DevExpress WinForms 21.2

Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Support

• DevExpress installers now ship separate VSIX extensions for Visual Studio 2022 to ensure that all major design-time tools (like the "DevExpress" menu, DevExpress Template Gallery, Toolbox, etc.) are fully functional.

Microsoft .NET 6 Support

• Added support for the latest Preview build of .NET 6. In addition, the DevExpress Template Gallery includes templates for .NET 5 and .NET 6.

New HTML & CSS Templates (CTP)

• You can now define data-aware templates for DevExpress WinForms UI controls with HTML-CSS markup. This feature allows you to ditch traditional control customizations based on properties and CustomDraw events in favor of the unmatched flexibility of web-inspired markup.
  • New HtmlContentControl - A brand-new control designed to render the template assigned to it. You can use it to create a variety of UI elements including buttons, toolbars, search panels, etc. Note that this control is designed to render tags and CSS attributes supported by the WinForms controls. You cannot use this component to create web browsers.
  • New HtmlContentPopup - Much like the HtmlContentControl, this new component renders HTML-CSS templates and displays results as a pop-up menu.
  • New ItemsView for the DevExpress WinForms Data Grid - ItemsView is a web template-compatible Data Grid View. This View does not have default data representation. Its appearance and record layout is driven by the template assigned to it.
• A collection of small samples has been created to help you explore the capabilities of this new feature and apply web-inspired customizations to the desktop controls.

New File Manager (CTP)

• The new WinForms FileExplorerAssistant component allows you to build a file/folder manager for both local storage and virtual folder hierarchies. This new component allows you to display three UI elements on a Form or UserControl:
  • Main Client Region: Uses the DevExpress WinForms Data Grid.
  • Side Navigation (tree view): Uses the DevExpress WinForms TreeList.
  • Address Bar: Uses the DevExpress WinForms BreadcrumbEdit control.
• You can combine UI elements as needed. For example, you can display all three controls to emulate Microsoft Windows Explorer or display two grid-based panels side-by-side (alongside the Address Bar) to replicate 3rd-party file managers like FAR and Total Commander.
• UI controls (Grid, TreeList, and Breadcrumb editor) are now pre-customized via extensions - objects similar to WinForms Behaviors. Extensions specify the appearance/behavior of controls, and an API to implement communication between UI controls (for example, update the Grid control when a user selects a Tree List node).
• Enhanced the underlying architecture of the WinForms File Dialogs (Open, Save, Browse Folder).

Microsoft Windows 11 Support - Rounded Corners

• Updated the UI to better match the Windows 11 user experience. Your DevExpress-powered WinForms apps can now include rounded corners to match the look and feel of Windows 11.
• Enable the new 'WindowsFormsSettings.AllowRoundedWindowCorners' setting to apply rounded corners to DevExpress-powered forms, dialogs, flyouts, and panels. Note: This setting affects apps running on Windows 11. You cannot display rounded corners on Windows 10 or earlier versions of the Windows operating system.

