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Getting Started

  • 7 minutes to read

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to create a simple application with the AccordionControl.

Add a Data Model

The AccordionControl can be bound to any object that implements the IEnumerable interface or its descendant (for example, IList, ICollection).

The code sample below demonstrates a simple data model that is used in this tutorial:

using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace DxAccordionGettingStarted {
    public class Employee {
        public int ID { get; set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public string Position { get; set; }
        public string Department { get; set; }
        public override string ToString() {
            return Name;
        }
    }

    public static class Staff {
        public static List<Employee> GetStaff() {
            List<Employee> employees = new List<Employee>();
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 1, Name = "Gregory S. Price", Department = "Management", Position = "President" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 2, Name = "Irma R. Marshall", Department = "Marketing", Position = "Vice President" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 3, Name = "John C. Powell", Department = "Operations", Position = "Vice President" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 4, Name = "Christian P. Laclair", Department = "Production", Position = "Vice President" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 5, Name = "Karen J. Kelly", Department = "Finance", Position = "Vice President" });

            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 6, Name = "Brian C. Cowling", Department = "Marketing", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 7, Name = "Thomas C. Dawson", Department = "Marketing", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 8, Name = "Angel M. Wilson", Department = "Marketing", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 9, Name = "Bryan R. Henderson", Department = "Marketing", Position = "Manager" });

            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 10, Name = "Harold S. Brandes", Department = "Operations", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 11, Name = "Michael S. Blevins", Department = "Operations", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 12, Name = "Jan K. Sisk", Department = "Operations", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 13, Name = "Sidney L. Holder", Department = "Operations", Position = "Manager" });

            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 14, Name = "James L. Kelsey", Department = "Production", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 15, Name = "Howard M. Carpenter", Department = "Production", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 16, Name = "Jennifer T. Tapia", Department = "Production", Position = "Manager" });

            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 17, Name = "Judith P. Underhill", Department = "Finance", Position = "Manager" });
            employees.Add(new Employee() { ID = 18, Name = "Russell E. Belton", Department = "Finance", Position = "Manager" });
            return employees;
        }
    }
}

Add a View Model

Create a view model that retrieves data from the data model:

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Linq;

namespace DxAccordionGettingStarted {
    public class MainWindowViewModel {
        public MainWindowViewModel() {
            var employeeDepartments = Staff.GetStaff()
                .GroupBy(x => x.Department)
                .Select(x => new EmployeeDepartment(x.Key, x.ToArray()));
            EmployeeDepartments = new ObservableCollection<EmployeeDepartment>(employeeDepartments.ToArray());
        }
        public ObservableCollection<EmployeeDepartment> EmployeeDepartments { get; set; }
    }

    public class EmployeeDepartment {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public ObservableCollection<Employee> Employees { get; set; }

        public EmployeeDepartment(string name, IEnumerable<Employee> employees) {
            Name = name;
            Employees = new ObservableCollection<Employee>(employees);
        }
        public override string ToString() {
            return Name;
        }
    }
}

Build the solution. Invoke the main window’s Quick Actions and define the window’s data context as shown in the image below:

AccordionViewModel

Add the AccordionControl to a View

Drag the AccordionControl from the DX.24.1: Navigation & Layout Toolbox tab and drop it onto the main window.

Tip

If you add the DevExpress products via a NuGet feed instead of the Unified Component Installer, the toolbox doesn’t contain DevExpress controls until you add the corresponding NuGet package.

Go to Tools | NuGet Package Manager | Manage NuGet Packages for Solution and add the DevExpress.Wpf.Accordion NuGet package.

Right-click the control and select Layout | Reset All to allow the AccordionControl to fill the entire window:

AccordionVisualStudio

Bind the AccordionControl to Data

Invoke the AccordionControl’s Quick Actions and define the ItemsSource field:

AccordionItemSource

Define the ChildrenPath field that specifies the path to the property that contains an accordion item’s children:

AccordionChildrenPath

Tip

Refer to the Data Binding topic for details on different approaches to binding the AccordionControl to data.

The code sample below demonstrates the generated code:

<Window  
   xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
   xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
   xmlns:dxa="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/accordion" 
   xmlns:local="clr-namespace:DxAccordionGettingStarted" 
   x:Class="DxAccordionGettingStarted.MainWindow" 
   Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Window.DataContext>
        <local:MainWindowViewModel/>
    </Window.DataContext>
    <Grid>
        <dxa:AccordionControl ItemsSource="{Binding EmployeeDepartments}" ChildrenPath="Employees"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Get the Result

Run the solution to see the result:

AccordionResult