View Items and Property Editors

• Mar 03, 2026
• 6 minutes to read

Dashboard Views and Detail Views consist of View Items - abstract UI entities represented by ViewItem class descendants. To create actual controls, each item type overrides the protected CreateControlCore method, called when an item needs to be displayed in a UI. WinForms-specific View Items are supplied in the DevExpress.ExpressApp.Win assembly.

XAF provides the following basic View Item types:

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Item Type

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Description

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ActionContainerViewItem

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Displays an Action Container specified by the IModelActionContainerViewItem.ActionContainer property of the Application Model‘s corresponding ActionContainerViewItem node. Used to display Actions on a Detail View layout.

Tutorial : How to: Include an Action to a Detail View Layout

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ControlViewItem

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Displays a control specified by the IModelControlDetailItem.ControlTypeName property of the Application Model‘s corresponding ControlDetailItem node (see How to: Show a Custom Data-Bound Control in an XAF View (WinForms)). You can specify a control that is displayed in the UI.

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DevExpress.ExpressApp.Blazor.Editors.BlazorControlViewItem

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Displays a control specified by the IModelControlDetailItem.ControlTypeName but can also display any parameter-less Razor component. The Component can access CascadingParameter of the DevExpress.ExpressApp.Blazor.Editors.BlazorControlViewItem type to access the View, ObjectSpace, and Application instances.

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DashboardViewItem

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Displays a View in a nested Frame. Used to display several Views side-by-side on a Dashboard View.

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PropertyEditor

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Displays an editor control bound to a property. There are multiple property editor types in XAF. They are intended for different data types, and therefore use different controls. For example:

• ListPropertyEditor - Displays a collection property in a nested List View.
• DetailPropertyEditor - Displays a reference property in a nested Detail View.

More Property Editors intended for various property types are listed in the Data Types Supported by built-in Editors section.

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StaticImage

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Displays an image.

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StaticText

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Displays a label.

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Customize View Items

You can use the following approaches to customize View Items:

• Access and Customize View Items in Code
• Customize the Application Model
• Create Custom View Items

Access and Customize View Items in Code

You can use the following approaches to access or customize View Items:

• How to: Access the Grid Component in a List View
• How to: Access the Dashboard Control
• How to: Access the Master Object from a Nested List View
• How to: Customize a Built-in Property Editor (WinForms)
• How to: Disable and Hide Property Editors Based on a Business Rule
• How to Implement Dependent Views in a Dashboard View Filter Based on Selection
• Validate a Property Editor Value
• Access Form Layout Control in XAF DetailView and DashboardView
• Secure or Protect a Property Editor Value
• Ways to Access UI Elements and Their Controls

Customize the Application Model

The Application Model displays nodes for all View Items in your application. You can use the Application Model to customize View Items.

• ViewItems node

• Views | DashboardView or DetailView | Items node

• Views | DashboardView or DetailView | Layout node.

Create Custom View Items

You can use a custom View Item if XAF’s built-in View Items do not meet your requirements. The following articles describe how to create a View Item and use it to implement additional functionality:

• How to: Include a Custom UI Control That Is Not Integrated by Default (WinForms and ASP.NET Core Blazor)
• Implement Custom Property Editors
• How to: Add a Button to a Detail View Using a Custom View Item
• How to: Implement a Property Editor Based on a Custom Control (WinForms)
• How to: Implement a Property Editor Using a DevExpress WinForms Control
• Add an Unbound Control (Button) to the Form Layout in an XAF View
• How to: Create a Custom Control Detail Item
• How to: Include an Action to a Detail View Layout
• How to: Show a Custom Data-Bound Control in an XAF View (Blazor) - External Data
• How to: Show a Custom Data-Bound Control in an XAF View (WinForms)
• How to Access XafApplication and IObjectSpace from a Custom View Item

Note

You can find built-in View Items from XAF libraries in the Model Editor invoked for a Windows Forms application project, since the DevExpress.ExpressApp.Win assembly is referenced in Windows Forms application projects.

See Also

List Editors

How to: Include a Custom UI Control That Is Not Integrated by Default (WinForms and ASP.NET Core Blazor)

Ways to Access UI Elements and Their Controls