Table of Contents

Selector Overlay

Dock includes a document/tool selector overlay that lets users switch between dockables with the keyboard. The overlay is part of the DockControl template and is driven by DockSettings gestures.

Default shortcuts

  • Document selector: Ctrl+Tab
  • Tool selector: Ctrl+Alt+Tab

These defaults come from DockSettings.DocumentSelectorKeyGesture and DockSettings.ToolSelectorKeyGesture.

Enable or customize

DockSettings.SelectorEnabled = true;
DockSettings.DocumentSelectorKeyGesture = new KeyGesture(Key.Tab, KeyModifiers.Control);
DockSettings.ToolSelectorKeyGesture = new KeyGesture(Key.Tab, KeyModifiers.Control | KeyModifiers.Alt);

When the selector is open:

  • Tab / Shift+Tab cycles items
  • Arrow keys move selection
  • Enter activates the selected item
  • Esc closes the overlay
  • Releasing the modifier keys commits the current selection

Control what appears

Dockable base classes implement IDockSelectorInfo. Use it to hide items or change labels:

public class OutputTool : Tool
{
    public OutputTool()
    {
        ShowInSelector = false;
    }
}

public class DocumentViewModel : Document
{
    public DocumentViewModel()
    {
        SelectorTitle = "README.md";
    }
}

Programmatic control

DockControl implements IDockSelectorService so you can open or close the overlay in code:

if (dockControl is IDockSelectorService selector)
{
    selector.ShowSelector(DockSelectorMode.Documents);
    // ...
    selector.HideSelector();
}

Overlay control properties

The overlay itself is a DockSelectorOverlay control in the DockControl template. It exposes:

  • IsOpen - Toggles visibility and the :open pseudo class.
  • Items - The DockSelectorItem list rendered by the overlay.
  • SelectedItem - The currently highlighted selector item.
  • Mode - Documents or Tools, shown in the header.

These properties are primarily used by the template but can be styled or replaced in a custom theme.

Ordering and selection

The selector is ordered by the most recently activated dockables. Dock tracks activation order inside DockControl, so frequently used documents and tools appear first.

For related settings see Dock settings.

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