Implementing WPF DropDownButtonAdv

The

DropDownButtonAdv

is a WPF dropdown button control that displays a popup menu when the arrow is clicked. It supports menu items with icons, data binding, command binding, configurable popup direction, resizing, multiline text, and full theme support.

Assembly:

Syncfusion.Shared.WPF

Namespace:

Syncfusion.Windows.Tools.Controls

XAML Schema:

xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"

When to Use This Skill

User wants a button that opens a dropdown list of options
User needs a WPF dropdown button with icons, checkable items, or grouped items

User asks about

DropDownButtonAdv

DropDownMenuGroup

DropDownMenuItem

User needs MVVM binding for dropdown menu items or command binding
User needs to control popup direction, resizing, or multiline label
User asks how to handle dropdown open/close events or item click events

Quick Start

xaml

xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"

<syncfusion:DropDownButtonAdv Label="Country" SizeMode="Normal" SmallIcon="Images/flag.png">
    <syncfusion:DropDownMenuGroup>
        <syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem HorizontalAlignment="Left" Header="India">
            <syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem.Icon>
                <Image Source="Images/india.png"/>
            </syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem.Icon>
        </syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem>
        <syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem HorizontalAlignment="Left" Header="France"/>
        <syncfusion:DropDownMenuItem HorizontalAlignment="Left" Header="Germany"/>
    </syncfusion:DropDownMenuGroup>
</syncfusion:DropDownButtonAdv>

csharp

// C# equivalent
DropDownButtonAdv button = new DropDownButtonAdv();
button.Label = "Country";
button.SizeMode = SizeMode.Normal;
button.SmallIcon = new BitmapImage(new Uri("Images/flag.png", UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute));
DropDownMenuGroup menu = new DropDownMenuGroup();
menu.Items.Add(new DropDownMenuItem { Header = "India", HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left });
button.Content = menu;

Common Patterns

Goal	Approach
Static menu items	Declare `DropDownMenuItem` directly inside `DropDownMenuGroup`
Dynamic items from data	Bind `DropDownMenuGroup.ItemsSource` + use `ItemTemplate`
MVVM command on item click	Set `Command` + `CommandParameter` on `DropDownMenuItem`
Popup opens below-left	`DropDirection="BottomLeft"` (default)
Large button with label wrapping	`SizeMode="Large"` + `IsMultiLine="True"`
Checkable items	`IsCheckable="True"` on `DropDownMenuItem`
Custom UIElement in menu	Use `DropDownMenuGroup.MoreItems` property
Scrollable long list	Set `MaxHeight` + `ScrollBarVisibility="Visible"` on group
Resizable popup	`IsResizable="True"` on `DropDownMenuGroup`

Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
`Label`	`string`	Button text label
`SizeMode`	`SizeMode`	Small / Normal / Large
`SmallIcon`	`ImageSource`	Icon for Small and Normal modes
`LargeIcon`	`ImageSource`	Icon for Large mode
`IconTemplate`	`DataTemplate`	Vector/path icon template (overrides image icons)
`IconTemplateSelector`	`DataTemplateSelector`	Conditionally select icon template
`IconWidth` / `IconHeight`	`double`	Icon dimensions
`DropDirection`	`DropDirection`	Popup position (default: BottomLeft)
`IsMultiLine`	`bool`	Multi-line label (Large mode only)
`DropDownMenuGroup.ItemsSource`	`IEnumerable`	Data-bound menu items
`DropDownMenuGroup.IconBarEnabled`	`bool`	Show vertical icon bar
`DropDownMenuGroup.ScrollBarVisibility`	`ScrollBarVisibility`	Scrollbar in popup
`DropDownMenuGroup.IsResizable`	`bool`	Resize gripper on popup
`DropDownMenuGroup.MoreItems`	`ObservableCollection<UIElement>`	Custom bottom items
`DropDownMenuItem.IsCheckable`	`bool`	Allow check/uncheck
`DropDownMenuItem.Command`	`ICommand`	MVVM command
`DropDownMenuItem.CommandParameter`	`object`	Command parameter

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

Assembly reference (
```
Syncfusion.Shared.WPF
```
)
Add via designer, XAML, or C#
Setting
```
Label
```
,
```
SizeMode
```
(Small/Normal/Large)
SmallIcon, LargeIcon, IconWidth/IconHeight
IconTemplate and IconTemplateSelector
Basic menu items inline
Applying themes with SfSkinManager

Dropdown Menu Items

📄 Read: references/dropdown-menu-items.md

```
DropDownMenuGroup
```
as the container element
Declarative
```
DropDownMenuItem
```
with Header and Icon
```
IconBarEnabled
```
(vertical icon strip)
```
ScrollBarVisibility
```
for long item lists
```
IsResizable
```
gripper for popup resize
```
IsCheckable
```
/
```
IsChecked
```
for checkable items
```
MoreItems
```
for custom UIElement additions
```
IsMoreItemsIconTrayEnabled
```

Data Binding

📄 Read: references/data-binding.md

Model and ViewModel pattern
Binding
```
DropDownMenuGroup.ItemsSource
```
```
ItemTemplate
```
with
```
DataTemplate
```
Binding
```
DropDownMenuItem.Command
```
from ViewModel via
```
x:Reference
```
Full MVVM example with
```
DelegateCommand<T>
```
When to use data binding vs declarative items

Command Binding

📄 Read: references/command-binding.md

```
Command
```
and
```
CommandParameter
```
on
```
DropDownMenuItem
```
```
DelegateCommand<T>
```
implementation
```
CanExecute
```
and
```
CanPerformAction
```
toggle pattern
Binding to ViewModel commands in declarative XAML
Gotchas: scoping commands in DataTemplates

Dropdown Behavior

📄 Read: references/dropdown-behavior.md

```
DropDirection
```
enum: Left, Right, BottomLeft, BottomRight, TopLeft, TopRight
Default direction is
```
BottomLeft
```
```
IsMultiLine
```
for wrapping long labels (Large mode only)
```
FlowDirection
```
for RTL support

Events & Appearance

📄 Read: references/events-and-appearance.md

```
DropDownOpening
```
/
```
DropDownOpened
```
events (cancel support)
```
DropDownClosing
```
/
```
DropDownClosed
```
events
```
DropDownMenuItem.Click
```
event
```
DropDownMenuItem.IsCheckedChanged
```
event
Editing control template in Expression Blend or Visual Studio
SfSkinManager themes + ThemeStudio custom themes

syncfusion-wpf-dropdownbuttonadv

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content