Avalonia Controls Reference

This reference lists Dock-specific properties for Avalonia controls in the Dock.Avalonia packages. Base Avalonia properties (for example, Width, IsVisible, Background) are not repeated here.

Unless noted otherwise, the properties listed are Avalonia styled properties and can be set in XAML or code. Properties labeled "CLR" are regular properties that must be set in code.

Core host controls

DockControl

Property	Type	Description
Layout	IDock?	Root layout assigned to the control.
Factory	IFactory?	Factory used when Layout.Factory is null.
InitializeFactory	bool	When true, assigns default locators and fallback delegates.
InitializeLayout	bool	When true, calls InitLayout on the factory.
DefaultContext	object?	Fallback context for the default context locator.
AutoCreateDataTemplates	bool	Automatically injects Dock DataTemplates when true.
IsDockingEnabled	bool	Enables or disables docking interactions (layout lock).
IsDraggingDock	bool	Set while a drag operation is active; useful for styling.
DragOffsetCalculator	IDragOffsetCalculator	CLR property that controls drag preview positioning.
DockManager	IDockManager	CLR property for the dock manager service (read-only).
DockControlState	IDockControlState	CLR property for internal docking state (read-only).
IsOpen	bool	CLR property; true when the selector overlay is open (read-only).

DockCommandBarHost

Property	Type	Description
MenuBars	IReadOnlyList<Control>?	Rendered menu bar controls.
ToolBars	IReadOnlyList<Control>?	Rendered tool bar controls.
RibbonBars	IReadOnlyList<Control>?	Rendered ribbon bar controls.
BaseCommandBars	IReadOnlyList<DockCommandBarDefinition>?	App-level bar definitions merged with active dockables.

DockSelectorOverlay

Property	Type	Description
IsOpen	bool	Shows or hides the overlay.
Items	IReadOnlyList<DockSelectorItem>?	Items displayed in the selector.
SelectedItem	DockSelectorItem?	Currently highlighted item.
Mode	DockSelectorMode	Documents or tools selector mode.

Template part:

• PART_ItemsList (ListBox) - selector item host used for selection and scroll automation delegation.

DockTargetBase (DockTarget, GlobalDockTarget)

Property	Type	Description
ShowIndicatorsOnly	bool	Hide selector icons and show only drop indicators.
ShowHorizontalTargets	bool	Toggle horizontal indicators.
ShowVerticalTargets	bool	Toggle vertical indicators.
IsGlobalDockAvailable	bool	Indicates global docking availability.
IsGlobalDockActive	bool	Indicates global docking active state.

DockTarget and GlobalDockTarget inherit these properties without adding new ones.

Accessibility automation peers

Dock provides dedicated automation peers for key interaction controls:

Control	Peer	Role	Providers
DockControl	DockControlAutomationPeer	Pane	-
RootDockControl	RootDockControlAutomationPeer	Pane	-
DockCommandBarHost	DockCommandBarHostAutomationPeer	ToolBar	-
DockTarget / GlobalDockTarget	DockTargetAutomationPeer	Pane	IInvokeProvider
DocumentControl	DocumentControlAutomationPeer	Pane	IInvokeProvider
ToolControl	ToolControlAutomationPeer	Pane	IInvokeProvider
MdiDocumentControl	MdiDocumentControlAutomationPeer	Pane	IInvokeProvider
DocumentTabStrip	DocumentTabStripAutomationPeer	Tab	ISelectionProvider, IScrollProvider
ToolTabStrip	ToolTabStripAutomationPeer	Tab	ISelectionProvider, IScrollProvider
DocumentTabStripItem	DocumentTabStripItemAutomationPeer	TabItem	IInvokeProvider and selection item support
ToolTabStripItem	ToolTabStripItemAutomationPeer	TabItem	IInvokeProvider and selection item support
ToolChromeControl	ToolChromeControlAutomationPeer	TitleBar	IInvokeProvider, IExpandCollapseProvider
PinnedDockControl	PinnedDockControlAutomationPeer	Pane	IExpandCollapseProvider
ToolPinnedControl	ToolPinnedControlAutomationPeer	Tab	ISelectionProvider
ToolPinItemControl	ToolPinItemControlAutomationPeer	TabItem	IInvokeProvider, ISelectionItemProvider
MdiDocumentWindow	MdiDocumentWindowAutomationPeer	Window	IInvokeProvider
DockSelectorOverlay	DockSelectorOverlayAutomationPeer	List	IExpandCollapseProvider, ISelectionProvider, IScrollProvider, IValueProvider
HostWindow	HostWindowAutomationPeer	Window	IInvokeProvider
HostWindowTitleBar	HostWindowTitleBarAutomationPeer	TitleBar	IInvokeProvider
PinnedDockWindow	PinnedDockWindowAutomationPeer	Window	IInvokeProvider
DragPreviewControl	DragPreviewControlAutomationPeer	Pane	IValueProvider
DragPreviewWindow	DragPreviewWindowAutomationPeer	Pane	decorative-only (not exposed as control/content element)
DockAdornerWindow	DockAdornerWindowAutomationPeer	Pane	decorative-only (not exposed as control/content element)

