.NET 7 WPF News

Generate Diagrams with Text-Based Mermaid Syntax

February 25, 2025
Syncfusion Essential Studio WPF 2024 Volume 4 adds Mermaid-syntax support for easy mind map and flowchart creation, sharing, and editing.

Syncfusion Essential Studio WPF (available as part of Syncfusion Essential Studio Enterprise) is a powerful suite of over 95 UI controls, 50+ charts, and document processing libraries designed to boost the development of high-performance line-of-business applications for the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) framework. With built-in themes, touch-friendly interfaces, and seamless Visual Studio integration, it empowers developers to craft modern, feature-rich, and cross-platform experiences with ease.

The Syncfusion Essential Studio WPF 2024 Volume 4 update introduces support for importing and exporting mind maps and flowcharts using Mermaid syntax, providing developers with a streamlined way to define, edit, and visualize diagrams through a simple text-based language. This feature enables seamless integration with AI-assisted tools for generating Mermaid syntax, enhances cross-platform compatibility for sharing and editing diagrams, and simplifies the process of creating dynamic visualizations within WPF applications. By leveraging this update, developers can efficiently incorporate diagramming capabilities into their workflows and applications with minimal overhead.

To see a full list of what's new in 2024 Volume 4, see our release notes.

Syncfusion Essential Studio WPF is available as part of Syncfusion Essential Studio Enterprise which is licensed per developer starting with a Team License of up to five developers. It is available as a 12 Month Timed Subscription License which includes support and maintenance. See our Syncfusion Essential Studio Enterprise licensing page for full details.

Learn more on our Syncfusion Essential Studio WPF product page.

Let Users Quickly Locate Content in a PDF

February 25, 2025
Enhance the user experience of WPF apps with PDF bookmark navigation, enabling quick access to key sections when viewing complex documents.

Bookmark navigation in a PDF viewer enhances the user experience by allowing quick access to specific sections within a document. This feature enables users to navigate through large PDFs efficiently by leveraging a predefined structure of bookmarks, which often correspond to headings or key sections. It improves the usability of the viewer by eliminating the need for manual scrolling or searching, making it easier to locate specific content within the document. Navigating via bookmarks is particularly beneficial for documents with complex structures, such as technical manuals, reports, and e-books, where streamlined access to key information enhances productivity and readability. By integrating bookmark support, developers can ensure that their applications provide a seamless way to jump between sections without manually scrolling or searching.

Several WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) PDF viewer components allow you to navigate via bookmarks, including:

  • DevExpress WPF PDF Viewer (part of DevExpress WPF) lets you navigate PDFs effortlessly using an interactive bookmark panel with expandable and clickable hierarchical entries.
  • Telerik UI PDF for WPF (part of Telerik UI for WPF) includes support for bookmark navigation, enabling end-users to move through files while maintaining a smooth UX.
  • Syncfusion WPF PDF (part of Syncfusion Essential Studio Enterprise) provides apps with bookmark functionality, so users can navigate to bookmarks present in the loaded PDF.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our WPF PDF viewer comparison.

Compare WPF PDF Viewer Components

Build Insightful Reports with Filtering and Grouping

January 8, 2025
WPF reporting controls enhance analysis by enabling dynamic grouping and filtering, creating tailored reports that drive smarter decisions.

Data filtering and grouping in a .NET WPF reporting control are essential features that enable developers to organize, analyze, and present data effectively within an application. Data filtering allows users to specify criteria to display only relevant subsets of data, reducing noise and focusing on meaningful information. Grouping arranges data into categorized segments based on shared attributes, facilitating a structured and hierarchical view. These capabilities enhance user experience by making reports more intuitive and insightful while improving performance by minimizing data processing overhead. Together, filtering and grouping empower developers to create dynamic, user-friendly reports that meet diverse business requirements with precision and clarity.

Several .NET WPF reporting controls offer data filtering and grouping including:

  • DevExpress Reporting enables seamless data filtering and grouping, delivering dynamic, interactive reports with customizable views across multiple platforms.
  • ActiveReports.NET by MESCIUS, empowers developers to filter and group data efficiently, ensuring tailored, responsive reporting for comprehensive data analysis.
  • TX Text Control .NET for WPF Professional by Text Control supports advanced data grouping and filtering, creating precise, user-focused WPF-based document reporting solutions.
  • List & Label Professional Reporting Edition by combit allows tailored filtering and grouping, enhancing structured reporting with flexible design and hierarchical presentation.
  • FastReport .NET by Fast Reports facilitates efficient data filtering and grouping, enabling streamlined report generation with organized, meaningful insights tailored to user needs.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our comparison of .NET WPF Reporting Controls.

Compare .NET WPF Reporting Controls

Refine Data Precision with TimeOnly Filters

January 2, 2025
DevExpress WPF v24.2 adds enhanced TimeOnly Column Filters for efficient time-based data analysis with Excel-inspired filtering options.

DevExpress WPF is a powerful suite of controls that enhances your WPF development toolkit. It offers data grids, ribbon menus, rich text editors, spreadsheets, charts, and more – all with beautiful themes and touch-friendly interfaces. DevExpress WPF empowers you to build professional-looking, responsive applications that meet modern user expectations, saving you time and effort while adding polish and functionality.

The DevExpress WPF v24.2 update introduces enhanced TimeOnly Column Filters, providing users with a streamlined and precise way to analyze time-specific data. This feature enables users to efficiently filter grid data based solely on time values using an intuitive, Excel-inspired interface. By offering dedicated time interval rules within the column filter popup, developers can deliver a more focused and user-friendly experience for end users working with time-based datasets. This enhancement simplifies data exploration, improves productivity, and ensures that time-related insights can be identified quickly and accurately within WPF applications.

To see a full list of what's new in version 24.2, see our release notes.

DevExpress WPF is licensed per developer and is available as a Perpetual License with a 12 month support and maintenance subscription. We can supply new subscriptions, subscription renewals, and additional licenses. See our DevExpress WPF licensing page for full details.

DevExpress WPF is available to buy in the following products:

Leverage Object-Oriented Data Sources in Reports

December 17, 2024
.NET report controls with IEnumerable data connectivity allow dynamically binding in-memory collections or runtime-generated data to reports.

IEnumerable data connectivity allows for easy binding of reports to in-memory collections or objects that implement the IEnumerable interface, such as lists and arrays. This technique makes use of LINQ-compatible data structures, allowing developers to dynamically populate reports with data from a variety of sources, including APIs, business logic, and complicated data transformations, without relying on traditional databases. This provides increased flexibility in data provisioning, easier integration with object-oriented application architectures, and the ability to manage data from runtime-generated collections, all of which improve the adaptability and maintainability of reporting systems.

Several .NET reporting components offer IEnumerable data connectivity including:

  • DevExpress Reports (Multi-Platform) lets you bind IEnumerable data sources seamlessly, offering flexibility for cross-platform reporting with dynamic data handling.
  • ActiveReports.NET by MESCIUS facilitates IEnumerable connectivity for lightweight, in-memory data reporting, supporting complex business logic and non-database scenarios.
  • Telerik Reporting enables direct binding to IEnumerable collections, simplifying integration of runtime data into professional reports for .NET applications.
  • List & Label Enterprise Reporting Edition by combit lets you use IEnumerable sources for custom data-driven reporting, emphasizing scalability and real-time data updates.
  • Stimulsoft Reports.Net supports IEnumerable binding to streamline reporting from dynamic data collections, enhancing adaptability for diverse .NET applications.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our comparison of .NET reporting controls.

Compare .NET Reporting Controls