I have a list of strings in my ViewModel
with the following format:
This is an <b>example.<b>
I want to have some kind of text control in my view that will display the formatted text via DataBinding
*, like this:
This is an example.
I don't find any built-in control that can behave like this.
Does anyone know how to deal with it?
You can use Run:
<TextBlock FontSize="30">
<Run>This is an</Run>
<Run FontWeight="Bold" Text=" example"/>
</TextBlock>
For this you will have to parse your strings, select bold sections, and define content in the code behind. A very simple example can look like this:
string example = @"This is an <b>example.</b>";
var str = example.Split(new string[] { "<b>", "</b>" }, StringSplitOptions.None);
for (int i = 0; i < str.Length; i++)
myTextBlock.Inlines.Add(new Run { Text = str[i], FontWeight = i % 2 == 1 ? FontWeights.Bold : FontWeights.Normal });
Edit - using with Binding
If you want to use the above procedure with Binding, then it's not so simple - TextBlock.Inlines is not a DependencyProperty, so we cannot use it. Nevertheless there is a way to do it - you need to extend somehow your TextBlock - here is another pitfall - it's sealed class so no inheritance. In this case we will have to use another class (here is also a good example):
public static class TextBlockExtension
{
public static string GetFormattedText(DependencyObject obj)
{ return (string)obj.GetValue(FormattedTextProperty); }
public static void SetFormattedText(DependencyObject obj, string value)
{ obj.SetValue(FormattedTextProperty, value); }
public static readonly DependencyProperty FormattedTextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("FormattedText", typeof(string), typeof(TextBlockExtension),
new PropertyMetadata(string.Empty, (sender, e) =>
{
string text = e.NewValue as string;
var textBl = sender as TextBlock;
if (textBl != null)
{
textBl.Inlines.Clear();
var str = text.Split(new string[] { "<b>", "</b>" }, StringSplitOptions.None);
for (int i = 0; i < str.Length; i++)
textBl.Inlines.Add(new Run { Text = str[i], FontWeight = i % 2 == 1 ? FontWeights.Bold : FontWeights.Normal });
}
}));
}
Then you can use it in xaml like this:
<TextBlock local:TextBlockExtension.FormattedText="{Binding MyText}"/>
You could use the RichTextBlock control. Something like:
<RichTextBlock>
<Paragraph>
This is an <Bold>example</Bold>
</Paragraph>
</RichTextBlock>