DockStudioXP - the ultimate in docking windows and toolbars
DockStudioXP provides you with the ability to deliver Visual Studio.NET, Office
200/XP/2000 or Office 2003 style toolbars and dockable windows. If you have
evaluated other toolbar, splitter or docking controls in the past, you will immediately
appreciate the value of the Visual layout designer, comprehensive runtime customisation
features and the Visual Studio.NET style docking windows support.
DockStudioXP is a dependancy free .NET ready COM Component. Unlike some other
COM Controls, DockStudioXP has been specifically engineered and tested to work
in Visual Studio.NET/WinForms.
Download the evaluation version
and judge for yourself
Full range of CommandBar styles
DockStudioXP accurately emulates a full range of visual styles, including Office
95, Office 97, Office 2000, Office XP and Office 2003. Subtle features of each
style are faithfully implemented, including drop shadows and blended grayscale
disabled images.
Visual Studio.NET style docking
DockStudioXP allows you to implement the ultimate in docking flexibility with no
complex manual coding.
Dockable windows provide a rich customization experience for users of your application,
allowing the user to redesign the layout of the application to make use of personal
preferences for screen real estate – some users prefer to have all of an applications
options out in plain sight, while other users prefer to concentrate solely on the
task at hand without being distracted by options they don’t need right now.
Dockable
windows in the DockStudio control support a variety of distinct arrangement states
to maximize this user experience. Dockable windows can be:
- Docked to the sides of your application.
- Floating above your application in separate windows.
- Collapsed to the side of your application, only appearing when the user moves their
cursor over the DockWindow’s caption.
- Tab-docked to other DockWindows.
You can dock windows to any area of your form simply by dragging the windows caption
to the desired area (just as in the Visual Studio and Visual Studio.NET IDE).
You can even dock windows to other windows to create Visual Studio.NET style Tab-docked
windows.
Docked windows can be collapsed to Visual Studio.NET style buttons.
Clicking on a collapsed window button causes the window to 'fly out'.
This docking technique allows you to provide easy access to infrequently
used windows.
For complete flexibility, the docking state of any DockWindow can be controlled
programmatically through the comprehensive DockStudioXP object model.
Visual
Designer
The Visual Designer included with DockStudioXP makes creating Toolbar and DockWindow
layouts a breeze.
Simply drag and drop commands from the Layout Explorer onto your Toolbars.
Size and arrange DockWindows and Toolbars just as you would at runtime.
Document management
Take the pain out of managing the client area of your application by using the inbuilt
document management features in DockStudioXP. Choose between SDI, MDI or Tabbed
MDI, or control your own client area control by using the intuitive resize event
model.
MDI
document windows are fully supported, including the new 'Tabbed MDI' style implemented
in Visual Studio.NET.
Tabbed MDI mode supports "tab grouping" through the use of document groups
and drag and drop positioning.
This allows the users of your application to reposition their documents for side
by side editing into logical groups, in any position, simply by dragging a tab into
the desired position.
Document groups and document ordering can all be controlled programmatically through
the comprehensive DockStudioXP object model.
Runtime customisation
Give your end-users the ability to fully customize your applications Toolbars without
a single line of code.
DockStudio also ships with a set of companion controls to assist you in 'rolling
your own' customize dialogs, should you need a feature not exposed by the default
implementation.
Comprehensive on-line help
The comprehensive on-line context sensitive help provided with DockStudioXP gives
you instant access to both reference and conceptual information whilst you are working.
Get started quickly by walking through the provided samples.
Other Features
Other features include Animated Menus, a CSS-like style hierarchy and much, much
more. Click here for a full feature list.