Instead of arranging controls on a winform form by specifying pixel locations, I'd like to lay it out similar to the way you'd layout a form in html. This would make it scale better (for larger fonts etc).
Does anyone know of a layout library that allows you to define the form in xml and lay it out similar to html?
Have you checked out the TableLayoutPanel and FlowLayoutPanel in the .NET framework? It might be what you are looking for.
Yeah, it's called WPF :)
Seriously, there are some newer panel types in WinForms 2.0 that will let you place controls without setting Location and Size. They are FlowLayoutPanel and TableLayoutPanel.
You should also look into the AutoSize property. It takes care of sizing when the value of the label, say, changes. Also, don't forget about Docking and Anchoring.
Once you master those concepts, writing a little parser that converts from XML to controls shouldn't be that hard if you feel you really need it.
Not sure there is anything perfect for this.
MyXAML was kicking about a few years ago that enabled you to add forms in XML as opposed to embedding them into the binary. Not sure if that project is dead or not.
WinForm does have the flow layout control already
However if you want to do this kind of thing properly I think the only answer is to move to WPF.
You may also want to consider using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) instead of WinForms - WPF has an XML declarative markup language (XAML) that works well for defining scalable UI.
I've already got something like MyXAML - my screens are loaded from xml files already. It suffers the same problem as MyXAML which is that you still have to position the controls with pixel positions whereas I want something like html with the automatic flow and tables and such.
I think TableLayoutPanel might be what I'm looking for.
The only one I know of is a 3rd party from DevExpress called the LayoutControl..
Related
We need to get rid of DevExpress Bootstrap Controls for ASP.NET Core from project.
What would be the easiest/cheapest/feastet solution?
To simply rewrite everything with a different framework like Angular/Vue/React?
Maybe there is a known framework/method of migrating to DevExpress ASP.NET Core Controls? Or to something else?
How many controls were used from DevExpress?
If you only used a few controls, then you only need a few replacements.
I would not call purchase of some controls from DevExpress a whole "framework", but that of only purchasing some controls to use with your project.
So, does the project use 3-5 or 50 of those DevExpress controls? (by using, I mean DIFFERENT kinds of controls).
If you only used a few, say like their GridView, then you would only need to find a replacement for their gridview control, or simply use the built-in one, and fancy it up with some css, and addtional options. (I would make a user control).
So, you want to determine what the controls used did, how many different controls were used, and then find some controls that have a great look and feel that you like.
Their grid controls are VERY nice, since they have some "really" nice filter options for the header of that grid control.
So, you need to find some control replacements, but how many did the project use will quite much determine scope here.
So, in place of say their tab control, then consider using the jQuery one. As noted, I would wrap say the jQuery.UI tab control into a user control, so then you can just drag + drop in that jQuery.UI "tab" control in place of the devExpress one.
Same goes for the multi-select combo box (dropdown list).
So, either you cobbile together some replacements of your own, or you find some replacemetns, or you buy some more controls from another vendor.
The challenge and issue will of course be that each of their controls has a specific object and event model.
However, that's not really any different then say if you started used sweet-alert, and now want to replace sweet-alert say with some jQuery.UI dialogs.
I would say that the real challenge of replacing their controls is often not so much finding a replacement, but finding something that has a great look and feel. The main huge wonderful bonus of the devExpress controls tends to be their look and feel. In other words, they had someone with REALLY good taste in terms of look and feel.
I mean, for years I used the ajaxtoolkit. (free, open source). it was and still remains a fantastic set of controls. The pop dialog, the tab control, the multi-select combo box, the HTML editor?
They are all great, but their HUGE downside is not the features, but the controls from that free toolkit look like something from the 1980's!!!
The popular jQuery.UI? Same thing, the controls look ugly and something designed by a un-employed rodeo clown living in a trailer park.
There is a HUGE but BEYOND huge reason that bootstap is so popular.
Know the answer?
Why of course bootstrap is popular for ONE big HUGE massive SIMPLE reason:
Bootstrap has a fantastic look + feel. (zero other reasons for bootstrap being popular!!).
If you ever hired a graphic artist to re-work the look and feel of your web site? Guess what? Their resulting work and suggestions will look like the default of bootstrap!!!
So, someone in the print and graphic design industry or someone with VERY good talent and great taste created the bootstrap system. So, when you use bootstrap, then you get fantastic looking results, results that normally would take a full time graphic artist on your staff.
