WPF NavigationWindow中的OverrideDefaultStyle吗？

Question

When creating a Navigation Application in WPF, How can I create a custom style and layout for the window? Is this possible? Say for instance, adding a panel along the side of the window with links to all the pages in the application. When I try add controls/content to the NavigationWindow, I get the following message:

"The type 'NavigationWindow' does not support direct content."

Thanks

Answer 1

I'm not sure I understand the suggestion of starting with a normal Window, adding a frame and then enabling the ShowsNavigationUI property. This is essentially what the NavigationWindow is; you might as well start there. The Forward/Backward buttons that show up in the Frame will appear as part of the content window. Yes, it will work, but it will also appear very strange as most users are going to want to see the navigation controls in the upper left hand corner of your frame.

There are three options available. The first one is to just re-skin the NavigationWindow. You can find the original WPF templates for the NavigationWindow on line. If you have trouble, I can find a link for you. You can use these as a starting point and add your own controls to the frame. The most important part of creating your own NavigationWindow template is to include a ContentPresenter as a part with the name "PART_WinNavCP".

The second option is to use Expression Blend to extract the elements of the NavigationWindow for you. But again, you'll need to assembly all the parts once you've reverse engineered them.

The third option is the one that I've put together. It was created by me because I ran into the same limitations you ran (are running) into. If you want to focus on creating a real Navigation-style interface without trying to reskin the entire control, please have a look at:

http://www.teraque.com/products/explorer-chrome-suite/

I've provided a free demo. Take it out for a spin. Even if you don't want to purchase the product, I can give you pointers if this is what you are trying to accomplish.

Sincerely,

Donald Roy Airey

donald.roy.airey@teraque.com

Answer 2

To customize the host window in a navigation-style app, just make yourself a normal WPF application, with a normal Window, and drop a Frame control into that window. Set the Frame's Source to the page you want the app to start with and it'll behave just like your standard navigation app, except you'll have the ability to customize the window with other controls etc.