Application UI Manager
- 5 minutes to read
Overview | |
The “Application UI Manager” is an alias for the DocumentManager component that implements different types of UI - from traditional tabbed and native MDI interfaces to modern Windows 10-inspired and Widget UIs. |
Views | |
The Application UI Manager supports two traditional MDI types (tabbed MDI and native MDI), Widget UI and Windows Modern-inspired UI. The UI type depends on the currently active View.
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Documents | |
All Views deal with Documents - containers that wrap your custom content. Every View operates its own type of Documents with unique settings. However, basic Document settings are shared among Documents of all types. | |
Deferred Load | |
In this mode, empty Documents receive their content dynamically at runtime, which significantly reduces initial application start-up time. You can choose whether to cache loaded Document content, or to re-load it every time a Document activates. An optional loading indicator is available for high memory-consuming content pieces. | |
Interaction with the DockManager | |
When used together within one form, DocumentManager and DockManager components gain additional features.
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Non-Document Mode | |
In this mode, an Application UI Manager displays one piece of content only (in the figure below - a Data Grid control). A currently applied View is ignored and no Documents are shown. This mode is designed to gain all benefits from using both the DocumentManager and DockManager components (see the related section below) in scenarios where no multiple documents are needed. To activate this mode, assign your content to the DocumentManager.ClientControl property. Note that a client control should fill the form’s space in its entirety. Otherwise, you may observe the incorrect positioning of dock hints when dragging-and-dropping dock panels. | |
Designer | |
The Application UI Manager provides a Designer dialog that allows you to build a desired UI with little-to-none coding. To invoke this dialog, utilize the DocumentManager component’s smart tag. A Designer dialog features different tabs and UI elements depending on the currently active View. | |
Bar and Ribbon Merging | |
The Application UI Manager simplifies merging Bar and Ribbon components in MDI applications. | |
See Also | |
The Application UI Manager is a powerhouse that gives you the capability to emulate various UI types while maintaining comprehensive control of what’s happening within your application. This component is capable of implementing the most complex scenarios and is ideal for sophisticated business apps. Below is a list of similar controls that can be useful when you need something simpler than the Application UI Manager.
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