xaml navigation window with pages inside

Question

I want to create a window that look sth like that:

On the left side, you can see a navigation control. Exactly one item has to be selected (item 1 by default).

Depend on which item you have selected, you see the matching page on the right side. This page can have next pages, which can be navigated via "Next" or "Back" buttons.

I´ve tried using a listview for the navigation, but it´s hard to get a styling like this. Maybe another control is more suitable also for the functionality.

So, I have 2 Questions:
1) Which control is most suitable for the navigation and how to style it that way?
2) How can I dynamically switch the Pages on the right side (xaml only)?

I just want to create a prototype, so I only want to use xaml and no code behind.

My internet research has so far not much helped me (I have read a lot about navigation and styling but the most is with code behind or using mvvm or sth.. nothing that could help me directly with these specific requirements).
Any designers or xaml pros out there? :)

Answer 1

@Veritas,

Assuming the following markup, the base style already closely ressembles your mockup requirements.

<Window x:Class="TabControl.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Grid>
        <TabControl TabStripPlacement="Left">
            <TabItem Header="Item1">
                <TextBlock Text="Hosted content of page 1"></TextBlock>
            </TabItem>
            <TabItem Header="Item2">
                <TextBlock Text="Hosted content of page 2"></TextBlock>
            </TabItem>
            <TabItem Header="Item3">
                <TextBlock Text="Hosted content of page 3"></TextBlock>
            </TabItem>
        </TabControl>
    </Grid>
</Window>

which more or less gives the following result:

but just for the sake of your question, if you would like to edit the template of the tabControl, in visual studio you can enable the document Outline (Crtl-W, U) , look for your TabControl, Right click and select Edit template > Edit a copy.

From here, either you restyle the TabControl for every instance of the application (it will create a non-keyed ressource), or a named ressource that you can apply as you wish, assuming you would want to create multiple styles (re: keyed ressources).

This is the default TabControl markup generated from a windows 8.1 box (note that there are some subtle variances from one version to another, but this will get you started)

   <SolidColorBrush x:Key="TabControlNormalBorderBrush" Color="#8C8E94"/>
    <Style TargetType="{x:Type TabControl}">
        <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.ControlTextBrushKey}}"/>
        <Setter Property="Padding" Value="4,4,4,4"/>
        <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="1"/>
        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{StaticResource TabControlNormalBorderBrush}"/>
        <Setter Property="Background" Value="#F9F9F9"/>
        <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>
        <Setter Property="VerticalContentAlignment" Value="Center"/>
        <Setter Property="Template">
            <Setter.Value>
                <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type TabControl}">
                    <Grid ClipToBounds="true" SnapsToDevicePixels="true" KeyboardNavigation.TabNavigation="Local">
                        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                            <ColumnDefinition x:Name="ColumnDefinition0"/>
                            <ColumnDefinition x:Name="ColumnDefinition1" Width="0"/>
                        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                            <RowDefinition x:Name="RowDefinition0" Height="Auto"/>
                            <RowDefinition x:Name="RowDefinition1" Height="*"/>
                        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
                        <TabPanel x:Name="HeaderPanel" Grid.Column="0" IsItemsHost="true" Margin="2,2,2,0" Grid.Row="0" KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="1" Panel.ZIndex="1"/>
                        <Border x:Name="ContentPanel" BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}" BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}" Background="{TemplateBinding Background}" Grid.Column="0" KeyboardNavigation.DirectionalNavigation="Contained" Grid.Row="1" KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="2" KeyboardNavigation.TabNavigation="Local">
                            <ContentPresenter x:Name="PART_SelectedContentHost" ContentSource="SelectedContent" Margin="{TemplateBinding Padding}" SnapsToDevicePixels="{TemplateBinding SnapsToDevicePixels}"/>
                        </Border>
                    </Grid>
                    <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                        <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Bottom">
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="1"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="ContentPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition0" Value="*"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition1" Value="Auto"/>
                            <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="2,0,2,2"/>
                        </Trigger>
                        <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Left">
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="ContentPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Column" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Column" TargetName="ContentPanel" Value="1"/>
                            <Setter Property="Width" TargetName="ColumnDefinition0" Value="Auto"/>
                            <Setter Property="Width" TargetName="ColumnDefinition1" Value="*"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition0" Value="*"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition1" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="2,2,0,2"/>
                        </Trigger>
                        <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Right">
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Row" TargetName="ContentPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Column" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="1"/>
                            <Setter Property="Grid.Column" TargetName="ContentPanel" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Width" TargetName="ColumnDefinition0" Value="*"/>
                            <Setter Property="Width" TargetName="ColumnDefinition1" Value="Auto"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition0" Value="*"/>
                            <Setter Property="Height" TargetName="RowDefinition1" Value="0"/>
                            <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="HeaderPanel" Value="0,2,2,2"/>
                        </Trigger>
                        <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="false">
                            <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.GrayTextBrushKey}}"/>
                        </Trigger>
                    </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                </ControlTemplate>
            </Setter.Value>
        </Setter>
    </Style>

Note that this formulation " " will apply the template everywhere it's not locally overridden by a style=someStyleName property. if by chance you have blend installed, you will have more flexibility in how these templates are previewed, and may prove easier to style your colors and fonts.

