Managed windows

[wieslawsoltes]

Managed Windowing System PR Summary

Overview

• Managed floating windows render inside the main window using the MDI layer instead of native OS windows.
• Drag, drop, preview, magnetism, and bring-to-front behaviors match native window workflows in managed mode.
• Managed overlays replace native helper windows when managed mode is enabled.

Detailed spec

• Window hosting and layout
  • DockSettings.UseManagedWindows switches floating windows to ManagedHostWindow.
  • ManagedHostWindow maps IDockWindow to ManagedDockWindowDocument and registers it with ManagedWindowDock.
  • DockControl registers ManagedWindowLayer per factory and renders managed windows via MdiDocumentWindow.
  • ManagedWindowLayer.LayoutManager drives MDI layout and z-order.
• Drag, drop, and preview
  • Managed drag uses MDI coordinates without double translation.
  • Drop positions in managed mode are computed relative to the managed layer, avoiding screen offset errors.
  • Drag previews render inside ManagedWindowLayer for dockable drags and are suppressed when dragging a managed window itself.
  • Floating window creation respects managed content offsets for tools and documents.
• Magnetism and activation
  • Window magnetism snaps managed windows using MdiBounds.
  • Bring-to-front updates managed z-order and activation when dragging starts.
• Overlays and helpers
  • Dock adorners and pinned windows render in managed overlays when managed mode is active.
  • Service resolution and overlay helpers locate the managed layer for managed windows.

Usage example

using Dock.Avalonia.Controls;
using Dock.Settings;

DockSettings.UseManagedWindows = true;
DockSettings.EnableWindowMagnetism = true;
DockSettings.BringWindowsToFrontOnDrag = true;

var dockControl = new DockControl
{
    EnableManagedWindowLayer = true,
    HostWindowFactory = () => new ManagedHostWindow()
};

Custom template snippet (ensure the part exists):

<controls:ManagedWindowLayer x:Name="PART_ManagedWindowLayer"
                             IsVisible="False" />

Tests

• tests/Dock.Avalonia.HeadlessTests/ManagedWindowParityTests.cs covers activation, z-order, drag preview behavior, managed drop offsets, overlay registration, and window magnetism in managed mode.

Fixes #677