Name and ID values prefer AutomationProperties, then Dock model identifiers (Title, Id) for stable fallback behavior.

Automation integration notes:

• Set AutomationProperties.Name and AutomationProperties.AutomationId on controls when you need deterministic labels/ids across themes.
• ISelectionItemProvider.Select for DocumentTabStripItem and ToolTabStripItem uses the same activation behavior as IInvokeProvider.Invoke.
• DockSelectorOverlay automation selection/scroll support depends on the PART_ItemsList template part.
• DragPreviewWindow and DockAdornerWindow peers are intentionally non-interactive and not exposed as control/content elements.

For behavior details and keyboard validation guidance, see Accessibility and UI automation.

Tab, chrome, and tool controls

DocumentControl

Property	Type	Description
IconTemplate	object?	Tab icon template.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate	Tab header template.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate	Modified indicator template.
CloseTemplate	IDataTemplate	Close button template.
EmptyContentTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Template used to render model EmptyContent when no tabbed documents are visible.
CloseButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the close button.
IsActive	bool	Active document state (drives :active).
TabsLayout	DocumentTabLayout	Tab placement for the document dock.
HasVisibleDockables	bool	true when one or more tabbed dockables are visible (read-only).

ToolControl

Property	Type	Description
IconTemplate	object?	Tab icon template.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate	Tab header template.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate	Modified indicator template.

DocumentTabStrip

Property	Type	Description
CanCreateItem	bool	true when the new-document button is available.
IsActive	bool	Active tab strip state (drives :active).
EnableWindowDrag	bool	Allows dragging the host window by the tab strip.
Orientation	Orientation	Tab strip orientation.
MouseWheelScrollOrientation	Orientation	Mouse-wheel scroll axis for tab overflow (Horizontal by default).
CreateButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the create document button.
IconTemplate	object?	Tab icon template used by DocumentTabStripItem.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Tab header template used by DocumentTabStripItem.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Modified indicator template used by DocumentTabStripItem.
CloseTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Close template used by DocumentTabStripItem.

DocumentTabStripItem

Property	Type	Description
IsActive	bool	Active tab state (drives :active).
DocumentContextMenu	ContextMenu?	Context menu for document tabs.

ToolTabStrip

Property	Type	Description
CanCreateItem	bool	true when the new-tool button is available.
MouseWheelScrollOrientation	Orientation	Mouse-wheel scroll axis for tab overflow (Horizontal by default).
IconTemplate	object?	Tab icon template used by ToolTabStripItem.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Tab header template used by ToolTabStripItem.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Modified indicator template used by ToolTabStripItem.

ToolTabStripItem

Property	Type	Description
TabContextMenu	ContextMenu?	Context menu for tool tabs.

