Ribbon, Docking, Editors, Menus, MDI, and much more

Essential Tools is a collection of nearly 30 user interface components for the WPF framework, including docking managers, ribbons, tree views, editors, tab controls, group bars, wizards, skin managers, and much more. Easily create robust and user-friendly application interfaces that emulate Visual Studio .NET and Microsoft Office 2007. Essential Tools also extends full support to XAML and offers extensive customization options for templates.

Docking Manager

The Docking Manager is an advanced container control that automatically lays out its children within docked panels, just as seen in Visual Studio .NET. This element can be used in XAML, just as easily as it is used in grid or canvas elements. The attached properties can be used to specify the dock state and position of the child elements. End-users can then fully customize the user interface by dragging the dock panels to different locations within the container, floating and arranging them within tabs in the dock panel, or hiding the dock panel. The dock panels can also operate in AutoHide mode.

• Animation Type and Speed
• AutoHide Animation
• Context Menu
• Custom AutoHide-Tab Items
• Custom Buttons
• Custom Dock-Window Header
• Custom Drag-Provider
• Custom ToolTip
• Docking Modes
• Customizing the Modes
• Dock Ability
• Dock Fill
• Dragging Cues
• State Persistence
• Appearance
• SizetoContent for FloatWindow
• Disable the Drag and Drop of TDI Items
• Tab Preview in DockingManager

Ribbon

A ribbon is a collection of controls and behaviors that together implement the latest Office 2007-style menus and toolbars in an application. It is designed to make commands more accessible. Commands can be easily organized into logical groups, which are rendered under tabs. Some tabs can also be displayed on a need-only basis.

• Application Menu
• Designer Support
• Gallery Control
• Key Tips
• Mini-Toolbar
• Quick Access Toolbar
• Ribbon Bars
• Ribbon Buttons
• Ribbon Glass Support
• Ribbon Tabs
• Visual Styles
• XBAP Support
• Ribbon Split Buttons
• Ribbon Button Line Breaks
• Launcher Button Command
• ScreenTip Placement
• ScreenTip Help Text Option
• Ribbon Context Menu
• Split Menu Button Key Tip
• Data Binding Support
• Dynamic Resizing of Ribbon Controls

Document Container

The Document Container framework supports both multiple document interfaces (MDIs) and tabbed document interfaces (TDIs). Though MDI is not supported in the 3.5 framework, the document container has the ability to develop MDI applications in WPF. It can load any type of content, such as flow documents and any UI elements. It also ships with sophisticated default window switching styles such as Vista Flip and VS 2005.

• Layout
• Modes
• State Persistence
• Appearance
• Window Switchers
• MDI Resize for an Individual Child
• API to Create Tab Groups
• Full Screen in DocumentContainer
• SizeToContent for MDI Window

Tree View

The TreeViewAdv control implements a tree UI with advanced customization capabilities. Advanced features such as drag-and-drop, multi-node selection, and inline editing support are also available. It also has a feature for adding images, and it contains the built-in ability to perform item sorting on a tree view.

• Expand-Collapse Animation
• Fake Drag Indicator
• Image Settings
• In-Line Editing
• Item Sorting
• Multicolumn Tree View
• Multiple Selection
• Rootlines
• Sort Item
• Drag and Drop
• Appearance

Editors

Create professional, user-friendly data editing forms using several of the advanced editors available in Essential Tools. These editors are a comprehensive collection of controls that can be used in creating data-entry forms. All editor controls have been architected to provide a simple and powerful means for capturing data input, as well as validating and displaying data input with the appropriate formatting. They also ship with support for data binding, templates, and styles, to change the appearance of the control.

• AutoComplete
• AutoComplete Custom Source
• AutoComplete Filtration
• Integer Text Box
• Double Text Box
• Currency Text Box
• Percent Text Box
• Masked Text Box
• Date-Time Edit
• Calendar Edit
• Clock Control
• Color Picker
• FontListBox and FontListComboBox
• Up-Down

Groupbar

The GroupBar control is a user interface element that groups a collection of commands within categories and displays those commands within collapsible panels. It lets you recreate the popular Microsoft Outlook bar interface in your application. Each panel in a group bar can host a number of commands or any other control, such as a calendar.

• Designer Support
• Navigation Pane with Customized Width
• Orientation
• Right-to-Left Support
• Text Alignment
• Visual Modes
• Customization
• Appearance
• Items Source Support
• Drag And Drop Support

Taskbar

The TaskBar control is similar to the group bar control in that it can host a collection of grouped command items. The look and feel, however, is closer to the Windows XP taskbar. Besides command items, any custom control can be placed inside the taskbar. Just like the group bar, taskbar boxes can be expanded and collapsed.

• Customization
• Orientation
• Taskbar States
• Appearance

Gallery

A gallery is a useful control for displaying categorized collections of objects as thumbnail views. It also comes with built-in animation when laying out child items.

• Drag-and-Drop
• Dynamic Support
• Gallery
• Multi-Select
• Templates
• Visual Mode
• Appearance

Tab Control

TabControlExt is a control that can define multiple pages for the same area of a window. It contains the TabItemExt control, which is used to define tab items with different visual styles such as One Note Type, VS 2008, and Office 2007. When a tab-item header is selected, the corresponding tab item’s data will be displayed.

• Context Menu
• Customization
• Tab-Strip Placement
• Appearance
• Tab Item Validation

Tab Splitter

The Tab Splitter control is similar to the VS 2008-style split view for tabbed groups.

• Flow Direction
• Collapsed Panel
• Splitter Position
• Swap Pane

Vector Images

Vector images are collections of many scalable individual objects; rather than using pixels, these objects use mathematical relationships and equations between connecting points and paths to describe an image. This is why they always render at the highest quality.

• Vector vs. Raster Images
• About Our Vector Icons
• Vector Image Utility

Notify Icon

The Notify Icon control supports different animations and shapes. It allows an icon to be added in the notification tray of a system with different animation and shape formats.

• Notify-Icon Features

Range Slider

Range Slider is a slider control with two thumbs that show a selected range. It lets users input two values, typically an upper and a lower bound for two thumbs, thus providing enhanced feature support for the standard slider control.

• Range Slider Features

Tile View

The Tile View control for WPF is capable of hosting tile view items. The main feature of these items is their capacity to host any kind of content. Also, they are draggable, so they can be rearranged.

• Minimized Item Orientation
• Minimized Area Percentage
• TileViewItem State
• MinMaxButton Style
• Appearance

Check List Box

The Check List Box control implements a classic list box with added check boxes, allowing multiple items to be selected.

• Alignment
• Check on First Click
• Appearance

Hierarchy Navigator

The HierarchyNavigator control provides a bread-crumb interface, similar to the Windows Explorer address bar in Windows 7, which enables hierarchical navigation.

• Edit mode (with AutoComplete)
• History
• Restricting level selection
• Progress Bar
• Skins
• Blendability
• ToolTip

ButtonAdv

The ButtonAdv control is a basic button control, which is used to design complex forms and applications. Also the control shipped with Commanding Support, which provides compatibility in MVVM design pattern.

• Size Mode
• Image
• Built-in Themes

DropDownButtonAdv

The DropDownButtonAdv act as a normal menu control. The Content will be displayed in the DropDown Popup when the button is pressed.

• Size Mode
• Image
• Drop Direction
• Resizing Support

SplitButtonAdv

SplitButtonAdv control is inherited from DropDownButtonAdv, which provides both DropDown support and commanding support.

• Size Mode
• Image
• Drop Direction
• Resizing Support