LinkResolver

Smartstore stores navigation targets as compact link expressions like product:123, topic:about-us|_blank or https://example.com. ILinkResolver translates these expressions to concrete URLs and labels, ensuring store and ACL security and reusing results from a memory cache.

Expression format

A link expression consists of schema:target|linkTarget?query:

Part	Description
schema	Identifier selecting a provider (product, category, topic, etc.). If omitted, the string is treated as a raw URL.
target	Entity id, system name or URL path.
linkTarget	Optional window target such as _blank.
query	Optional query string appended to the generated link.

Built‑in schemas are:

Schema	Resolves to
product	Product detail page
category	Category listing
manufacturer	Manufacturer page
topic	Topic by id or system name
url	Absolute or application-relative URL (~/path)
file	Static file path

Providers implement ILinkProvider and can add further schemas.

Resolving links

Inject ILinkResolver and call ResolveAsync with an expression:

public class LinkDemo
{
    private readonly ILinkResolver _links;

    public LinkDemo(ILinkResolver links) => _links = links;

    public async Task<string> GetProductLinkAsync(int id)
    {
        var result = await _links.ResolveAsync($"product:{id}");
        return result.Status == LinkStatus.Ok ? result.Link : string.Empty;
    }
}

ResolveAsync returns a LinkResolutionResult containing the final URL, a localized label and the entity identifiers when available. Access control is evaluated by store mapping and ACL before a link is considered valid.

Custom providers

Custom schemas are added by implementing ILinkProvider and registering it via DI:

public class BlogPostLinkProvider : ILinkProvider
{
    public int Order => 100;
    public IEnumerable<LinkBuilderMetadata> GetBuilderMetadata() =>
        new[] { new LinkBuilderMetadata { Schema = "blogpost", Icon = "fa fa-blog", ResKey = "Common.Entity.BlogPost" } };

    public Task<LinkTranslationResult> TranslateAsync(LinkExpression expr, int storeId, int languageId)
    {
        // look up blog post and return URL/label
    }
}

The metadata controls the link picker UI in the admin panel.

Cache invalidation

Resolved links are cached under a key that includes schema, store, language and roles. When the underlying entity changes, invalidate the cache with:

_linkResolver.InvalidateLink("product", productId);

A built-in DefaultLinkInvalidator listens to update events for core entities and clears entries automatically.