Update: You can now download a version of the Silverlight Toolkit that is specifically targeted towards Phone development at http://silverlight.codeplex.com/
I never get too far on a Silverlight project before I find myself reaching for a WrapPanel. Unlike WPF, Silverlight does not come with a WrapPanel when you open the box from the store. BUT … the Silverlight Toolkit has a great WrapPanel, along with a plethora of other great controls.
When I found myself wanting a WrapPanel for a Windows Phone 7 app, I was a bit worried that the Silverlight Toolkit might not work on the phone. But my fears were unfounded … the WrapPanel works just great on a phone! Well, to be fair, it runs great on a phone emulator.
Here are the simple steps to get your WrapPanel, and anything else you might want from the Silverlight Toolkit, into your Windows Phone 7 app.
First, download and install the Silverlight 3 Toolkit from CodePlex. There’s also a beta for Silverlight 4, but the phone runs 3, not 4.
The next step is to add a reference to the Toolkit assembly
On my machine, the default install path for the toolkit was C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Silverlight\v3.0\Toolkit\Nov09\Bin. I would imagine you’ll find it in much the same place. For the WrapPanel, the assembly you want is System.Windows.Controls.Toolkit.
That’s it! After adding the reference, the WrapPanel will be available in your assets list, in the Controls category. If for some odd reason it’s not there, you can expand the “Locations” tree and search directly in the “System.Windows.Controls.Toolkit.dll”.
Hooray … all the fun of the Silverlight Toolkit on the phone!