Kt-Pages: Building a Modern Single Page Application in WinForms

📺 Video Walkthrough & Implementation

Watch the step-by-step showcase and code breakdown directly on YouTube:

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Preview

Light Mode	Dark Mode

Every KimTools control is theme-aware. Toggling between Light and Dark Mode updates the entire application instantly, with no custom theme-switching code required.

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What This Project Demonstrates

• Kt-Pages as a single-container navigation system, replacing multi-form WinForms architecture
• Designer Pages - pages built visually inside the Kt-Pages designer, ideal for lightweight, frequently visited screens
• Kt-Page classes - standalone UserControl-based pages with their own designer, code-behind, and lifecycle, ideal for larger or data-heavy modules
• Lazy loading - Kt-Page classes are created only on first navigation, then cached in memory for subsequent visits
• Built-in page transitions via the Transition property, with no animation library required
• Automatic navigation history for Back/Forward style navigation
• Extender Provider integration - controls like KtRadioButton gain a Page property automatically, turning any compatible control into a navigation trigger
• Light/Dark Mode theming applied consistently across every control and page with a single toggle

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Architecture Overview

Kt-Pages vs. Kt-Page

	Kt-Pages	Kt-Page
Type	Container control (similar to TabControl at design time)	UserControl subclass
Creation	Built visually in the designer	Created dynamically at runtime
Best for	Lightweight, frequently visited screens	Larger modules: dashboards, reports, analytics
Loading	Available at startup	Lazy-loaded on first visit, then cached

Both page types:

• Appear in the same Page dropdown on navigation controls
• Work with the Navigate method
• Participate in transition animations
• Participate in navigation history

This means there is a single, consistent navigation workflow regardless of how a page is created.

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Getting Started

1. Create a new Windows Forms project targeting a supported .NET version.
2. Install KimTools.WinForms via NuGet:

   Install-Package KimTools.WinForms
   

3. Rebuild the solution. Visual Studio will automatically populate the Toolbox with all KimTools controls.
4. Drag a Kt-Pages control onto your form and dock it to fill the content area.
5. Add your designer pages inside the Pages collection for lightweight sections (e.g. Profile, Settings, About).
6. Create dedicated Kt-Page classes for heavier modules (e.g. Billing) that should only load on demand.
7. Add navigation controls (e.g. KtRadioButton) to a top navigation panel, then set each control's Page property to its destination.
8. Run the application. Designer pages load instantly; Kt-Page classes are created the first time they're navigated to, then reused on every subsequent visit.

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Resources

• 🎥 Tutorial video: YouTube
• 🌐 KimTools website: kimtoo.net
• 💎 KimTools Plus: check the site for the current monthly offer

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License

See LICENSE for details.