Controls by Function
Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.
Silverlight offers client controls that perform many functions. You can select the appropriate control for your scenario by comparing controls that offer similar functionality. Some of these controls are part of the Silverlight libraries in the Silverlight SDK. If a control is only available as part of the Silverlight SDK, it is specified in the Location column. For information about the Silverlight SDK, see Silverlight Tools.
For an alphabetical list of controls, see Controls and Dialog Boxes.
Controls by Function
The following table lists common Silverlight controls according to general function.
Function |
Control |
Location |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
Button/Command controls |
Runtime |
Responds to user input from a mouse, keyboard, stylus, or other input device and raises a Click event. |
|
Runtime |
Represents a button control that displays a hyperlink. When clicked, the HyperlinkButton enables users to move to a Web page in the same Web application or a Web page that is external to the current application. |
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Runtime |
Represents a button that raises its click event repeatedly from when the button is pressed until it is released. |
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Selection controls |
Runtime |
Represents a control that a user can select or clear. A check box optionally offers an, indeterminate state. |
|
Runtime |
Displays a drop-down list of items a user can select from. |
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Runtime |
Displays a list of items a user can select by clicking. |
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Runtime |
Allows a user to select a single option from a list of options. When radio buttons are grouped together they are mutually exclusive. |
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Runtime |
Represents a control that lets the user select from a range of values by moving a Thumb control along a track. |
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Date display and selection |
Silverlight SDK |
Allows a user to select a date from a visual calendar display. The calendar can be used on its own or in combination with the DatePicker control.. |
|
Silverlight SDK |
Allows a user to select a date by typing it in a text field or selecting it from a drop-down calendar control. |
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Information display (read-only) |
Runtime |
Displays small amounts of read-only text. |
|
Runtime |
Displays the current progress of an operation to the user. |
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(Silverlight 5) |
Runtime |
Provides a control for displaying rich text. Supports formatted text, hyperlinks, images, and other rich content. |
|
Text display and editing |
Silverlight SDK |
Represents a control that provides a text box for user input and a drop-down that contains possible matches based on the input in the text box. |
|
Runtime |
Provides a control that allows the user to enter sensitive data, such as a password. |
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Runtime |
Provides a control for displaying or editing text. |
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System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox (Silverlight 4 or later) |
Runtime |
Provides a control for displaying or editing rich text. Supports formatted text, hyperlinks, images, and other rich content. |
|
Data display |
Silverlight SDK |
Displays a collection of data in rows and columns. You can change the type of row or column to fit the needs of your application. |
|
Silverlight SDK |
Provides a user interface for paging through a collection of data that implements IPagedCollectionView. |
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Silverlight SDK |
Displays hierarchical data in a tree structure that has items that can expand and collapse. |
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System.Windows.Controls.Pivot.PivotViewer (Silverlight 5) |
Silverlight SDK |
Displays a large amount of data at once in a way that is easily consumable by the user. Users can browse the data in such a way that helps them see the trends and quickly find information they need. |
|
Graphics and video display |
(Silverlight 5) |
Runtime |
Defines an area where 3-D content can be composed and rendered. |
Runtime |
Displays an image. |
||
Runtime |
Enables users to open a multi-resolution image which can be scaled or repositioned for detail viewing. |
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Runtime |
Hosts audio or video content. Provides a rectangular region that can display video on its surface, or play audio if no video is present. |
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Runtime |
Provides a drawing surface to support Tablet PC features. |
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HTML display, out of browser |
(Silverlight 4 or later) |
Runtime |
Provides a surface for displaying HTML content when the application is hosted outside the browser or in Silverlight 5, a in-browser trusted application. |
Layout and element grouping |
Runtime |
Provides a border, background, or both to another control. |
|
Runtime |
Provides a surface to display child elements at specific coordinates in the canvas. |
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Runtime |
Represents a control with a single piece of content. |
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Runtime |
Provides a surface composed of rows and columns to display child elements. You define the rows and columns for a grid, than assign objects to a specific row or column in the grid. |
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Silverlight SDK |
Allows a user to resize the columns or rows in a Grid control. |
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Runtime |
Provides a surface to display child elements in a line; either horizontally or vertically. |
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(Silverlight 4 or later) |
Runtime |
Provides a control that can stretch or scale its content to fill the available space. |
|
Runtime |
Provides a stack panel control that arranges content that is visible on the screen, creating additional UI items as needed. |
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Runtime |
Represents a control that provides a scroll bar that has a sliding Thumb whose position corresponds to a value. |
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Runtime |
Provides a scrollable surface for displaying a child element. |
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Silverlight SDK |
Provides a tabbed interface for displaying elements. Child elements are hosted in a TabItem. |
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User Help |
Silverlight SDK |
Displays a description and tracks error state for an associated control. |
|
Silverlight SDK |
Displays a caption, required field indicator, and validation error indicator for an associated control. |
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Runtime |
Provides the user with information about an element in the UI using a popup window. |
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Silverlight SDK |
Displays a summary of the validation errors on a form. |
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Navigation |
Silverlight SDK |
Supports navigation to Page controls. |
|
Silverlight SDK |
Encapsulates content that can be navigated to by a Frame. |
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Dialog boxes and windows |
Runtime |
Enables the user to select one or more files from the file system. |
|
Runtime |
Enables the user to specify options for saving a file. |
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Silverlight SDK |
Provides a window that can be displayed over a parent window and blocks interaction with the parent window. |
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Runtime |
Overlays content on top of the existing content within the bounds of the Silverlight plug-in. |