WPF LinkLabel implementation strategy

Question

I am attempting to create a LinkLabel control for WPF. Essentially, I'm going to create the LinkLabel from a TextBlock and handle MouseEnter, MouseLeave, and MouseLeftButtonUp events. In the back end I have a base class that has properties that you would expect to see with a LinkLabel. With most other clickable controls in WPF, there is a default MouseEnter animation where the control becomes Ice Blue. I would like to duplicate this behavior when the mouse cursor enters over the TextBlock. I'm not sure if I'm needing to derive from ButtonBase or something along those lines. I have a I am able to change the cursor to a hand, and handle the event for when the "LinkLabel" is clicked. If accessing this seemingly default color changing animations, then I just may have to resort to a simple foreground color swap without the smooth transition. If anyone has created a custom WPF LinkLabel before or has any advice into the matter your input would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

You can create the equivalent of WinForms' LinkLabel right now using a combination of TextBlock and HyperLink:

<TextBlock>Here is a <Hyperlink NavigateUri="http://example.com"&gt;link&lt;/Hyperlink&gt;&lt;/TextBlock&gt;

You won't get the "ice blue" mouse-over effect, but you will get the hand cursor. I'm sure you can introduce your mouse-over effects using a simple style trigger.

The "NavigateUri" property works in navigation-style applications where the hyperlink is inside a Frame control. In a standard WPF application you'll want to handle the Hyperlink's Click event instead and use Process.Start to kick off a web browser with the correct URL.