Dock ships with a small set of interfaces under Dock.Model.Controls.
These contracts describe the view models used to build a layout.
The interfaces are implemented by the MVVM and ReactiveUI libraries
and are referenced from the samples throughout this repository.
This page explains why each interface exists and how it should be used when creating your own docks and documents.
| Interface | Purpose |
|---|---|
IDockDock |
Basic dock panel that can optionally fill the remaining space with the last child. |
IDocument |
Represents a document item. Used for files or editor tabs. |
IDocumentContent |
Document containing arbitrary Content. |
IDocumentDock |
Dock that hosts documents and exposes commands to create them. |
IDocumentDockContent |
Dock that creates documents from a DocumentTemplate. |
IDocumentTemplate |
Template object used when creating new documents on demand. |
IProportionalDock |
Dock that arranges children vertically or horizontally using proportions. |
IStackDock |
Dock based on StackPanel with Orientation and Spacing. |
IGridDock |
Dock that uses Grid layout defined by ColumnDefinitions and RowDefinitions. |
IWrapDock |
Dock built on WrapPanel exposing Orientation. |
IUniformGridDock |
Dock with equally sized cells configured by Rows and Columns. |
IProportionalDockSplitter |
Splitter element between proportional dock children. |
IGridDockSplitter |
Splitter used inside a grid dock to resize rows or columns. |
IRootDock |
Top level container responsible for pinned docks and windows. |
ITool |
Basic interface for tool panes such as explorers or output views. |
IToolContent |
Tool containing arbitrary Content. |
IToolDock |
Dock that hosts tools and supports auto hide behaviour. |
The following sections provide guidelines on applying these contracts in your projects.
Use IDockDock for dock panels that hold a collection of child dockables.
The LastChildFill property mirrors the behaviour of Avalonia’s DockPanel.
Set it to true when the final child should consume all remaining space.
Typically this is combined with one or more ProportionalDock instances
that split the available area.
IDocument marks a dockable as a document. Documents are usually displayed
in an IDocumentDock and can be closed independently of tools. When a
document needs to expose additional data, implement IDocumentContent and
provide the object through its Content property. The MVVM and ReactiveUI
libraries include base classes that implement these interfaces and also
raise change notifications.
IDocumentDock is a specialized dock that maintains a tab strip of
documents. It contains optional commands for creating new documents
and allows dragging the host window via the tab area when
EnableWindowDrag is true. TabsLayout determines where the tabs
are placed.
IDocumentDockContent extends this concept by storing a
DocumentTemplate object. Calling CreateDocumentFromTemplate
should produce a new view model implementing IDocument. This is
useful when a document type can be instantiated from a template,
for example when creating a blank file.
Templates are lightweight objects that store any information required to create a document instance. A factory can inspect the template and return a fully initialized document. Use this pattern to support “New” commands that generate a specific kind of document without hard-coding the creation logic in your views.
Proportional docks arrange their children either horizontally or
vertically. Each dockable specifies a Proportion value which is
interpreted relative to the other siblings. Insert an
IProportionalDockSplitter between dockables to allow the user to
resize the areas at runtime. The splitter exposes CanResize
which can disable dragging for fixed layouts.
The root dock owns the entire layout including pinned tools and
floating windows. It exposes collections for hidden or pinned
dockables as well as commands to show or exit windows. Implement
IRootDock on your main view model so that the factory can create
windows and restore the layout state.
Tools are dockables that provide auxiliary functionality like
solution explorers or output panes. Implement ITool for the view
model and optionally IToolContent when a separate content object
is required. Tools are typically hosted inside IToolDock panels
and can be pinned to the sides of the layout.
IToolDock represents a panel that manages tool dockables. It can
auto hide its content and exposes an Alignment property for
positioning. When AutoHide is enabled the dock collapses once the
pointer leaves the area. GripMode controls if the user can resize
the dock by dragging its border.
When building a layout you normally start with an IRootDock and add
IToolDock, IDocumentDock and IProportionalDock instances inside
it. Documents and tools implement IDocument or ITool and can store
extra data through the corresponding *Content interfaces.
Factory classes found in Dock.Model.Mvvm and Dock.Model.ReactiveUI
create these objects and wire them together. Understanding the
contracts listed on this page will help you customize the layout and
extend Dock with your own view models.