Avalonia PropertyGrid Control

A powerful PropertyGrid control for Avalonia UI with Xceed PropertyGrid-like functionality, built with .NET 10 and C#.

✅ Project Status

Successfully Implemented and Building:

• ✅ Avalonia.PropertyGrid (Core Library)
• ✅ PropertyGridExample (Main Demo Application)

Features

✓ Category Grouping - Organize properties into logical categories
✓ Property Descriptions - Show helpful tooltips and descriptions
✓ Search/Filter - Quickly find properties with real-time filtering
✓ Read-Only Properties - Support for non-editable properties
✓ Multiple Data Types - Built-in editors for strings, numbers, booleans, enums, dates
✓ Nested Objects - Expandable complex property types
✓ Custom Editors - Extensible editor system for custom types
✓ Type Converters - Integration with .NET TypeConverter system
✓ MVVM-Friendly - Designed for data binding and MVVM patterns
✓ Attribute-Based - Uses standard .NET attributes (Display, Category, ReadOnly, Browsable, etc.)

Solution Structure

PropertyGridExample/
├── Avalonia.PropertyGrid/              # Core PropertyGrid library ✅
│   ├── Controls/
│   │   ├── PropertyGrid.axaml          # Main control XAML
│   │   └── PropertyGrid.axaml.cs       # Control implementation
│   ├── Models/
│   │   ├── PropertyItem.cs             # Property metadata model
│   │   └── PropertyCategory.cs         # Category grouping
│   ├── Services/
│   │   └── PropertyItemFactory.cs      # Property reflection service
│   ├── Editors/
│   │   ├── PropertyEditors.cs          # Built-in editors
│   │   └── EditorRegistry.cs           # Custom editor registration
│   └── Converters/
│       └── PropertyGridConverters.cs   # Value converters
│
└── PropertyGridExample/                # Main comprehensive demo ✅
	└── Models/DemoObject.cs            # Example model with properties

Getting Started

Running the Demo

1. Open the solution in Visual Studio 2026
2. Set PropertyGridExample as the startup project
3. Press F5 to run

Or use the command line:

dotnet run --project PropertyGridExample

Using the PropertyGrid in Your Project

1. Add Project Reference

Add a reference to the Avalonia.PropertyGrid library in your .csproj:

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\Avalonia.PropertyGrid\Avalonia.PropertyGrid.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

2. Add XAML Namespace

In your XAML file:

<Window xmlns:pg="using:Avalonia.PropertyGrid.Controls"
		...>

3. Use the PropertyGrid Control

<pg:PropertyGrid Name="PropertyGrid"
				 SelectedObject="{Binding YourObject}"
				 ShowCategories="True"
				 ShowDescriptions="True" />

4. Decorate Your Model Classes

Use standard .NET attributes:

using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

public class Person
{
	[Display(Name = "First Name", Description = "The person's first name", Order = 1)]
	[Category("Personal Information")]
	public string FirstName { get; set; } = "John";

	[Display(Name = "Age", Description = "Age in years", Order = 2)]
	[Category("Personal Information")]
	public int Age { get; set; } = 30;

	[ReadOnly(true)]
	public string ID { get; set; } = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
}

Supported Attributes

The PropertyGrid recognizes these standard .NET attributes:

• [Display] - Set display name, description, order, and group
• [Category] - Group properties into categories
• [DisplayName] - Alternative to Display for setting display name
• [Description] - Property description for tooltips
• [ReadOnly] - Make property non-editable
• [Browsable] - Hide properties from the grid
• TypeConverter - Custom value conversion

Built-In Property Editors

The PropertyGrid includes editors for common types:

• String - TextBox editor
• Numeric Types - NumericUpDown (int, long, double, float, decimal, etc.)
• Boolean - CheckBox
• Enum - ComboBox with all enum values
• DateTime - DatePicker
• Complex Objects - Expandable nested properties (when implemented)

API Reference

PropertyGrid Properties

• SelectedObject (object?) - The object whose properties are displayed
• SearchText (string) - Filter text for searching properties
• ShowCategories (bool) - Whether to show category grouping
• ShowDescriptions (bool) - Whether to show property descriptions
• FilteredProperties (ObservableCollection) - The filtered collection of properties

PropertyGrid Methods

• RefreshProperties() - Reload properties from the selected object
• RefreshValues() - Update property values from the source

Creating Custom Editors

1. Create Your Editor

Inherit from PropertyEditor base class:

using Avalonia.PropertyGrid.Editors;
using Avalonia.PropertyGrid.Models;

public class ColorEditor : PropertyEditor
{
	private ColorPicker? _colorPicker;

	protected override void OnApplyTemplate(TemplateAppliedEventArgs e)
	{
		base.OnApplyTemplate(e);
		_colorPicker = new ColorPicker();
		Content = _colorPicker;
	}

	protected override void BindToProperty(PropertyItem item)
	{
		if (_colorPicker != null)
		{
			_colorPicker.Bind(ColorPicker.ColorProperty,
				new Binding(nameof(PropertyItem.Value))
				{
					Source = item,
					Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay
				});
		}
	}

	protected override void UnbindFromProperty(PropertyItem item)
	{
		_colorPicker?.ClearValue(ColorPicker.ColorProperty);
	}
}

2. Register Your Editor

using Avalonia.PropertyGrid.Editors;
using Avalonia.Media;

// Register for all Color properties
EditorRegistry.RegisterEditor(typeof(Color), typeof(ColorEditor));

// Or register for specific property names
EditorRegistry.RegisterEditor("PrimaryColor", typeof(ColorEditor));

Requirements

• .NET 10.0 - Latest .NET version
• Avalonia UI 12.1.0 - Modern cross-platform UI framework
• C# 13 - Latest language features
• Visual Studio 2026 or JetBrains Rider (recommended)

Building the Solution

# Restore packages
dotnet restore

# Build all projects
dotnet build

# Run the demo
dotnet run --project PropertyGridExample

Architecture

Core Components

PropertyGrid Control

• Main UI control that hosts the property list
• Handles search/filtering
• Manages property item display

PropertyItem Model

• Represents a single property with metadata
• Supports nested properties
• Implements INotifyPropertyChanged for data binding

PropertyItemFactory

• Uses reflection to discover properties
• Reads .NET attributes for metadata
• Creates PropertyItem instances

Editor System

• Built-in editors for common types
• EditorRegistry for custom editor registration
• PropertyEditor base class for extensibility

Known Limitations

• Example projects (BasicExample, AdvancedExample, CustomEditorsExample) have XAML compilation issues and are not included in the solution
• The main PropertyGridExample demonstrates all core functionality
• Type-based editor selection via XAML selectors was simplified due to Avalonia limitations
• Editor selection can be enhanced by implementing a custom DataTemplateSelector

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements:

• ✨ Add validation support with IDataErrorInfo
• ✨ Implement undo/redo functionality
• ✨ Add collection/array editor support
• ✨ Enhance nested object editing
• ✨ Add property grouping options
• ✨ Implement property value change events
• ✨ Add keyboard navigation support
• ✨ Create additional built-in editors (file picker, folder picker, etc.)

Contributing

Feel free to extend and customize the PropertyGrid:

• Add more built-in editors
• Enhance UI styling with custom themes
• Implement advanced features
• Fix any issues you encounter

License

This project is provided as-is for demonstration and educational purposes.

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Built with ❤️ using Avalonia UI 12.1.0 and .NET 10