Data Grid

• WinExplorer View - HTML Templates
  • The WinForms Data Grid's WinExplorer View now supports HTML/CSS templates. Options include:
    • The 'WinExplorerViewStyleOptions.HtmlTemplate' property is now available for each individual WinExplorer View Style (large icons, tiles, details, etc.). Use this property to apply a default HTML template for a style.
    • The 'WinExplorerView.HtmlTemplates' property stores your templates. To dynamically apply HTML templates, handle the 'QueryItemTemplate' event.
• Tile View - HTML Templates
  • You can now create web-inspired tiles and bind them to data fields as needed. To create a web-inspired tile, assign your HTML template to the 'TileView.TileHtmlTemplate' property.
  • You can create multiple HTML templates and add them to the TileView.TileHtmlTemplates collection. Handle the CustomItemTemplate event to apply templates to tiles.
• Named Placeholders
  • You can now use field names as placeholders for CardCaptionFormat and RecordHeaderFormat properties.
  • In previous versions, you had to reference required fields by the index of corresponding grid columns:
• New 'Text Search' Mode for Search Boxes within Column Headers
  • Search boxes within column headers now offer full text search support. In previous versions, search boxes used filter mode instead - values that did not match the search strings were hidden. To activate Text Search mode, set the 'OptionsFilter.InHeaderSearchMode' property to 'TextSearch'.
  • Note: This option searches within visible data rows (collapsed and group rows are ignored), and does not work in server mode.
• Data Source Configuration Wizard for .NET 5 Designer
  • The Data Source Configuration Wizard is now available for .NET 5. Wizard options for traditional data source types that require (yet to be implemented) Microsoft DataSet components are not functional, but you can now use this Wizard to connect your existing data-aware controls to the following data source types:
    • ADO.NET DataSet.
    • XPO.
    • Microsoft Entity Framework.
    • MongoDB.
    • JSON.
    • Microsoft Excel sheets.
    • Unbound or XML data.

New Heat Map Control

• This release ships with a new WinForms Heatmap Control. Features include:
  • Data Binding.
  • Unbound Mode.
  • Coloring Algorithms.
  • Zoom and Scroll.
  • Cell Highlighting.
  • Tooltip Support.
  • Titles.
  • Cell Labels.
  • Legend.
  • Customizable axes.
  • Hit-testing.

Charting

• Customizable Empty Points
  • The DevExpress Chart Control can now process gaps (within a data source) as empty points (points with undefined values). The appearance of these gaps can now be customized with different style options (based on Series view type). You can fully customize the appearance of point markers, line, and area segments for empty points.
  • You can also draw 'mock' points instead of gaps (based on values for neighboring Series points). Set the series view’s EmptyPointOptions.ProcessPoints property to 'Interpolate'.
• Fast (Swift) Point Series
  • Added a new lightweight Swift Point Series to quickly render large data sets as a scatter (XY) plot.

Data Editors

• Text Editor - Advanced Mode Enhancements
  • You can now specify a data source with suggestions for the Text Editor when using "Advanced" mode. This data source will be used by the Text Editor to display automatic suggestions as users enter text into the Text Editor.
  • Added a MRU (most recently used) option. The WinForms Text Editor can now display previous values in its "Recently Used" list.
  • API enhancements include:
    • In Advanced mode, the Text Editor throws a handled exception when you try to access its MaskBox property. This exception warns you that the MaskBox property is not available in Advanced Mode.
    • Added new methods to extract a specific character or a line from the text box, including 'GetCharFromPosition', 'GetFirstCharIndexFromLine', 'GetPositionFromCharIndex', and more.
• SvgImageBox - Virtual Keyboard Support
  • Added new options to the WinForms SvgImageBox control so you can implement a custom virtual keyboard in your WinForms apps. These include:
    • Pressed state and pressed appearance support.
    • Ability to change text for text elements.
    • QueryUniqueItemId - a new event that allows you to assign unique IDs to cloned elements (when an SVG file contains 'use' elements).

Gantt Control

• HTML Templates
  • You can now use HTML-CSS templates to customize the appearance of the following Gantt-related UI elements:
    • Tasks, Summaries, and Milestones.
    • Regular and Summary Task Progress.
    • Regular, Summary and Milestone Task Baselines.
    • Text Labels.
    • Interaction Tooltips.
    • Split Tasks.
  • To create a template, use the Visual Studio integrated HTML Template Editor. To invoke the Template Editor, click the ellipsis button next to the 'GanttControl.HtmlTemplates' property in the Visual Studio Properties window. Once your template is ready, handle the 'GanttControl.QueryItemTemplate' event to assign the template to the appropriate UI element.

