Table of Contents

Dockable Property Settings

Dockable items such as documents, tools and docks implement the IDockable interface. This interface exposes a number of properties that control how each item behaves at runtime. Most of these flags can be set in XAML or on your view models.

Available properties

Property Description
Id Unique identifier used by the serializer and factory helpers.
Title Text shown on tabs and windows.
Context Optional data context associated with the dockable.
Owner The dock or window currently hosting the item.
OriginalOwner Where the dockable was first created. Used when restoring pinned tools.
Factory Factory instance used to create and manage the layout.
IsEmpty Indicates a placeholder dockable with no content.
IsCollapsable When false, the dock will remain even if it contains no children.
Proportion Size ratio used by ProportionalDock.
Dock The default docking mode for this dockable (DockMode).
Column Grid column index when hosted in a grid dock.
Row Grid row index when hosted in a grid dock.
ColumnSpan Grid column span when hosted in a grid dock.
RowSpan Grid row span when hosted in a grid dock.
IsSharedSizeScope Participates in shared size scope when hosted in a grid dock.
CollapsedProportion Last known proportion before a dock is collapsed.
MinWidth Optional minimum width. Overrides the current proportion if larger.
MaxWidth Optional maximum width. Overrides the proportion if smaller.
MinHeight Optional minimum height. Overrides the current proportion if larger.
MaxHeight Optional maximum height. Overrides the proportion if smaller.
DockingState Logical docking state (DockingWindowState flags) such as Docked, Pinned, Document, optionally combined with Floating and Hidden. When a parent dock is hidden, descendants also include Hidden.
CanClose Whether the user can close the dockable via UI commands.
CanPin Allows pinning and unpinning of tools.
KeepPinnedDockableVisible Keeps pinned previews visible instead of auto-hiding.
PinnedDockDisplayModeOverride Optional override for how pinned previews are displayed (Overlay or Inline). When null, the root dock setting is used.
PinnedBounds Optional stored bounds for pinned previews. Used to persist inline/overlay preview sizes.
CanFloat Controls if the item may be detached into a floating window.
CanDrag Enables dragging the dockable to another position.
CanDrop Determines if other dockables can be dropped onto this one.
CanDockAsDocument Controls whether the dockable can be docked as a tabbed document.
DockCapabilityOverrides Optional per-dockable capability overrides (bool? values). Highest-precedence layer in capability resolution.
IsModified Marks a dockable as having unsaved changes.
DockGroup Group identifier that restricts which dockables can dock together. See Docking Groups.
AllowedDockOperations Allowed docking operations when the dockable is dragged (DockOperationMask).
AllowedDropOperations Allowed docking operations when the dockable is the drop target (DockOperationMask).

Sample usage

The properties can be configured directly on your view models when creating the layout:

var errorsTool = new ToolViewModel
{
    Id = "Errors",
    Title = "Errors",
    CanDrag = false,
    CanFloat = false,
    CanClose = false
};

In XAML you set them as attributes:

<Tool x:Name="SolutionExplorer"
      Id="SolutionExplorer"
      Title="Solution Explorer"
      CanPin="False"
      CanFloat="True" />

DockingState is maintained by factory operations (PinDockable, UnpinDockable, FloatDockable, HideDockable, RestoreDockable) and can be used by UI bindings for diagnostics or state-aware visuals.

Capability values can also be governed by policy layers at root and dock level. See Capability policies and overrides.

Window State Mixin

Document and Tool models implement IDockingWindowState, which adds bindable runtime properties:

  • IsOpen: true when the item is currently present in a visible, pinned, or previewable layout area.
  • IsSelected: true when the item is the ActiveDockable of its owner dock.
  • IsActive: true when the item is focused in the active root.
  • DockingState: the logical location flags (Docked, Pinned, Document, Floating, Hidden).

Changes are synchronized both ways:

  • Layout -> VM: factory operations update these properties.
  • VM -> layout: setting IsOpen, IsSelected, IsActive, or DockingState requests the corresponding layout operation.

IsOpen, IsSelected, and IsActive are runtime state and are not serialized. DockingState remains part of persisted layout state.

Global drag and drop behavior can be toggled using the attached properties from Dock.Settings:

<Window xmlns:dockSettings="clr-namespace:Dock.Settings;assembly=Dock.Settings"
        dockSettings:DockProperties.IsDragEnabled="False"
        dockSettings:DockProperties.IsDropEnabled="False">
    <DockControl />
</Window>

For reference, the FAQ shows how these properties interact with the default templates.

Edit this page