Documents & Anchorables

AvalonDock distinguishes between two types of dockable content: Documents and Anchorables (tool windows). Understanding the difference is essential for building effective docking layouts.

At a Glance

Feature	LayoutDocument	LayoutAnchorable
Typical use	File editors, viewers	Tool windows, panels
Closable by default	✅ Yes	❌ No
Hideable by default	❌ No	✅ Yes
Can auto-hide	❌ No	✅ Yes
Can float	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
IDE equivalent	Editor tabs	Solution Explorer, Properties, Output

LayoutDocument

A LayoutDocument represents a piece of content that the user is actively working on — like a file in an editor. Documents:

Live in a LayoutDocumentPane
Are closable by default (CanClose = true)
Cannot be hidden (CanHide = false)
Cannot be auto-hidden to a side tab
Appear as tabs in the document well

<avalonDock:LayoutDocumentPane>
    <avalonDock:LayoutDocument Title="MainWindow.xaml"
                               ContentId="mainWindow"
                               CanClose="True">
        <TextBox Text="Document content" AcceptsReturn="True" />
    </avalonDock:LayoutDocument>
</avalonDock:LayoutDocumentPane>

Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
`Title`	`string`	Display title shown on the tab.
`ContentId`	`string`	Unique identifier used for serialization and lookup.
`Content`	`object`	The UI content to display.
`CanClose`	`bool`	Whether the document can be closed. Default: `true`.
`CanFloat`	`bool`	Whether the document can be floated. Default: `true`.
`IsActive`	`bool`	Whether this document is currently active/focused.
`IsSelected`	`bool`	Whether this document’s tab is selected in its pane.
`IconSource`	`ImageSource`	Icon displayed on the tab.
`ToolTip`	`object`	Tooltip shown when hovering the tab.

Events

Event	Description
`Closing`	Raised before the document closes. Can be cancelled.
`Closed`	Raised after the document is closed.

LayoutAnchorable

A LayoutAnchorable represents a supporting tool window — like Solution Explorer or the Properties panel. Anchorables:

Live in a LayoutAnchorablePane or auto-hide in a LayoutAnchorGroup
Are not closable by default (CanClose = false)
Are hideable by default (CanHide = true)
Can be auto-hidden to a side tab
Can be docked to any side of the layout

<avalonDock:LayoutAnchorablePane>
    <avalonDock:LayoutAnchorable Title="Solution Explorer"
                                  ContentId="solutionExplorer"
                                  CanClose="False"
                                  CanHide="True"
                                  CanAutoHide="True">
        <TreeView>
            <!-- Explorer content -->
        </TreeView>
    </avalonDock:LayoutAnchorable>
</avalonDock:LayoutAnchorablePane>

Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
`Title`	`string`	Display title shown on the tab or header.
`ContentId`	`string`	Unique identifier for serialization and lookup.
`Content`	`object`	The UI content to display.
`CanClose`	`bool`	Whether the anchorable can be closed. Default: `false`.
`CanHide`	`bool`	Whether the anchorable can be hidden. Default: `true`.
`CanAutoHide`	`bool`	Whether auto-hide is available. Default: `true`.
`CanFloat`	`bool`	Whether the anchorable can be floated. Default: `true`.
`CanDockAsTabbedDocument`	`bool`	Whether it can be docked into the document area.
`AutoHideWidth` / `AutoHideHeight`	`double`	Size when in auto-hide mode.
`IsActive`	`bool`	Whether this anchorable is currently active.
`IsVisible`	`bool`	Whether the anchorable is currently visible (not hidden).

Events

Event	Description
`Closing`	Raised before the anchorable closes. Can be cancelled.
`Hiding`	Raised before the anchorable hides. Can be cancelled.
`IsVisibleChanged`	Raised when visibility changes.

Show Strategies

When making an anchorable visible programmatically, you can specify where it should appear using AnchorableShowStrategy:

anchorable.Show();           // Show in its previous location
anchorable.Show(dockManager, AnchorableShowStrategy.Left);   // Dock to left
anchorable.Show(dockManager, AnchorableShowStrategy.Right);  // Dock to right
anchorable.Show(dockManager, AnchorableShowStrategy.Top);    // Dock to top
anchorable.Show(dockManager, AnchorableShowStrategy.Bottom); // Dock to bottom

Auto-Hide

Anchorables can be auto-hidden to a side tab. When auto-hidden, they appear as a small tab on the edge of the docking area and expand when hovered or clicked.

<!-- Define auto-hidden anchorables on the bottom side -->
<avalonDock:LayoutRoot.BottomSide>
    <avalonDock:LayoutAnchorSide>
        <avalonDock:LayoutAnchorGroup>
            <avalonDock:LayoutAnchorable Title="Output"
                                          ContentId="output" />
            <avalonDock:LayoutAnchorable Title="Error List"
                                          ContentId="errorList" />
        </avalonDock:LayoutAnchorGroup>
    </avalonDock:LayoutAnchorSide>
</avalonDock:LayoutRoot.BottomSide>

Toggle auto-hide programmatically:

anchorable.ToggleAutoHide();