AvalonDock
April 12, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
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AvalonDock
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AvalonDock is a WPF Document and Tool Window layout container that is used to arrange documents and tool windows in similar ways than many well known IDEs, such as, Eclipse, Visual Studio, PhotoShop and so forth.
This repository contains additional bug fixes and a feature added fork for: xceedsoftware/wpftoolkit version 3.2-3.6. Version 4.0 and later are developed independently, which is why this library (version 4.0 and later) uses the namespaces and library names that were used in AvalonDock 2.0 and earlier versions. But most importantly, the usage of this AvalonDock project remains free for both, commercial and open source users.
There is also an open source repository https://github.com/dotnetprojects/WpfExtendedToolkit with a fixed and stable version of all other (other than AvalonDock) components from the WPFToolKit.
Be sure to checkout the Wiki for more details.
Building AvalonDock from Source
This project targets .NET 9, .NET 10, and .NET Framework 4.8. You need:
- Windows (WPF is Windows-only)
- Visual Studio 2022 or later (recommended)
dotnet build source/AvalonDock.sln
dotnet test source/AvalonDock.sln -m:1
See CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.
Theming
AvalonDock includes several modern themes out of the box:
Arc Theme (NEW!)
Modern theme with compact tabs, rounded corners, and semi-transparent design elements. Inspired by contemporary IDEs with minimal spacing and clean aesthetics.
Dark Mode:
using AvalonDock.Themes;
dockManager.Theme = new ArcDarkTheme();
Light Mode:
dockManager.Theme = new ArcLightTheme();
VS2013 Theme
Classic Visual Studio 2013 look with Dark, Light, and Blue variants.
dockManager.Theme = new Vs2013DarkTheme();
// or
dockManager.Theme = new Vs2013LightTheme();
// or
dockManager.Theme = new Vs2013BlueTheme();
Other Themes
- VS2010 - Visual Studio 2010 style
- Expression Dark/Light - Expression Blend inspired
- Metro - Modern Metro/WinUI style
- Aero - Classic Windows Aero theme
Custom Theme Brushes
You can also load just the brush resources in your resource dictionary:
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="/AvalonDock.Themes.Arc;component/DarkBrushs.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
These definitions do not theme all controls used within this library. You should use a standard theming library, such as:
- MahApps.Metro,
- MLib, or
- MUI
to also theme standard elements, such as, button and textblock etc.
Screenshots
Please review the Project Wiki to see demo screenshots.
The Docking Buttons are defined in XAML, which ensures a good looking image on all resolutions, even 4K or 8K, and enables us to color theme consistently.
| Description | Dark | Light |
| Dock Document |  |
 |
| Dock Document |  |
 |
| Dock Tool Window |  |
 |
| Document |  |
 |
| Tool Window |  |
 |
Release History
For detailed release notes and version history, see the GitHub Releases page.