Our application uses the NetAdvantage WPF controls extensively.  The main window has a ribbon with buttons, and then a DockManager/DocumentContentHost that contain multiple ContentPane documents.

When clicking a button on the Ribbon, we want to invoke certain actions on the currently active ContentPane.  We do this by parsing through dockManager.GetPanes() and finding the ContentPane with the IsActivePane currently true, so we can find the last active ContentPane and do the required action on it.

This works fine when all the ContentPanes are within tabs or are docked .  However when a ContentPane is floating, and when a button is clicked on the Ribbon, focus goes back to one of the tabs on the Main Window.  Hence in code, the newly focussed tab is the one acted on, instead of the floating ContentPane that was meant to be acted on.

This behavior is different from that of Visual Studio 2008.  If you float a window within VS, you can click on any of the buttons or menu options on the Main Window within VS, but focus stays on the floating window.  You can try this by using any floating window within VS and the Undo toolbar button within the main window.

Could you please let me know how I can get a button on a Ribbon to work with a floating ContentPane without focus changing back to the Main Window?

Thanks in advance.