Programmatic Docking

The Dock controls use a robust object model that allows for complete programmatic control over the docking windows. The MDI area managed by a DockManager can contain documents.

Creating a Tool Window

The ToolWindow class has several constructors available. However, the parameterless constructor is reserved for internal code and should never be called.

This code demonstrates how to create a tool window in code:

ToolWindow tw = new ToolWindow(dockManager, "TW Key", "TW Text", -1, childControl);

Note how the DockManager that should be used to manage the tool window is passed in, as well as the child control to add to the tool window. The child control is automatically set to DockStyle.Fill. The child control parameter may be null. Since the tool window inherits from ContainerControl, any number of controls can be added to it via its Controls collection.

Docking a Tool Window to Another Dock Object

The ToolWindow class has a DockTo method that is used to perform a number of different docking operations for the tool window. Its first parameter is the target dock object, which can be any IDockObject. The second parameter is a DockOperationType enumeration value. The values are described below:

The DockManager should be used as a dock target whenever the target is intended to be the host container control or the MDI area.

This code docks the tool window to the outer left edge of the host container control:

tw.DockTo(dockManager, DockOperationType.LeftOuter);

This code docks the tool window to the inner (closest to client area) bottom edge of the host container control:

tw.DockTo(dockManager, DockOperationType.BottomInner);

This code docks the tool window to the right of another tool window tw2:

tw.DockTo(tw2, DockOperationType.RightOuter);

This code attaches the tool window to another tool window tw2 so that they share the same space:

tw.DockTo(tw2, DockOperationType.Attach);

Undocking a Tool Window

A tool window can be floated to a floating window using the Undock method. Additionally, by setting the State property to Floating, instead of DockableOutsideHost, the tool window will not be permitted to dock when dragged over a dock target.

This code undocks the tool window to a floating window:

tw.Undock();

Auto-Hiding a Tool Window

A tool window can be placed in auto-hide mode by setting the State property to AutoHide.

This code places the tool window into auto-hide mode:

tw.State = ToolWindowState.AutoHide;

All tool windows can be auto-hidden at once using the AutoHideAllToolWindowsDockedInHost method:

dockManager.AutoHideAllToolWindowsDockedInHost();

To restore a tool window to be docked inside of the host container from auto-hide mode, change the state:

tw.State = ToolWindowState.DockableInsideHost;

Moving a Tool Window into the MDI Area

A tool window can be placed in the MDI area by setting the State property to TabbedDocument.

This code moves the tool window into the MDI area:

tw.State = ToolWindowState.TabbedDocument;

Creating a Document Window

The DocumentWindow class has several constructors available. However, the parameterless constructor is reserved for internal code and should never be called.

This code demonstrates how to create a document window in code:

DocumentWindow dw = new DocumentWindow(dockManager, "DW Key", "DW Text", null, childControl);

Note how the DockManager that should be used to manage the document window is passed in, as well as the child control to add to the document window. The child control is automatically set to DockStyle.Fill. The child control parameter may be null. Since the document window inherits from ContainerControl, any number of controls can be added to it via its Controls collection.

Activating a Tool or Document Window

Tool and document windows can be activated (made available in the user interface) by calling their Activate method.

This code activates a document window:

dw.Activate();

A separate overload of the Activate method is available that lets you control whether the activated window will receive focus. The parameterless implementation sets focus to the activated window.

This code activates a document window and does not set focus to the window:

dw.Activate(false);

Closing a Tool or Document Window

Tool and document windows can be closed (hidden from the user interface) by calling their Close method.

This code closes a document window:

dw.Close();