Map Control

• Radial Visualization for Clusters
  • The WinForms Map control now supports radial visualization for clusters. This new feature allows you to quickly view all vector items in a cluster without zoom.
  • Use the 'MapControl.InteractiveClusterMode' property to enable this option. To expand a cluster on mouse hover, set this property to 'MouseHoverInteractiveClusterMode'.
  • The following interfaces allows you to expand/collapse clusters:
    • ExpandCluster.
    • CollapseCluster.
    • CollapseAllClusters.
  • You can implement a custom algorithm to position elements as needed when expanding a cluster. To expand a cluster, create a class that implements the 'IExpandedClusterLayout' interface.
• Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area Projection
  • This release includes support for a new projection type – the European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 - Lambert azimuthal equal-area (ETRS89-LAEA) projection. You can use this projection to display European Union (EU) maps with minimal distortion.
  • To enable this new projection, set the GeoMapCoordinateSystem.Projection property to Etrs89LambertAzimuthalEqualAreaProjection.
• Generate Polylines and Polygons from a Collection of Points
  • The ListSourceDataAdapter can now generate polylines and polygons from a collection of coordinates in the data source.
  • Added two new property mapping types for multi-point shapes (MapPolylines and MapPolygons):
    • MapPolylinePointCollectionMapping.
    • MapPolygonPointCollectionMapping.

Pivot Grid

• Accessibility and UI Automation Support
  • Accessibility options include:
    • Screen readers can now obtain information from field headers, field value items, cells, and filter panel.
    • Added AccessibleName and AccessibleDescription properties to pivot fields.
  • The DevExpress WinForms PivotGrid control also supports UI automation. You can now test the following UI elements:
    • Pivot Grid: Grid and Table patterns.
    • Cells: GridItem, TableItem, Value and Invoke (Select) patterns.
    • Headers: Invoke (Select) pattern.
    • Field Value Items: Value and Invoke (Expand/Collapse) patterns.
  • Use the 'WindowsFormsSettings.UseUIAutomation' property to enable UI Automation.

Rich Text Editor

• PDF Export - Accessible PDF Support
  • The WinForms Rich Text Editor can now generate tagged (accessible) PDF documents to address needs of those who use screen readers and other assistive technologies. The following standards are now supported:
    • PDF/A-1a.
    • PDF/A-2a.
    • PDF/A-3a.
    • PDF/UA.
• Custom Font Loading Engine
  • The WinForms Rich Text Editor can now use fonts that are not installed on a target system. This feature avoids font substitution effects when you display, print, or export (to PDF) documents with non-standard fonts.
  • You will be able to load necessary fonts from files, streams, or byte arrays. These fonts will be available to all instances of the DevExpress Rich Text Editor within a given project.
• Field Enhancements
  • The DevExpress WinForms Rich Text Editor now supports SECTIONPAGES, REF, and STYLEREF fields. The following field-related enhancements are also included:
    • You can now replace fields with field values.
    • New UpdateAllFields method: Allows you to update all document fields (including fields located in headers, footers, text boxes, footnotes, and endnotes).
    • You can now suppress DOCVARIABLE field updates for loaded documents.
• Watermark Enhancements
  • Extended the Watermark API. You can now execute the following actions:
    • Insert watermarks into individual section headers.
    • Modify existing watermarks (change watermark options and replace watermark image or text).
    • Remove watermarks from individual sections.

Scheduler

• HTML Templates
  • The DevExpress WinForms Scheduler control supports the new HTML Template engine. Added the 'HtmlTemplates' property to all Scheduler Views. Use this property to assign HTML templates to appointments and all-day events.
• Stretch Appointments
  • Appointment display settings for MonthView, TimelineView, GanttView and YearView now ship with a new setting - StretchAppointmentsMode. This setting allows you to control cell rendering behavior (when a cell contains too many appointments). It is available when the 'StretchAppointments' option is enabled. Available options include:
    • GrowOnly (default value) - the Scheduler displays as many appointments as possible without clipping text, and hides remaining appointments under the 'More Appointments' button.
    • GrowAndShrink - appointments are not limited by cell height. Cells can grow/shrink as needed.
• Appointment and Column Width
  • You can now use the 'ColumnWidth' property to specify column width, or you can use the 'AppointmentWidth' property to specify appointment width:
    • The 'ColumnWidth' property works when the 'StretchAppointments' property is set to "Fixed".
    • The 'AppointmentWidth' property works when the 'StretchAppointments' property is set to "Auto".
  • Both settings are available in Day, Work Week, and Full Week Views.

