dotnet/wpf · error · ElementNotEnabledException

ElementNotEnabledException

Error message

ElementNotEnabledException

What it means

ISelectionItemProvider.RemoveFromSelection throws ElementNotEnabledException when the item's host window is disabled (SafeNativeMethods.IsWindowEnabled false). Deselection likewise requires the control to be interactive, so the enabled state is re-checked at call time.

Solutions

  1. Re-enable the control / close the modal dialog first.
  2. Catch ElementNotEnabledException and retry after the window is enabled.
  3. Check AutomationElement.IsEnabled on the item before the call.

Example fix

// before
selectionItem.RemoveFromSelection();
// after
if (item.Current.IsEnabled)
{
    selectionItem.RemoveFromSelection();
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (!item.Current.IsEnabled) return; // cannot deselect a disabled control

Type guard

bool IsDeselectable(AutomationElement e) => e.Current.IsEnabled && (e.GetCurrentPattern(SelectionItemPattern.Pattern) as SelectionItemPattern)?.Current.IsSelected == true;

Try / catch

try { selectionItem.RemoveFromSelection(); }
catch (ElementNotEnabledException) { /* wait for enabled state, retry */ }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling RemoveFromSelection on a selected listbox item while its listbox window is disabled (modal owner, programmatically disabled control).

Common situations: Script clearing a selection while a dialog disables the listbox; app disables controls during background work.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/wpf@81131a70a4 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/88fcea2f59919074. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Microsoft.DotNet.Wpf/src/UIAutomation/UIAutomationClientSideProviders/MS/Internal/AutomationProxies/WindowsListBox.cs:872

                }

                // At this point we know: Item either supports multiple selection or nothing
                // is selected in the list
                // Try to select an item
                if (!Select(multipleSelection))
                {
                    throw new InvalidOperationException(SR.OperationCannotBePerformed);
                }
            }

            // Removes this element from the selection
            void ISelectionItemProvider.RemoveFromSelection ()
            {
                // Check that control can be interacted with.
                // This state could change anytime
                if (!SafeNativeMethods.IsWindowEnabled(_hwnd))
                {
                    throw new ElementNotEnabledException();
                }

                if (!IsSelected(_hwnd, _item))
                {
                    // simple case, item is not selected
                    return;
                }

                // object does not support multi-selection
                if (!_listBox.IsMultipleSelection())
                {
                    // single-selected lb - user cannot remove the selection using keyboard and mouse
                    // At this point we know that item is selected, lb is single-selected hence
                    // RemoveFromSelection is not possible
                    throw new InvalidOperationException(SR.SelectionRequired);
                }

                if (!UnSelect(_hwnd, _item))

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