Regardless, we are wondering off topic here.
The main issue you have to determine is how many controls were used from devExpress. Most of their controls do follow a similar object model as the base controls found in asp.net webform controls.
So, for example, jQuery.UI controls has a great set of features (a great set of UI components), but they look way too dated and old fashioned.
The issue you have is not that you want to replace some of the devExpress controls you used, but how much work it would be to replace say a dev-express "gridview" with another different grid control. Every single one of those controls used will not only require you to spend HUGE amounts of time finding a replacement, but I think the LARGER issue is finding something that don't look like it was created by someone living in mom's basement, or by that drunken un-employed rodeo clown that does not belong in our industry.
your issue is not finding some replacement controls, your issue is how much code and money (time and resources) you have available to replace those controls.
You can no more change a bunch of code in c# to then using say client side JavaScript can then you take some Pascal code, and covert that code to vb.net code.
There no more a replacement for those controls from dev-express then there is deciding tomorrow to re-write some server side code in vb.net to now being client side JavaScript code.
In fact, what I am quite much telling you?
How the computer and IT industry has worked for 50+ years has NOT change one bit, and it not change one bit if you decide to rip out some existing controls and replace them with different controls.
Its possible you are asking for something you never seen, never heard of, and thus are imagining some magic wand here, but those don't exist in our industry either, do they?
As I noted, for quite some time, I used the AjaxToolKit. Turns out that jQuery.UI has near EVERY the same kind of controls available. But, the massive difference is jQuery.UI controls are client side ones, but worse yet, they don't work the same as the AjaxToolKit ones. In other words, there is a nice "tab" control in AjaxToolkit, and there is a nice tab control in jQuery.UI. So, they both are tab control, but THEY are VAST different in their operations, how you use them, how they work.
However, both the jQuery.UI and the AjaxToolkit tab control?
My gosh, do they look like crap.
At least the jQuery.UI one can be easy bootstrapped styled.
Again, note how we not really now back to a JUST having a control replacement, but one that looks VERY nice and VERY tasteful out of the box, and a control that should take zero efforts on your part to obtain that great look and feel.
Want to know what product has those great looking controls and great look and feel out of the box?
the DevExpress ones!!!
I just worked with C# but do not have any idea on Silverlight so I am trying to know if there is a possibility of following.
I have 2 possible layouts for my list box items. so I have created 2 different user controls. Which are completely different that I cannot comprimise and put them in a single control and disable and enable on certain condition. I assumed that this approach will delay the load (correct me if I am wrong). So I am looking for a possibility if I can switch them from xaml. I can switch the control in c# code and even populate them. But data population in c# is a pain when compared to silverlight. I am asking this question only because I want to use data binding.
Is there a way to switch them from xaml. or is there a efficient way of doing this. Even a link of any article that can help is fine.
Thanks in advance.
Maybe DataTemplateSelector will be suitable for you.
I would disagree that data population in Silverlight is a pain.
On the contrary, this is actually one of the strongest benefits with Silverlight and Xaml, because of the excellent data binding capabilities you have access to.
So if you don't already, make sure you actually are utilizing this properly.
I don't know exactly how you would like to switch between these different views, but one way would certainly to bind the visibility of your views to another element on the page that determines which of them should be visible.
That way you can do it within Xaml.
I want to create an automated UI test that will test my syncfusion grid. My problem is that the recorder can't recognize this control (or any syncfusion control). I've searched a lot in the internet but I couldn't find any extension so the recorder will recognize my controls (I'm using WinForms, not WPF!), or at least a way to extend the recorder abilities so syncfusion's controls will be recognized somehow.
Is there any easy way to extend the recorder? Or is there any extension available?
Or maybe can I get the grid object from the WinClient that the recorder generates?
Thanks!
Start your program. Run the Spy++ utility. Type Ctrl+F to start the finder tool and drag the bulls-eye onto your form. Ok, Synchronize and have a look-see at the windows that are visible in the tree. If you see regular Windows Forms controls, like a Button or a Label, but not any of the SyncFusion controls then you've probably found the source of the problem.
Component vendors that try to improve .NET controls typically do so by creating 'window-less' controls. They are not really controls, they don't derive from the Control class and don't have a Handle property. They use the surface of the parent to draw themselves, making them look just like controls. The .NET ToolStripItem classes do this. And this is also the approach WPF uses.
