Dock

Dock documentation

Welcome to the Dock documentation. This page is the entry point for the documentation site and collects links to guides, reference topics and other resources. These articles explain how to use the Dock layout system from basic setup through advanced customization. The examples assume an Avalonia application created with the .NET SDK. If you are new to Dock, start with the guides under Getting started.

Getting started

• Quick start – Set up a minimal Dock layout.
• MVVM guide – Build layouts using MVVM view models.
• ReactiveUI guide – ReactiveUI equivalent of the MVVM guide.
• XAML guide – Declare layouts purely in XAML.
• Code-only guide – Build Dock layouts entirely in C#.

Concepts

• Active document – Retrieve the currently focused document.
• Events guide – Subscribe to dock and window events.
• API scenarios – Common coding patterns.
• Serialization and persistence – Save and restore layouts.
• Serialization state – Capture focus information.
• Architecture overview – High level design of the docking system.
• Deep dive – Internals of DockControl.
• Complex layout tutorials – Multi-window and plug-in walkthroughs.
• Styling and theming – Customize the appearance of Dock controls.
• Control recycling – Reuse visuals when dockables return.
• Advanced guide – Custom factories and runtime features.

Reference

• Reference guide – Overview of the core APIs.
• Glossary – Definitions of common Dock terms.

Troubleshooting

• FAQ – Solutions to common issues.

See the sample applications under the samples directory for real‑world usage. The project README also lists the available guides and provides basic build instructions.

For the complete source code visit the GitHub repository. NuGet packages are published on NuGet.org, including both Dock.Avalonia and Dock.Model.Mvvm.

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