Question: I created a user control in WPF:

```
<UserControl x:Class="TestUserControl.Controls.GetLatest"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
        <TextBlock Name="theTextBlock"/>
</UserControl>

```

The code behind has a parameter called "FirstMessage" which it sets as the text of my user control TextBlock:

```
public partial class GetLatest : UserControl
{
    public string FirstMessage { get; set; }

    public GetLatest()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        theTextBlock.Text = this.FirstMessage;
    }
}

```

In my main code I can set the FirstMessage parameter in my user control with intellisense:

```
<Window x:Class="TestUserControl.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300"
    xmlns:controls="clr-namespace:TestUserControl.Controls"
    >
    <StackPanel>
        <controls:GetLatest FirstMessage="This is the title"/>
    </StackPanel>
</Window>

```

However, it still doesn't set the text. I've tried Text="{Binding Path=FirstMessage}" and other syntaxes I have found but nothing works.

How can I access the FirstMessage value in my user control?

Answer: 
Your approach to binding doesn't work because your property FirstMessage doesn't notify when it gets updated. Use Dependency Properties for that. See below:

```
public partial class GetLatest : UserControl
{
    public static readonly DependencyProperty FirstMessageProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("FirstMessage", typeof(string), typeof(GetLatest));

    public string FirstMessage
    {
        get { return (string)GetValue(FirstMessageProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FirstMessageProperty, value); }
    }

    public GetLatest()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        this.DataContext = this;
    }

}

```

XAML:

```
<UserControl x:Class="TestUserControl.Controls.GetLatest"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
    <TextBlock Text="{Binding FirstMessage}" />
</UserControl>

```

Whenever the FirstMessage property changes, your text block will update itself.
In the case of the code you posted above it is a timing issue; the FirstMessage property has not had its value assigned when the constructor executes. You'd have to execute that code in an event occuring later on such as Loaded.