If it's the TabItem you want to customize, follow the same procedure. The tabItem controls the squared Tab + label component such as this preview here:

TabItem full markup, for the sake of completion:

<Style x:Key="TabItemFocusVisual">
    <Setter Property="Control.Template">
        <Setter.Value>
            <ControlTemplate>
                <Rectangle Margin="3,3,3,1" SnapsToDevicePixels="true" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1" StrokeDashArray="1 2"/>
            </ControlTemplate>
        </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
</Style>
<LinearGradientBrush x:Key="ButtonNormalBackground" EndPoint="0,1" StartPoint="0,0">
    <GradientStop Color="#F3F3F3" Offset="0"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#EBEBEB" Offset="0.5"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#DDDDDD" Offset="0.5"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#CDCDCD" Offset="1"/>
</LinearGradientBrush>
<LinearGradientBrush x:Key="TabItemHotBackground" EndPoint="0,1" StartPoint="0,0">
    <GradientStop Color="#EAF6FD" Offset="0.15"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#D9F0FC" Offset=".5"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#BEE6FD" Offset=".5"/>
    <GradientStop Color="#A7D9F5" Offset="1"/>
</LinearGradientBrush>
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="TabItemSelectedBackground" Color="#F9F9F9"/>
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="TabItemHotBorderBrush" Color="#3C7FB1"/>
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="TabItemDisabledBackground" Color="#F4F4F4"/>
<SolidColorBrush x:Key="TabItemDisabledBorderBrush" Color="#FFC9C7BA"/>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TabItem}">
    <Setter Property="FocusVisualStyle" Value="{StaticResource TabItemFocusVisual}"/>
    <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="Black"/>
    <Setter Property="Padding" Value="6,1,6,1"/>
    <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{StaticResource TabControlNormalBorderBrush}"/>
    <Setter Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource ButtonNormalBackground}"/>
    <Setter Property="HorizontalContentAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
    <Setter Property="VerticalContentAlignment" Value="Stretch"/>
    <Setter Property="Template">
        <Setter.Value>
            <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type TabItem}">
                <Grid SnapsToDevicePixels="true">
                    <Border x:Name="Bd" BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}" BorderThickness="1,1,1,0" Background="{TemplateBinding Background}" Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}">
                        <ContentPresenter x:Name="Content" ContentSource="Header" HorizontalAlignment="{Binding HorizontalContentAlignment, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type ItemsControl}}}" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="{TemplateBinding SnapsToDevicePixels}" VerticalAlignment="{Binding VerticalContentAlignment, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type ItemsControl}}}"/>
                    </Border>
                </Grid>
                <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                    <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="true">
                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="Bd" Value="{StaticResource TabItemHotBackground}"/>
                    </Trigger>
                    <Trigger Property="IsSelected" Value="true">
                        <Setter Property="Panel.ZIndex" Value="1"/>
                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="Bd" Value="{StaticResource TabItemSelectedBackground}"/>
                    </Trigger>
                    <MultiTrigger>
                        <MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Property="IsSelected" Value="false"/>
                            <Condition Property="IsMouseOver" Value="true"/>
                        </MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="Bd" Value="{StaticResource TabItemHotBorderBrush}"/>
                    </MultiTrigger>
                    <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Bottom">
                        <Setter Property="BorderThickness" TargetName="Bd" Value="1,0,1,1"/>
                    </Trigger>
                    <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Left">
                        <Setter Property="BorderThickness" TargetName="Bd" Value="1,1,0,1"/>
                    </Trigger>
                    <Trigger Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Right">
                        <Setter Property="BorderThickness" TargetName="Bd" Value="0,1,1,1"/>
                    </Trigger>
                    <MultiTrigger>
                        <MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Property="IsSelected" Value="true"/>
                            <Condition Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Top"/>
                        </MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="-2,-2,-2,-1"/>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="Content" Value="0,0,0,1"/>
                    </MultiTrigger>
                    <MultiTrigger>
                        <MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Property="IsSelected" Value="true"/>
                            <Condition Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Bottom"/>
                        </MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="-2,-1,-2,-2"/>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="Content" Value="0,1,0,0"/>
                    </MultiTrigger>
                    <MultiTrigger>
                        <MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Property="IsSelected" Value="true"/>
                            <Condition Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Left"/>
                        </MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="-2,-2,-1,-2"/>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="Content" Value="0,0,1,0"/>
                    </MultiTrigger>
                    <MultiTrigger>
                        <MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                            <Condition Property="IsSelected" Value="true"/>
                            <Condition Property="TabStripPlacement" Value="Right"/>
                        </MultiTrigger.Conditions>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="-1,-2,-2,-2"/>
                        <Setter Property="Margin" TargetName="Content" Value="1,0,0,0"/>
                    </MultiTrigger>
                    <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="false">
                        <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="Bd" Value="{StaticResource TabItemDisabledBackground}"/>
                        <Setter Property="BorderBrush" TargetName="Bd" Value="{StaticResource TabItemDisabledBorderBrush}"/>
                        <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.GrayTextBrushKey}}"/>
                    </Trigger>
                </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
            </ControlTemplate>
        </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
</Style>