The big advantage is that they render quickly and support all kinds of effects that regular controls can't support, like transparency, rotation and anti-aliased window edges. The big disadvantage is that the kind of tool that you are using suddenly gets noddy and can't find the control back. Because they work by finding the Windows window back on your form, there is no window for them.
This is a hard problem to solve, the 'control' exists only in memory and there's no good way for a tool to find it back. Using Accessibility is about the only other way for such a tool to find a control that I can think of. Which would have to be implemented by the control vendor first, a somewhat obscure feature that gets easily overlooked. You really do need the help of the vendor to find a workaround for this. Shouldn't be a problem, that's why you paid them the big money.
This is Rajadurai from Syncfusion. Thank you for your interest in Syncfusion Products. To make UI Test Automation recognize Syncfusion grids(WinForms), some internal support need to be provided in grid whose implementation is in progress and about to be completed. Please submit an incident through Direct-Trac for any further related inquiries in the following link.
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You can also contact us through support#syncfusion.com. We are happy to assist you.
Regards,
Rajadurai
I am looking at updating the UI of one of my projects that currently uses Winforms and i was hoping to use WPF. I have used silverlight for a while and wanted to use the same PlaneProjection effects to basically rotate my form (by form i mean a group of input controls) along the Y axis.
After looking over the interwebs it looks like for some reason WPF doesnt support this kind of usage with 2d controls like silverlight does, however after scouring i managed to find Thriple, which looked like it was what i wanted, however i find trying to create my UI in the XAML editor a nightmare with it as it seems to stretch and skew everything and ignores the width/heights as if it is automatically scaling everything.
I was wondering if there was anything else that would allow me to do what i want, ideally i would also like it to support WindowsFormHost controls as i have some winform controls that i would like to continue using. It seems a bit silly that silverlight does EXACTLY what i want, but the main technology it is based upon doesnt...
Any alternatives would be great, i just want something that will let me rotate and translate my controls in 3d space and still allow the user to interact with the control.
I don't think it's as easy to do in WPF, but its definitely possible. You'd have to use the Viewport2DVisual3D class inside a Viewport3d.
I am very new to WPF, about 4 hours new. I am coming from ASP.net and Masterpages.
I was looking at examples of Control Template that can used to template a window so all windows look the same.
Other post
Can some direct me to an example of how it is accomplished or sample code from start to finish?
Second part:
Is the ControlTemplate the best way to go about building WPF windows client applications? What is best practices in architecting WPF windows applications.
Thanks
There really isn't a "best" way to architect WPF UIs. It all depends on the user experience your application will have.
If you want a very web-like experience you are probably better of using the pages constructs. Otherwise if you have windows, but want a common header, you may just want to make a control template for that. Maybe you need separate windows or maybe you just need to have a sub part of a grid panel change content depending on state... There are different ways to do things that are more or less suited to the type of client experience you want.
Although there are some best practices in relation to using MVC/MVVM design patterns, there isn't a "best" way to style and theme your controls. I don't consider WPF as friendly to newcomers as WinForms were, but at the same time it seems a lot more powerful in the long run. What might help you out are some basic levels of theming:
Styles: these are mainly aesthetic changes to the look and feel of basic controls and elements with some very basic support for triggering things like mouse cursor roll over. They are similar to CSS on webpages.
Control Templates: these are the more heavyweight versions of styles where you actually reconstitute a control so that, say a button can have a textbox inside of it. Where styles work on a logical level where something like a button is the most atomic element, control templates can drill down further into controls so that the border, background, text, etc of a button are seen as separate elements instead of one atomic part.
Data Templates: A more focused version of control templates meant to customize how data items in lists are drawn. If you have a bunch of pictures you don't want the file name to show up in the listbox, you'd rather have the image itself. A data template lets you accomplish this kind of thing.
So you have to ask yourself when you say, "Make all windows look the same," do you mean changes are merely aesthetic/looks (styles), customizing how a collection of items are displayed (data/item templates) or altogether changing how a standard control looks and behaves or making sure the layout of controls on a page are the same across multiple windows/pages (control templates)?
Finally, the "end to end" of the other post you linked to is pretty simple. You take the control template there, and under your tag you simply add Template={StaticResource MyTemplateName} and the template is applied. This article on MSDN is a decent intro to control templating.