WPF Navigation: Window, Page, or UserControl – Which Should You Choose?

WPF Navigation: Selection of Windows, Pages and User Controls

In WPF application development, navigating to different parts of the interface requires making appropriate choices between windows, pages, and user controls. Each element has its own unique purpose and is best suited for a specific scene.

Window

The window object represents an independent window in the application. It's ideal when you want to present a new, standalone interface to your users. This approach is typically seen in traditional desktop applications with multiple windows.

Page

A page, on the other hand, is a block of content intended to be used within a single window. It is primarily used in web-based applications where a browser-like environment hosts multiple pages within a single window. In a navigation system, pages allow transitions between different views.

User Controls

Unlike a page, a user control is a reusable custom control that can be added to a WPF interface like any other standard control. User controls are useful for encapsulating custom functionality (such as CalendarControl) or organizing complex XAML code (such as views in the MVVM design pattern).

Appropriate usage

When navigating between different windows, creating a new window object and displaying it is a simple solution:

var NewWindow = new MyWindow();
newWindow.Show();

However, managing multiple windows can be cumbersome. Another approach is to use a ContentControl to create a dynamic content area and dynamically load a user control representing the current view:

<Window ... x:Class="MyNamespace.MainWindow">
  <DockPanel>
    <ContentControl x:Name="ContentArea"/>
  </DockPanel>
</Window>

ContentArea.Content = new MyUserControl();

For complex navigation needs, consider using the MVVM design pattern, which provides a tailored approach to view management and seamless transitions between views. Here's a basic example:

<Window ... x:Class="SimpleMVVMExample.ApplicationView">
  <DockPanel>
    <Border ... DockPanel.Dock="Left">
      <ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding PageViewModels}">
        ...
      </ItemsControl>
    </Border>
    <ContentControl Content="{Binding CurrentPageViewModel}"/>
  </DockPanel>
</Window>

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