LayoutGroup Class

A container for items and groups.

Assembly: DevExpress.Xpf.Docking.v20.2.dll

NuGet Packages: DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.Wpf.Docking, DevExpress.Wpf.Navigation

Declaration

C#
VB.NET

public class LayoutGroup :
    BaseLayoutItem,
    IGeneratorHost,
    ILogicalOwner,
    IInputElement,
    ISupportOriginalSerializableName,
    IItemContainer

Public Class LayoutGroup
    Inherits BaseLayoutItem
    Implements IGeneratorHost,
               ILogicalOwner,
               IInputElement,
               ISupportOriginalSerializableName,
               IItemContainer

The following members return LayoutGroup objects:

Remarks

The DockLayoutManager control allows you to use LayoutGroups both in dock and layout UIs. This document describes only how to use LayoutGroups in the dock UI.

Tip

Refer to the following topic for more information on how to use LayoutGroups in layout UI: Layout Items.

Run Demo: Visual Studio Docking

Create LayoutGroups

The DockLayoutManager should always have a root group. Refer to the following topic for more information: Layout Groups.

In XAML

The following code sample creates a root LayoutGroup (LayoutRoot) that contains two LayoutPanels:

XAML

<Window ...
  xmlns:dxdo="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/docking">
  <Grid>
    <dxdo:DockLayoutManager>
      <dxdo:LayoutGroup x:Name="LayoutRoot" Orientation="Vertical" >
        <dxdo:LayoutPanel Caption="Panel1"/>
        <dxdo:LayoutPanel Caption="Panel2"/>
      </dxdo:LayoutGroup>
    </dxdo:DockLayoutManager>
  </Grid>
</Window>

In Code

The following code sample adds a LayoutGroup with a nested LayoutPanel (Tools):

C#
VB.NET

LayoutGroup layoutgroup = new LayoutGroup();
LayoutPanel layoutpanel = new LayoutPanel() { Caption = "Tools" };
layoutgroup.Add(layoutpanel);
DockLayoutManager1.DockController.Dock(layoutgroup);

Dim layoutgroup As LayoutGroup = New LayoutGroup()
Dim layoutpanel As LayoutPanel = New LayoutPanel() With {
    .Caption = "Tools"
}
layoutgroup.Add(layoutpanel)
DockLayoutManager1.DockController.Dock(layoutgroup)

Dock Layout Manager - Create LayoutGroup In-Code

Tip

Topic: How to Create a Simple Layout with Dock Panes

Child Items

LayoutGroups can contain the following child objects:

Layout (Dock) Panel - A regular dock panel.
Tabbed Group - A tabbed container.
Document Group - An MDI or tabbed item container.
another Layout Group.

Customize LayoutGroups

Property	Description
Orientation	Specifies the LayoutGroup‘s child items orientation.
The BaseLayoutItem’s VerticalAlignment and HorizontalAlignment	Specify the LayoutGroup‘s alignments.
AllowSplitters	Specifies whether a user can resize the LayoutGroup‘s child items.
BaseLayoutItem.ItemHeight and BaseLayoutItem.ItemWidth	Specify the LayoutGroup‘s height and width.

Runtime Operations

Use the following DockLayoutManager.DockController object’s methods to control a LayoutGroup:

Method	Description
AddPanel	Creates a LayoutPanel and docks it at the specified side of the DockLayoutManager container (root group).
Close(BaseLayoutItem)	Closes the specified item.
CloseAllButThis(BaseLayoutItem)	Closes all items except the specified one within this item’s container.
Dock	Docks the specified item. This method is in effect for newly created, floating, auto-hidden, or closed (hidden) items.
Float(BaseLayoutItem)	Makes the specified item floating.
Hide	Enables the auto-hide mode for the item/panel and hides it at a corresponding edge of the DockLayoutManager container.
Insert(LayoutGroup, BaseLayoutItem, Int32)	Inserts the specified item into the specified group at a specific position.
Rename(BaseLayoutItem)	Starts dock item renaming.
Restore(BaseLayoutItem)	Restores a closed (hidden) panel at its previous dock position.

Events

Use the following DockLayoutManager events to control a dock element at runtime:

Event	Description
DockItemActivated	Fires after a dock item has been activated.
DockItemActivating	Fires before a dock item is activated, and allows you to prevent this action.
DockItemClosed	Fires after a dock item has been closed (hidden).
DockItemClosing	Fires before a dock item is closed (hidden), and allows you to prevent this action.
DockItemCollapsed	Fires after a visible auto-hidden dock panel has slid away.
DockItemDocking	Fires before a dock item is dragged over dock hints, and allows you to prevent dock zones from being displayed.
DockItemDragging	Fires repeatedly while a dock panel is being dragged.
DockItemEndDocking	Fires after a dock item has been dropped, and allows you to prevent this action.
DockItemExpanded	Fires after a hidden auto-hidden dock panel has slid out.
DockItemHidden	Fires after a dock item has been made auto-hidden.
DockItemHiding	Fires before a dock item is auto-hidden, and allows you to prevent this action.
DockItemRestored	Fires after a dock item has been restored from the closed (hidden) state.
DockItemRestoring	Fires before a dock item is restored from the closed (hidden) state, and allows you to prevent this action.
DockItemStartDocking	Fires when a docking operation starts, and allows you to prevent this operation.

The following code snippets (auto-collected from DevExpress Examples) contain references to the LayoutGroup class.

Note

The algorithm used to collect these code examples remains a work in progress. Accordingly, the links and snippets below may produce inaccurate results. If you encounter an issue with code examples below, please use the feedback form on this page to report the issue.

XAML

wpf-dock-layout-manager-limit-layout-group-customization-at-runtime/CS/DXDockingForLayoutPurposes/MainWindow.xaml#L22

<dxd:DockLayoutManager x:Name="rootDockLayoutManager" AllowCustomization="True">
    <dxd:LayoutGroup>
        <dxd:DocumentPanel>

wpf-docklayoutmanager-use-services-that-implement-the-idocumentmanagerservice/CS/DXDocumentUIServiceSample/MainWindow.xaml#L18

<dxdo:DockLayoutManager>
    <dxdo:LayoutGroup>
        <dxdo:TabbedGroup>

wpf-dock-layout-manager-bind-a-layout-item-s-property-to-any-object-s-property-in-code/CS/BindToProperty_Ex/MainWindow.xaml#L3

<dxd:DockLayoutManager x:Name="dm1">
    <dxd:LayoutGroup Orientation="Vertical">
        <dxd:LayoutPanel x:Name="panel1" Caption="Panel 1" ItemHeight="70">

how-to-animate-a-layout-panel-by-its-width-height-e3643/CS/Q357154/MainWindow.xaml#L29

</dxd:DockLayoutManager.Background>
<dxd:LayoutGroup Orientation="Vertical" x:Name="rootGroup" AllowSplitters="False">
    <dxd:LayoutGroup AllowSplitters="False">

wpf-dock-layout-manager-use-events-to-dynamically-customize-context-menus/CS/DockManager_MenuCustomization/Window1.xaml#L4

<dxdo:DockLayoutManager Margin="12" Name="dockManager1" ShowingMenu="dockManager1_ShowingMenu">
    <dxdo:LayoutGroup x:Name="rootGroup" Orientation="Horizontal">