Category News

Enhance Data Tracking and Retrieval with Barcodes

May 10, 2024
.NET report controls with integrated barcode support can improve efficiency and accuracy for supply chain management applications.

Barcodes are embedded machine-readable symbols that encode data points directly within reports. This allows developers to streamline data tracking and integration with external systems by providing a scannable representation of key information alongside the human-readable report. Scanning barcodes enables quick and easy data capture instead of error prone manual data entry. Embedded barcodes allow for effortless item identification and tracking throughout processes like supply chain management or inventory control. Users can instantly access detailed information associated with the encoded data, streamlining information retrieval.

Several .NET Reporting controls include Barcodes including:

  • DevExpress Reports lets you design reports with built-in support for various barcode formats, allowing you to directly encode data within them.
  • ActiveReports.NET by MESCIUS enables you to integrate barcodes into reports with comprehensive functionality, simplifying data encoding for easy scanning.
  • Telerik Reporting allows you to add a wide range of barcode symbologies to your reports, enhancing data tracking and information retrieval.
  • List & Label Professional Reporting by combit can generate reports that include embedded barcodes for efficient data capture and management.

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

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Boost App Reliability with Threaded Debugging

May 10, 2024
Threaded code debugging in IDEs helps identify and resolve issues, enhances developer experience, and improves program stability.

Code threading enables concurrent execution of multiple tasks within a single program, sharing resources. Each thread acts as an independent mini-program, often implemented through subroutine calls. This approach improves application responsiveness (for example syntax highlighting while compiling code) and CPU utilization but necessitates careful debugging due to complexities in thread scheduling. Debugging threaded code is crucial for ensuring software reliability and performance as it tackles issues arising from interactions and timing between these concurrent threads.

Several integrated development environments allow you to debug threaded code, including:

  • RAD Studio Enterprise by Embarcadero offers a visual debugger for threaded code, enabling step-by-step inspection and manipulation of threads during debugging sessions.
  • EiffelStudio by Eiffel Software provides mechanisms to trace and analyze threaded execution, facilitating error identification in concurrent programming environments.
  • RemObjects Elements by RemObjects Software aides developers in identifying and resolving concurrency issues by visualizing thread execution and inspecting thread states.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our comparison of IDEs.

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Streamline Your Documentation Delivery Workflow

May 10, 2024
MadCap Flare 2024 can now publish your Flare project directly to Xyleme Syndicate™ with a single click, saving time and effort.

MadCap Flare is a technical authoring tool designed to streamline the creation and delivery of software documentation. It utilizes a single-source, topic-based approach, allowing developers to create reusable content that can be published in various formats, including online help systems, PDFs, and mobile apps. This facilitates efficient documentation management and ensures consistency across different outputs.

The MadCap Flare 2024 release adds seamless integration with Xyleme Syndicate™, a cloud-based content delivery platform. This allows you to directly upload your Flare projects, including technical documentation and eLearning materials, to Syndicate's cloud-based platform. Syndicate offers a robust suite of hosting benefits, such as a global content delivery network (CDN) for faster access, federated search for easy information retrieval, and granular control over content availability through scheduled activation and deactivation dates. This one-click publishing feature streamlines your workflow by enabling direct publication of Flare projects to Syndicate, offering a robust platform specifically designed to meet the varied content delivery needs of today's software development environment.

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

MadCap Flare is licensed per user as an annual subscription and includes Platinum Maintenance (upgrades and support). See our MadCap Flare licensing page for full details.

For more information, visit our MadCap Flare product page.

Efficiently Manage and Deploy Your Applications

May 10, 2024
Repackaging lets you build custom installers that meet your specific security and configuration needs, ensuring consistent deployments.

In the realm of Windows software deployment, repackaging refers to the process of adapting an existing installation program, often a traditional installer such as an EXE, into a more manageable format for large-scale deployments. This can involve capturing file system and registry changes during installation, then utilizing a repackaging tool to create a streamlined package such as an MSI that offers silent deployment, improved consistency, and better control over the installation process.

Several installation tools offer repackaging functionality including:

  • Advanced Installer Architect by Caphyon streamlines software deployment by efficiently repackaging existing applications into MSI, AppX, App-V, and MSIX formats.
  • PACE Suite by Infopulse includes a robust application repackager for simplifying software deployment through MSI and virtual package creation.
  • AdminStudio Enterprise by Flexera offers a comprehensive repackaging toolkit for creating reliable MSI and virtualized application packages.
  • Master Packager provides a user-friendly repackaging module to convert legacy applications into manageable MSI or EXE installers.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our Installation Tools comparison.

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Enhance PDF Comprehension with Highlighting

May 10, 2024
PDF viewers with highlighting support let users draw attention to key points in a PDF, saving time when scanning through lengthy files.

Highlighting text in PDF viewers allows you to visually emphasize important passages within the document. This is achieved by selecting the desired text and applying a colored overlay, typically translucent, to make it stand out from the surrounding text. This functionality is particularly useful for studying, referencing key information, and keeping track of important points during the reading process.

Several WinForms PDF Viewer controls offer the ability to hightlight text in PDF files including:

  • DevExpress WinForms PDF Viewer (part of DevExpress WinForms) empowers you to visually mark up PDFs with a built-in text highlighter.
  • Telerik UI PDF for WinForms (part of Telerik UI for WinForms) offers native highlighting capabilities for emphasizing crucial passages within your documents.
  • XFINIUM.PDF CROSS PLATFORM EDITION provides cross-platform compatibility while enabling you to highlight text for clear emphasis within PDFs.
  • Syncfusion Windows Forms PDF (part of Syncfusion Essential Studio Enterprise) facilitates easy text selection and highlighting to enhance focus on critical information.

For an in-depth analysis of features and price, visit our WinForms PDF Viewer controls comparison.

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