WPF DockControl Samples (wpf-dock-samples)

A collection of C# WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) sample applications demonstrating the Visual Studio-style docking managers, tabbed document interfaces, and workspace layout capabilities of the MindFusion.DockControl for WPF control.

Dynamic Visual Studio-Style Layouts: MindFusion.DockControl provides WPF applications with a robust docking window manager. It enables developers to build highly customizable workspace layouts featuring draggable floating windows, tabbed document interfaces, split containers, auto-hide side panels, and interactive window docking.

All sample projects in this repository are pre-configured to reference the official MindFusion.Docking.Wpf NuGet package directly rather than referencing local files. This enables automatic package restore and seamless out-of-the-box building.

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🚀 Key Features

• VS-Style Docking: Drag and drop panels interactively with visual helper guides to dock windows on any edge (top, bottom, left, right) or inside tabbed containers.
• Floating & Tabbed Windows: Detach panels to create independent floating desktop tool windows, or group them as tabbed documents.
• Auto-Hide Panels: Collapse side panels to maximize workspace area, automatically sliding them open when hovered or clicked.
• Split Containers: Dynamically resize docked panels using interactive splitters.
• Layout Persistence: Easily save and load layout structures (the positions, sizes, docking alignments, and active states of all panels) to XML or streams, allowing users to restore their customized workspaces.

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📂 Samples Demonstrated

This repository includes specialized docking window layouts:

• 🖥️ DockControl Main Demo — Demonstrates a complete, interactive Visual Studio-style IDE shell, featuring split panel layouts, auto-hide sidebars, detached floating windows, tabbed document groups, and dynamic workspace configuration.

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⚙️ Getting Started

Prerequisites

• IDE: Visual Studio 2022, 2026 or newer.
• Framework: .NET Framework 4.8 or .NET 8.0+ SDK/Runtime.
• Package Manager: NuGet (integrated natively into Visual Studio).

How to Build & Run

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MindFusionComponents/wpf-dock-samples.git
   cd wpf-dock-samples

2. Open the Sample:
   • Navigate to the sample folder.
   • Double-click the .sln or .csproj file to open it in Visual Studio.
3. Restore NuGet Packages:
   • When you build or debug the project, Visual Studio will automatically restore the missing MindFusion.Docking.Wpf package and its dependencies.
4. Run:
   • Press F5 or click Start in Visual Studio to compile and run the sample!

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📦 About the MindFusion WPF Pack

MindFusion.DockControl is part of the comprehensive MindFusion WPF Pack, which also includes high-performance controls for:

• Diagramming
• Scheduling & Calendars
• Spreadsheets
• Mapping & GIS

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📄 License and Product Info

• These samples are designed to work with MindFusion.DockControl for WPF.
• For product documentation, licensing, or evaluation licenses, visit the MindFusion Official Website or the WPF UI Controls page.