="Left" >
    <TextBlock.Text>
        <MultiBinding Converter="{Resources:ListToStringConverter}">
            <Binding Path="List.Count" />
            <Binding Path="List" />
        </MultiBinding>
    </TextBlock.Text>
</TextBlock>