Layout Panels Overview
WinUI 3 provides a variety of layout panels that enable you to arrange UI elements within your application's windows and pages. These panels offer flexible and powerful ways to structure your user interface, ensuring optimal presentation across different screen sizes and user interactions.
Choosing the right layout panel is crucial for creating responsive and visually appealing applications. Each panel has its strengths and is designed for specific arrangement patterns.
Common Layout Panels
- StackPanel: Arranges child elements in a single line, either horizontally or vertically.
- Grid: Divides the available space into rows and columns, allowing for precise placement of elements.
- DockPanel: Allows child elements to be docked to the top, bottom, left, or right edges of the panel, with a last child filling the remaining space.
- RelativePanel: Arranges elements based on their relationships to sibling elements or the panel itself.
- Canvas: Provides absolute positioning, allowing you to place elements at specific X and Y coordinates.
- ScrollViewer: Enables content to be scrolled when it exceeds the available viewport.
Choosing the Right Panel
When designing your UI, consider the following:
- Simple Linear Arrangement: For elements that should be displayed one after another,
StackPanelis often the best choice. - Structured Grids: When you need a table-like or grid-like structure,
Gridoffers the most control. - Edge Alignment: For elements that should hug the borders of a container,
DockPanelis ideal. - Relationship-Based Layout: When the position of an element depends on other elements,
RelativePanelsimplifies complex arrangements. - Freeform Placement: For specific, fixed positioning (though often less adaptable),
Canvascan be used. - Managing Overflow: Always consider using
ScrollViewerwhen your content might exceed the screen bounds.
Layout Panel Properties
Most layout panels share common properties for controlling spacing, alignment, and size. Key properties include:
Margin: Space outside the element's border.Padding: Space inside the element's border, between the border and the content.HorizontalAlignmentandVerticalAlignment: How an element is aligned within its allocated space.HorizontalContentAlignmentandVerticalContentAlignment: How the content within an element is aligned.DesiredSize: The size an element requests to be.
Understanding these panels and their properties is fundamental to building robust and user-friendly applications with WinUI 3.