dotnet/wpf · error · InvalidOperationException

SR.SelectionRequired

Error message

SR.SelectionRequired

What it means

In ISelectionItemProvider.RemoveFromSelection, when the container's ISelectionProvider.IsSelectionRequired is true (a single-selection list that must always have a selection, as typical for non-multiselect ListViews), removing the current selection is invalid and the provider throws InvalidOperationException(SR.SelectionRequired). The UIA contract forbids leaving a selection-required container with no selection.

Solutions

  1. Check the container's SelectionPattern.IsSelectionRequired before calling RemoveFromSelection and skip the call when true.
  2. Replace the deselection with Select() on the item you want to be the (only) selection instead.
  3. If clearing the selection is a requirement, make the ListView multi-select (LVS_MULTISELECT) and/or set IsSelectionRequired=false semantics in the app.
  4. Catch InvalidOperationException around RemoveFromSelection and treat 'selection required' as a benign no-op in cleanup code.

Example fix

// before
selItem.RemoveFromSelection(); // throws on single-select lists

// after
var sel = (SelectionPattern)list.GetCurrentPattern(SelectionPattern.Pattern);
if (!sel.Current.IsSelectionRequired)
    selItem.RemoveFromSelection();
else
    selItem.Select(); // replace selection instead
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

var sel = (SelectionPattern)list.GetCurrentPattern(SelectionPattern.Pattern);
if (sel.Current.IsSelectionRequired)
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Container requires a selection; RemoveFromSelection is invalid.");

Type guard

bool CanRemoveSelection(AutomationElement list) =>
    list.TryGetCurrentPattern(SelectionPattern.Pattern, out var p) && !((SelectionPattern)p).Current.IsSelectionRequired;

Try / catch

try { selItem.RemoveFromSelection(); }
catch (InvalidOperationException)
{ selItem.Select(); /* selection-required list: replace instead of remove */ }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling RemoveFromSelection on an item of a ListView whose container reports IsSelectionRequired == true - the common case for single-select ListView controls without LVS_MULTISELECT combined with the provider's default assumption.

Common situations: Automation scripts attempting to clear selection on a single-select ListView; generic 'deselect all' logic applied uniformly to single- and multi-select lists; behavior differences across framework versions in how IsSelectionRequired is reported.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/wpf@81131a70a4 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e9b2b8192f5783e5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Microsoft.DotNet.Wpf/src/UIAutomation/UIAutomationClientSideProviders/MS/Internal/AutomationProxies/WindowsListViewItem.cs:468

            }

            // simple case: item is not selected
            if (!WindowsListView.IsItemSelected (_hwnd, _item))
            {
                return;
            }

            // object does not support multi-selection
            if (!WindowsListView.MultiSelected (_hwnd))
            {
                IRawElementProviderSimple container = ((ISelectionItemProvider)this).SelectionContainer;
                bool selectionRequired = container != null ? ((ISelectionProvider)container).IsSelectionRequired : true;

                // For single selection containers that IsSelectionRequired == false a
                // RemoveFromSelection is valid.
                if (selectionRequired)
                {
                    throw new InvalidOperationException(SR.SelectionRequired);
                }
            }

            // try to unselect the item
            if (!WindowsListView.UnSelectItem(_hwnd, _item))
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException(SR.OperationCannotBePerformed);
            }
        }

        // True if this element is part of the the selection
        bool ISelectionItemProvider.IsSelected
        {
            get
            {
                return WindowsListView.IsItemSelected (_hwnd, _item);
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 81131a70a4)