C# – How to find the first parent element of a given child that matches the submitted generic type T

This static class allows you to get the first parent element of a given child element in the VisualTree that matches a submitted generic type.

/// <summary>
/// Helper methods for UI-related tasks.
/// </summary>
public static class UIHelper
{
   /// <summary>
   /// Finds a parent of a given item on the visual tree.
   /// </summary>
   /// <typeparam name="T">The type of the queried item.</typeparam>
   /// <param name="child">A direct or indirect child of the
   /// queried item.</param>
   /// <returns>The first parent item that matches the submitted
   /// type parameter. If not matching item can be found, a null
   /// reference is being returned.</returns>
   public static T TryFindParent<T>(DependencyObject child)
     where T : DependencyObject
   {
     //get parent item
     DependencyObject parentObject = GetParentObject(child);

     //we've reached the end of the tree
     if (parentObject == null) return null;

     //check if the parent matches the type we're looking for
     T parent = parentObject as T;
     if (parent != null)
     {
       return parent;
     }
     else
     {
       //use recursion to proceed with next level
       return TryFindParent<T>(parentObject);
     }
   }

   /// <summary>
   /// This method is an alternative to WPF's
   /// <see cref="VisualTreeHelper.GetParent"/> method, which also
   /// supports content elements. Do note, that for content element,
   /// this method falls back to the logical tree of the element!
   /// </summary>
   /// <param name="child">The item to be processed.</param>
   /// <returns>The submitted item's parent, if available. Otherwise
   /// null.</returns>
   public static DependencyObject GetParentObject(DependencyObject child)
   {
     if (child == null) return null;
     ContentElement contentElement = child as ContentElement;

     if (contentElement != null)
     {
       DependencyObject parent = ContentOperations.GetParent(contentElement);
       if (parent != null) return parent;

       FrameworkContentElement fce = contentElement as FrameworkContentElement;
       return fce != null ? fce.Parent : null;
     }

     //if it's not a ContentElement, rely on VisualTreeHelper
     return VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(child);
   }
}

This last method “GetParentObject” is an alternative to WPF’s “VisualTreeHelper.GetParent” method, which also supports content elements. Do note, that for content element, this method falls back to the logical tree of the element!