These are the five most popular layout panels of WPF:

    Grid Panel
    Stack Panel
    Dock Panel
    Wrap Panel
    Canvas Panel

How to use them better, you should follow these guidelines:

  • Avoid fixed positions – use the Alignment properties in combination with Margin to position elements in a panel
  • Avoid fixed sizes – set the Width and Height of elements to Auto whenever possible.
  • Don’t abuse the canvas panel to layout elements. Use it only for vector graphics.
  • Use a StackPanel to layout buttons of a dialog
  • Use a GridPanel to layout a static data entry form. Create a Auto sized column for the labels and a Star sized column for the TextBoxes.
  • Use an ItemControl with a grid panel in a DataTemplate to layout dynamic key value lists. Use the SharedSize feature to synchronize the label widths.