WindowsUI View
- 4 minutes to read
WindowsUIView for the DocumentManager component provides expansive opportunities for creating applications that fully match Microsoft Windows Modern UI guidelines.
A typical Windows UI application is a hierarchical application consisting of multiple screens. At runtime, an end-user navigates from one screen to another according to the application hierarchy. Backward navigation is automatically supported, as child screens are aware of their parents.
The WindowsUIView uses the same concept as all the other DocumentManager‘s Views - the content is hosted within Documents that can host any form, user control or third-party control. Windows UI View’s documents are represented by objects of the Document class.
Below is the list of features and concepts, provided by the WindowsUIView.
Getting Started Tutorials
- How To: Create a Page Container
- How To: Create a PageGroup Container
- How To: Create a SlideGroup Container
- How To: Create a SplitGroup Container
- How To: Create a TileContainer
- How To: Create Content Containers Hierarchy
- How To: Pass Specific Data when Navigating Through Containers
Content Containers
A Content Container is an aggregate visual object that displays its children (documents or tiles) in a specific manner. There are a number of Content Containers provided by the WindowsUIView.
- Tile Container - the container capable of displaying static or animated Tiles of multiple sizes.
- Page Group - stores multiple documents, but allows you to view only one of them at a time. The container displays tab headers for each of its child documents. End-users can navigate through documents by clicking these tabs.
- Tabbed Group - advanced version of the Page Group container capable of displaying Tiles instead of standard tabs.
- Slide Group - displays Documents side-by-side in a single row or column and allows users to scroll through the Documents.
- Split Group - displays its all Documents simultaneously, arranging them in a single row or column without a scroll bar.
- Page - a simple container capable of displaying a single Document.
Navigation Bars
Displayed at runtime by right-clicking the free container space. Navigation Bars are two horizontal strips at the top and bottom application edges. These bars display different types of buttons and serve as the replacement for traditional toolbars.
Navigation bar buttons are WindowsUI Buttons, added to the corresponding action collections. You are free to add your own custom actions or hide default ones. It is also possible to completely disable navigation bars or display them in a custom scenario, different from a default right-click.
Buttons
The WindowsUIView supports multiple types of Actions - objects that implement custom functionality within standard View elements (documents, containers, navigation bars and flyouts). Basically, an action represents an advanced button that possesses a certain functionality, and if needed, a verification method that checks whether or not this button should be currently enabled (displayed). There are several types of Actions, grouped by their purpose, parent container type and place to be displayed. This topic describes all available custom actions and demonstrates detailed examples of adding these actions to the desired UI elements.
Flyouts
Flyouts emulate message boxes and pop-up windows seen in Microsoft Store applications.
There are three common scenarios for using Flyouts:
- When showing a simple modal message box;
- When showing a pop-up;
- When showing a message box that contains a user control.
Flyout appearance and behavior differs depending on the selected scenario.
Search Panel
Windows UI View supports the search panel out-of-the-box. The panel allows your end-users to search for the required content throughout content containers and tiles and instantly navigate to it.
By default, the panel is invoked using the Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut. To close the panel, you can click anywhere outside it or press the Esc key. The panel is docked to the right edge of the Windows UI View by default, but you can dock it to the opposite left edge by modifying its AnchorType property.
WindowsUI View Designer
The Windows UI View Designer is the most convenient way to work with this View at design time.
Using this designer, you can do the following:
- Create all types of Windows UI View elements - tiles, documents, content containers and flyouts;
- Modify Views and theirits element properties.
- Drag-and-drop documents and tiles to the desired content containers.
- Preview and modify the current application hierarchy.
- Customize the global View appearance settings, as well as override them for individual containers and documents.
Application Hierarchy and Module Navigation
This article explains how to bind separate application modules together.
