I made a winui 3 Window class that's done right

[HO-COOH]

The WinUI 3's Window class not being a DependencyObject has been long argued for bringing all sort of deficiencies.

1. Cannot be the root object if you use VisualStates or x:Load on any child, has to be transferred to a Page as root.
2. Not having a ActualTheme property, meaning it need all sort of awkward workarounds for getting both the caption button color and backdrop theme in sync with the content theme
3. ExtendsContentIntoTitleBar only settable in code-behind
4. MinWidth / Width / MaxWidth sizing properties all needing large amount of code to handle properly, even more so if you want it to be dynamic (eg. different values in different state)
5. Cannot use a Converter under Window, see Can't use x:Bind with Converter in Window #4966

Just to name a few that I am constantly bump into when I am developing winui3 apps. Other rationales include: #7305, #10358

I made a WindowEx class that addressed most of these issues, by inheriting not from Window but ContentControl (that is in turn a DependencyObject if someone not aware), and store a Window instance as a member. All original Window method are routed to the member Window and all DependencyPropertyChanged callbacks are handled as necessary. Confirmed running right now. Features documented here. You are welcomed to try it out and give any suggestions. Hoping the official team can address this one day.

[Yexuan Xiao (YexuanXiao)]

Window is not a DependencyObject, which makes it unsuitable for use in conjunction with XAML. Currently, if anyone want to avoid these issues, the best approach is to new Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Window() and then set its Content. WinUI 3 should fix this problem.

[Haider Jamel (TaqaTown)]

Absolutely amazing I love it, the ModernStandardWindowContextMenu blow my mind I always wanted to have a modern design and to be able to disable that menu when I don't want it

I think we need to mention Jesse Collins (@JesseCol) since he is one of the engineers responsibile for WinUI window class, his feedback would be appreciated

[Jesse Collins (JesseCol)]

Thanks for the ping! Also looping Morten Nielsen (@dotMorten) directly FYI.

I'm aware of this request but I haven't taken a close look at it yet. I understand one of the tricky things about making WinUI Window a DO is that it may cause compat issues for existing apps, but maybe there's a creative solution we could figure out.

For (4), the latest WinAppSDK Experimental drop has experimental props Window.MinWidth/MinHeight/MaxWidth/MaxHeight. Does that help you here, or is it still insufficient because they are not DPs?

[Haider Jamel (TaqaTown)]

Jesse Collins (@JesseCol)
Thank you for replying, and we appreciate the hard work you and WinUI team are doing

The new properties added to the upcoming wasdk release are more than welcome since adjusting these properties wasn't direct and straight forward and this caused confusion and frustration to many users sadly, being DPs would be a plus but they are good and helpful

For the case of dependency object there is a possible solution with 2 sub-solutions both respect compatibility with old apps, creating a new window object that inherit from dependency object let call it ExtendedWindow for example

It is possible to replicate HO-COOH approach and build on top of it to make binding pattern and xaml features works out of the box with new window class and it is possible to salvage the current window class and rebuild it in the extended window class, the first is the easiest but come with some technical debts, the second is harder but it is possible to fix all the limitations and problems with it, ofc both approaches would introduce a new class that won't replace the old Window class, the devs just have to replace the window class and xaml tag with extended window class and xaml tag
This way the limitations are removed and the compatibility is maintained

[HO-COOH]

For (4), the latest WinAppSDK Experimental drop has experimental props Window.MinWidth/MinHeight/MaxWidth/MaxHeight. Does that help you here, or is it still insufficient because they are not DPs?

Jesse Collins (@JesseCol) It does not solve the ultimate limitations that current Window has. My 3 / 4 points still stands. And for why a DP is better, if they were DependencyProperty, I could theoretically do something like this, animating a window size change. That would be quite epic.

<Window x:Name="RootWindow" ...>

<Storyboard>
    <DoubleAnimation Storyboard.TargetProperty = "Width"
        Storyboard.TargetName = "RoowWindow"
        From="500"
        To="1000"/>
</Storyboard>

[Jesse Collins (JesseCol)]

For (4), the latest WinAppSDK Experimental drop has experimental props Window.MinWidth/MinHeight/MaxWidth/MaxHeight. Does that help you here, or is it still insufficient because they are not DPs?

Jesse Collins (Jesse Collins (@JesseCol)) It does not solve the ultimate limitations that current Window has. My 3 / 4 points still stands. And for why a DP is better, if they were DependencyProperty, I could theoretically do something like this, animating a window size change. That would be quite epic.

<Window x:Name="RootWindow" ...>

<Storyboard>
    <DoubleAnimation Storyboard.TargetProperty = "Width"
        Storyboard.TargetName = "RoowWindow"
        From="500"
        To="1000"/>
</Storyboard>

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, understood that adding MinWidth/etc doesn't solve all your issues, just taking the opportunity to ensure you're aware and see if that helps any of your scenarios.

I've added 7305 to our list for consideration in September, but to set expectations, that's just me proposing that we start work designing this in Sept, not a commitment :-) . Thanks!

[lhak]

Another issue is described here: #9960. At least for C# apps, adding any event handlers to the window object will keep it from beeing collected unless they are manually unregistered. I guess the problem here is that the reference tracker does not resolve circular dependencies for windows as they do not derive from DependencyObject.

[HO-COOH]

Just to add some demo, these can all be done within xaml only:

1. Storyboard target

<essential:WindowEx>
    <Button
        HorizontalAlignment="Center"
        VerticalAlignment="Center"
        Click="Button_Click">
        Click to animate window width
        <Button.Resources>
            <Storyboard x:Name="WindowAnimation">
                <DoubleAnimation
                    EnableDependentAnimation="True"
                    Storyboard.TargetName="RootWindow"
                    Storyboard.TargetProperty="Width"
                    From="500"
                    To="1000" />
            </Storyboard>
        </Button.Resources>
    </Button>
</essential:WindowEx>

2. Bindable properties

    <StackPanel
        HorizontalAlignment="Center"
        VerticalAlignment="Center"
        Spacing="8">
        <ToggleSwitch
            x:Name="ExtendsContentIntoTitleBarToggle"
            Header="ExtendsContentIntoTitleBar"
            IsOn="{x:Bind ExtendsContentIntoTitleBar, Mode=TwoWay}" />
        <TextBlock>
            <Run>Dpi:</Run>
            <Run Text="{x:Bind Dpi, Mode=OneWay}" />
        </TextBlock>
        <TextBlock>
            <Run>Raw Size:</Run>
            <Run Text="{x:Bind RawWidth, Mode=OneWay}" />
            <Run>,</Run>
            <Run Text="{x:Bind RawHeight, Mode=OneWay}" />
        </TextBlock>
        <CheckBox Content="HasTitleBar" IsChecked="{x:Bind HasTitleBar, Mode=TwoWay}" />
        <CheckBox Content="IsResizable" IsChecked="{x:Bind IsResizable, Mode=TwoWay}" />
        <CheckBox Content="IsAlwaysOnTop" IsChecked="{x:Bind IsAlwaysOnTop, Mode=TwoWay}" />
        <CheckBox Content="IsShownInSwicther" IsChecked="{x:Bind IsShownInSwitcher, Mode=TwoWay}" />
    </StackPanel>