DevExpress WinForms Accordion Control

AccordionControl is a side-navigation control that renders a hierarchical, expandable menu of groups and items. It is the recommended navigation control for new WinForms applications — more flexible than NavBarControl, and capable of serving as a full Hamburger Menu when ViewType = HamburgerMenu.

Groups (ElementStyle.Group) are expandable containers. Items (ElementStyle.Item) are clickable leaves that can optionally embed arbitrary WinForms controls inside an expandable content container. The hierarchy is unlimited in depth.

The control lives in the DevExpress.XtraBars.Navigation namespace and ships with the DevExpress.Win.Navigation NuGet package.

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up a side navigation menu in a WinForms application
• Adding groups, items, and content containers to an AccordionControl
• Generating menu items programmatically from data (lists, database queries, configuration)
• Switching the control to Hamburger Menu style and configuring display modes
• Customizing item headers, icons, appearance, and HTML-CSS templates
• Enabling search / filter functionality in the navigation menu
• Choosing between AccordionControl, NavBarControl, and Hamburger Menu style
• Integrating with NavigationFrame, RibbonForm, or FluentDesignForm