A set of questions about Set up a VisualStates and TriggerStates for Controls

Question

I want to have Border controls to change color when the mouse is hovering over them. I know how to achieve this by subscribing to controls events. However, I have recently discovered the VisualStateManager mechanism and currently confused about when or why should I use it.

It seems that all VisualStates mechanic was meant to allow configuring controls response to user interactions within the XAML. I couldn't set up a VisualState at runtime, only trigger predefined states. Is this assessment correct?

How should I set up VisualStates for controls created programmatically during runtime? Seems I can define a template within a style, and then apply the style to the created control, correct?

VisualStates are somehow connected to Triggers, I assume by name, but there is no property PointerOver, so how come there is a StateTrigger for it?

How should I neutrelize VisualStates of existing controls. For example, I want Buttons not to respond when mouse is hovered over them or if pressed. I would assume again by defining a template within a style and then applying the style, right?

Researched contributed to this point

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-app-sdk/api/winrt/microsoft.ui.xaml.statetrigger?view=windows-app-sdk-1.6

https://github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml/blob/winui3/release/1.5-stable/dxaml/xcp/dxaml/themes/generic.xaml

Change text when VisualState is set to "PointerOver",

Why would you not simply "disable" a button if you did not want someone to "press it". All your questions just lead to more questions. — Gerry Schmitz
– Gerry Schmitz, Commented Feb 1 at 5:43
@GerrySchmitz, I need the button to respond to other UI events like right clicking, tooltip display, etc... for various reasons. The main idea of this question is to have an answer that provides more info about WinUI mechanics covered by the question. — Eliy Arlev
– Eliy Arlev, Commented Feb 1 at 11:27
That's the point: all those things are "common place"; and handled with event handlers; not modifying "visual states"; which IMO, are "make work" projects unrelated to "user requirements". — Gerry Schmitz
– Gerry Schmitz, Commented Feb 1 at 19:03
I wouldn't say it answered my question, but definitely pointed me to a valuable learning resource — Eliy Arlev
– Eliy Arlev, Commented Feb 22 at 19:35

Andrew KeepCoding · Accepted Answer · 2025-02-05 00:08:47Z

1

A VisualState won't be automatically triggered. It has to be triggered by the control:

public void Control_PointerEntered(object sender, PointerRoutedEventArgs e)
{
    base.OnPointerEntered(e);
    if (VisualStateManager.GoToState(this, "PointerOverState", true) is false)
    {
        System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine("VisualState 'PointerOverState' failed.");
    }
}

Then you can create your VisualStates on XAML. You can see working examples on the CommunityToolkit GitHub repo.

BTW, you can also get a bit tricky and add/remove VisualStates on C#.

https://stackoverflow.com/a/76085521/2411960

answered Feb 5 at 0:08

Andrew KeepCoding

15.4k2 gold badges25 silver badges40 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Eliy Arlev Feb 22 at 19:35

I wouldn't say it answered my question, but definitely pointed me to a valuable learning resource

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

A set of questions about Set up a VisualStates and TriggerStates for Controls

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related