Skins and Vector Icons

• Skin Editor - UX Enhancements
  • This release includes a number of UX-related enhancements:
    • The "Find Element" dialog (Ctrl+F) now groups elements by categories. The search has been improved.
    • It is now easier to locate required skin elements: all elements found under the mouse pointer (Ctrl+Click) now display both legacy and alias names. The Ctrl+Click shortcut behavior has been improved for XtraForms and Dialog Forms.
    • The "Highlight Skin Elements" Ribbon command now highlights elements for both active and inactive states.
    • An interactive quick start guide for new users has been created.

Spreadsheet

• PDF Export - Accessible PDF Support
  • The WinForms and WPF Spreadsheet controls can now generate tagged (accessible) PDF documents to address needs of those who use screen readers and other assistive technologies. The following standards are now supported:
    • PDF/A-1a.
    • PDF/A-2a.
    • PDF/A-3a.
    • PDF/UA.
• Custom Font Loading Engine
  • The Spreadsheet control can now use fonts that are not installed on a target system. This feature avoids font substitution effects when you display, print, or export (to PDF) documents with non-standard fonts. You will be able to load necessary fonts from files, streams, or byte arrays. These fonts will be available to all instances of the DevExpress Spreadsheet within a given project.
• Set Print Settings in Print Preview
  • The 'Print Preview' window includes a new Settings pane. This pane allows you to specify the following print-related settings:
    • Select spreadsheet content to print. You can print the entire workbook or print a portion of the document.
    • Specify the number of copies to print.
    • Customize page settings (document orientation, paper size, and page margins).
    • Set print scaling.
• New CellEditorOpened Event
  • A new CellEditorOpened event has been created. This event allows you to:
    • Access the active in-cell editor.
    • Handle the editor's keyboard events to execute custom actions or implement custom shortcuts.
    • Spell check text in the editor.
    • Handle the editor's TextChanged event to track text changes and validate user input.
• Custom Paper Size Support
  • With this release, you can specify non-standard paper sizes when printing documents. Use the new 'Worksheet.ActiveView.SetCustomPaperSize' method to define custom paper size for a worksheet.

TreeList

• Advanced Customization Form
  • Enhanced the TreeList's Customization Form and made column customization easier (especially useful if your TreeList includes multiple columns and bands). The new Customization Form displays all columns and bands (visible and hidden). Features include:
    • Toggle Column and Band Visibility.
    • Column/Band Search.
    • Drag & Drop.
    • Sorting.
  • Activate the 'UseAdvancedCustomizationForm' option to incorporate the new TreeList Customization Form.

Vertical Grid

• Grid Title and Record Headers
  • The WinForms Vertical and Property Grid controls can now display a caption/title. Use the grid's 'Caption' property to specify the caption, and enable the 'ShowCaption' option to display it on screen.
  • The Vertical Grid control now supports record headers. These fully customizable headers (including HTML-formatted text strings, custom painted and click-able elements) allow you to display any custom data within two-dimensional data views.
• Compare Records Side-by-Side
  • End-users can now compare individual records side-by-side, temporarily hiding other records. To compare individual records, simply right-click a record's header and select "Add to Comparison" (or select the record using the checkbox). When all required records are selected, invoke the context menu once again and select "Show Comparison".
  • Added new API so you can compare records in code. These include:
    • AddToComparison.
    • RemoveFromComparison.
    • ShowComparison.
    • HideComparison.
    • ClearComparison.
    • IsInComparison.
• Row Smart Tags
  • Added smart tag menus with common settings so you can quickly and easily customize the WinForms Vertical and Property Grid controls at design-time.