ToolChromeControl

Property	Type	Description
Title	string	Tool title displayed in the chrome.
IsActive	bool	Active tool state (drives :active).
IsPinned	bool	Pinned state (drives :pinned).
IsFloating	bool	Floating state (drives :floating).
IsMaximized	bool	Maximized state (drives :maximized).
ToolFlyout	FlyoutBase?	Flyout for the grip/menu button.
CloseButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the close button.
MaximizeButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the maximize/restore button.
PinButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the pin button.
MenuButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the menu button.

ToolPinnedControl

Property	Type	Description
Orientation	Orientation	Orientation for pinned tool tabs.

ToolPinItemControl

Property	Type	Description
Orientation	Orientation	Orientation for the pin item.
PinContextMenu	ContextMenu?	Context menu for pinned tabs.

DockableControl

Property	Type	Description
TrackingMode	TrackingMode	Registers the control for visible, pinned, or tab tracking.

MDI controls

MdiLayoutPanel

Property	Type	Description
LayoutManager	IMdiLayoutManager?	Arranges MDI windows.

MdiDocumentControl

Property	Type	Description
IconTemplate	object?	Window icon template.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate	Window header template.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate	Modified indicator template.
CloseTemplate	IDataTemplate	Close button template.
EmptyContentTemplate	IDataTemplate?	Template used to render the model EmptyContent placeholder when no MDI documents are visible.
CloseButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the close button.
LayoutManager	IMdiLayoutManager?	Layout manager forwarded to the MDI panel.
IsActive	bool	Active state (drives :active).
HasVisibleDocuments	bool	true when one or more MDI documents are visible (read-only).

MdiDocumentWindow

Property	Type	Description
IconTemplate	object?	Window icon template.
HeaderTemplate	IDataTemplate	Window header template.
ModifiedTemplate	IDataTemplate	Modified indicator template.
CloseTemplate	IDataTemplate	Close button template.
CloseButtonTheme	ControlTheme?	Theme for the close button.
DocumentContextMenu	ContextMenu?	Context menu for MDI windows.
IsActive	bool	Active state (drives :active).
MdiState	MdiWindowState	Normal, Minimized, or Maximized.

Pinned and drag preview

PinnedDockControl

Property	Type	Description
PinnedDockAlignment	Alignment	Edge alignment for the pinned preview.
PinnedDockDisplayMode	PinnedDockDisplayMode	Controls whether pinned previews overlay content or take layout space.

PinnedDockHostPanel

Property	Type	Description
PinnedDockDisplayMode	PinnedDockDisplayMode	Controls whether the pinned preview overlays content or takes layout space.
PinnedDockAlignment	Alignment	Edge alignment used when the preview is arranged inline.

DragPreviewControl

Property	Type	Description
ContentTemplate	IDataTemplate	Template for the dragged dockable content.
Status	string	Dock, Float, or None status text.
ShowContent	bool	Toggles rendering the full dockable preview.
PreviewContentWidth	double	Width for the dockable preview content.
PreviewContentHeight	double	Height for the dockable preview content.

Window hosts

HostWindow

Property	Type	Description
IsToolWindow	bool	Marks the window as a tool window.
ToolChromeControlsWholeWindow	bool	Allows tool chrome to drag the full window.
DocumentChromeControlsWholeWindow	bool	Allows document chrome to drag the full window.
HostWindowState	IHostWindowState	CLR property for docking state (read-only).
IsTracked	bool	CLR property that indicates the window is tracked.
Window	IDockWindow?	CLR property for the backing dock window model.

HostWindowTitleBar

No Dock-specific properties.

DockAdornerWindow, DragPreviewWindow, PinnedDockWindow

No Dock-specific properties beyond the base Window members.

Container controls without Dock-specific properties

These controls do not add custom Dock properties:

• DocumentDockControl
• ToolDockControl
• DockDockControl
• RootDockControl
• ProportionalDockControl
• StackDockControl
• GridDockControl
• WrapDockControl
• UniformGridDockControl
• SplitViewDockControl
• DocumentContentControl
• ToolContentControl

For related topics see the Styling and theming and Reference guide.