The DockManager class represents a component used to manage dock panels.
To add docking functionality for a specific container control (form or user control), you need to create a DockManager object and set its Form property so that it refers to this control. If the Form property is set to null, dock panels cannot be created.
The DockManager class provides the AddPanel method for creating dock panels. To create split and tab containers, the DockPanel.AddPanel, DockPanel.DockTo and DockPanel.DockAsTab methods can be used.
The currently active dock panel is determined by the ActivePanel property.
Panels that belong to the dock manager can be accessed using the following members:
- RootPanels stores visible floating or docked panels which are not owned by other panels
- HiddenPanels allows you to iterate through hidden panels
- AutoHideContainers provides access to the panels which have their automatic hiding functionality enabled.
Note
Because of possible conflicts, do not place multiple dock managers on a single form/user control. Instead, use a single dock manager or use multiple dock managers, each of which is displayed within its own UserControl object.
Note
When a DockManager is placed on a RibbonForm, you may notice slow performance during control startup rendering for complex projects. To resolve the issue, call the ForceInitialize method on form loading.
Example
The following code shows how to add a dock manager to a form and create a panel.
| C# |
using DevExpress.XtraBars.Docking;
DockManager dm = new DockManager();
dm.Form = this;
DockPanel dp1 = dm.AddPanel(DockingStyle.Left);
dp1.Text = "Panel 1";
|
| VB |
Imports DevExpress.XtraBars.Docking
Dim dm As DockManager = New DockManager
dm.Form = Me
Dim dp1 As DockPanel = dm.AddPanel(DockingStyle.Left)
dp1.Text = "Panel 1"
|
System.Object
System.MarshalByRefObject
System.ComponentModel.Component
DockManager
SnapDockManager