XAML: MouseLeftButtonUp only fires when clicking text, not whitespace - xaml

Question

I have a list box (in Silverlight) that uses a DataTemplate for the ItemTemplate. The DataTemplate is defined like this:
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
MouseLeftButtonUp="RoleStackPanel_MouseLeftButtonUp"
Tag="{Binding}">
<TextBlock Name="roleItem"
Text="{Binding Path=DisplayValue, Mode=TwoWay}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
I have found that my event RoleStackPanel_MouseLeftButtonUp only fires if any text displayed in the TextBlock is clicked. If the user clicks any whitespace in the item to the right of the text, the event does not fire. So lets say the control is 300px wide but only has the word "Admin" in the item, you MUST click "Admin" and not to the empty whitespace to the right.
How can I make it so the events fires wherever I click in the item, on text or whitespace?

Answer 1

So a couple quick considerations to get you sorted.
a.) The area of your panel does not have HitTestVisibility by default. This is by design and intentional. To get your event to fire for the parent simply add the property of IsHitTestVisible="True" or provide a Brush for the panel via Background="Transparent" to it to invoke HitTestVisibility.
b.) A StackPanel will only consume the space required by its children. If you wish to provide a large area for a user to hit like you describe than swap the StackPanel for Grid which should consume whatever space is made available by its parent. Same rules of HitTestVisibility apply.
<DataTemplate>
<Grid IsHitTestVisible="True"
MouseLeftButtonUp="RoleStackPanel_MouseLeftButtonUp"
Tag="{Binding}">
<TextBlock Name="roleItem"
Text="{Binding Path=DisplayValue, Mode=TwoWay}" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
Hope this helps, cheers!