Loading And Saving Layouts

Updated over 6 months ago

RadDock provides methods to save and load layouts. A layout records the size and arrangement of all DockWindows within RadDock. This saves all managed windows (ToolWindow and DocumentWindow) regardless of state (i.e. a window may be hidden or floating and still be saved). 

To Save a Layout

To save a layout, call the RadDock.SaveToXML method:

SaveToXml

C#

this.radDock1.SaveToXml("c:\\layout1.xml");

VB.NET

Me.RadDock1.SaveToXml("c:\layout1.xml")

You can use the DockWindowSerializing event to exclude windows from the saved layout:

C#

void radDock1_DockWindowSerializing(object sender, DockWindowCancelEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.NewWindow.Text == "Window Top")
    {
        e.Cancel = true;
    }
}

VB.NET

Private Sub radDock1_DockWindowSerializing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DockWindowCancelEventArgs)
    If e.NewWindow.Text = "Window Top" Then
        e.Cancel = True
    End If
End Sub

To Load a Layout

To load a layout, call the RadDock.LoadFromXML method:

LoadFromXml

C#

this.radDock1.LoadFromXml("c:\\layout1.xml");

VB.NET

Me.RadDock1.LoadFromXml("c:\layout1.xml")

With the introduction of the R3 2023 SP1 version of our controls, the LoadFromXml() expose second (optional) parameter. This parameter provides the option to specify whether to remove all existing dock windows or not. By default, the second parameter is set to false.

RELATED VIDEOS
Saving and Loading RadDock for WinForms Layouts In this video, you will learn how to use the simple XML serialization features of RadDock for WinForms to easily save and load RadDock layouts. (Runtime: 07:03)

See Also

• Tutorial Saving and Loading Layout and Content

• How to Improve Performance when Loading XML Layout in RadDock