The Actipro Blog

WPF Controls 2012.1 has been released and is now available for download.

This build has the following major new features:

• DataGrid: Converted the DataGrid add-on to use the native .NET 4.0 DataGrid.
• Docking/MDI: Updated Prism integration to be based on Prism v4.1.
• Micro Charts: Added new micro charts product, samples, and documentation.
• SyntaxEditor: Added IntelliPrompt code snippets features.
• SyntaxEditor: Added highlighting style border options.
• All: Converted minimum framework to .NET 4.0 client profile.
• All: Made numerous enhancements, tweaks, and bug fixes.

See the announcement post for the detailed list of enhancements and updates.

Silverlight Studio 2012.1 has been released and is now available for download.

This build has the following major new features:

• Micro Charts: Added new micro charts product, samples, and documentation.
• SyntaxEditor: Added IntelliPrompt code snippets features.
• SyntaxEditor: Added highlighting style border options.
• All: Made numerous enhancements, tweaks, and bug fixes.

See the announcement post for the detailed list of enhancements and updates.

In the previous post, we showed a gallery of various scatter charts and some options for the display of markers. In today's post, we'll look at several examples of win/loss charts.

Win/loss charts are very similar to normal bar charts and have very similar features.  The main difference is that win/loss charts provide an absolute view of data relative to the baseline value.  If a data value is the same as the baseline value, it will render as a thin line.  If the data value is more than the baseline value, it will render as a full height positive bar.  And likewise, if the data value is less than the baseline value, it will render as a full height negative bar.

Special appearances can be applied to any negative, high, or low point bars such as in the screenshot above.  The chart can be rendered either in a horizontal (default) or vertical orientation.

More details are coming soon on our upcoming Micro Charts product!

In the previous post, we showed a gallery of various bar charts. In today's post, we'll look at several examples of scatter charts.

Scatter charts render markers where each data point appears.  As with other charts, things like negative, first/last, and high/low points can have highlight effects applied to them so that they appear different than "normal" data points.

There are over 10 different built-in marker styles and markers also can be fully customized via data templates to be any custom shape.

In this screenshot, we see two line charts.  While they are line charts, the same marker customization capabilities are available on scatter charts.  The chart on the left is rendering large 5-point stars for its markers and the chart on the right is rendering a custom circle shape for its markers.

In the next post, we'll look at win/loss charts.

In the previous post, we showed a gallery of various area charts.  In today's post, we'll see some examples of bar charts.

Bar charts use separated bars to render each data value.  Negative values can optionally be rendered using an alternate style.  High and low values can be highlighted.  Multiple bar series can be rendered in the same chart and there are options to determine bar spacing and the bar orientation.

When rendering multiple bar series in a chart, you can set the bars to "stack", similar to how area chart stacking works.  In this case the second series renders its values on top of the first series' values.  This gives a good comparison of data between the two series.

Another option is for the series to stack 100%.  In this mode, the series render to fill the chart height.  At any given X-coordinate, the height of each rendered series indicates its value percentage relative to the total.

In the next post, we'll look at some scatter charts.

In yesterday's post, we showed a gallery of various line charts.  In today's post, let's have a look at a variety of area charts.

Area charts have similar features to line charts.  You have control over whether the area's line is rendered normally (straight), via a spline, or via steps.  Markers can be displayed to highlight important data points.  Negative values can be rendered in an alternate appearance.  Multiple overlapping area series can be rendered in the same chart.

In multiple area series scenarios, you can also set the areas to "stack".  In this case the second series renders its values on top of the first series' values.  This gives you a good comparison of each series' values at the same X-coordinate and also lets you see the big picture total.

There is another option for multiple area series to render in stacked 100% mode.  In this mode, the series render to fill the height.  At any given X-coordinate, the height of each rendered series indicates its value percentage relative to the total.

In the next post, we'll look at a variety of bar charts.

The Micro Charts product, announced in this post, has numerous built-in chart types.  In today's post, we're going to show some screenshots of a variety of line charts.

There are many palette options included with Micro Charts.  Different kinds of markers can be displayed on the line, and special highlighting of those markers can be applied as appropriate.  The lines themselves can render with straight lines, splines, or steps.  Lines can also optionally take on an alternate appearance when rendering under the axis.

In our next post, we'll look at a gallery of area charts.

The Micro Charts product, recently announced in this post, can be used in many scenarios to help visualize quantitative data.  The most common scenarios are usage in dashboards, reports, and grids.

In today's post, we'll look at some sample usage scenarios.

Reports

In this sample, we are reporting sales and units sold throughout various regions.  By combining raw numerical data with the advanced visualizations provided by micro charts, the report is much easier to read and also gives a lot more data.

Notice how we can see how the past 12 months have performed both in sales and units sold.  The sales line chart even highlights the high and low months.  This kind of information is exactly what managers want to see.  More...

Great news… We're looking to expand our company and hire a couple talented individuals who love XAML-based user interfaces and would like to join our team of developers.  If you or any of your colleagues would be interested in working at Actipro, please visit our Careers page to learn more.

Open Positions

Senior C# XAML UI Control Developer

Are you a user interface “rock star” who has a passion for working in C# and XAML-related UI technologies such as WPF, Silverlight, and Windows 8 WinRT? Do you want to be a member of a small development team where you will truly make an impact? Are you a creative developer who wants to be able to express themselves by making quality commercial UI control products that are used throughout the industry by major companies?  If so, this position may be exactly for you.

.NET Technical Support Engineer

Are you an intelligent, energetic individual who loves software development, problem solving, and communicating with customers? Do you want to be a member of a small development team where you will truly make an impact? Are you looking to be involved and gain valuable experience in the hottest XAML-related UI technologies such as WPF, Silverlight, and Windows 8 WinRT?  This position is perfect for a younger developer, looking to further their career in the industry and improve their development skills.

More Information and Applying

To discover more information about the requirements for each of these positions, please click the Learn More button below.  That page links to detailed information for each position and tells how to apply.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Today I'd like to announce the new product coming to WPF Studio and Silverlight Studio's 2012.1 versions:  Micro Charts!  Micro Charts will also be brought to WinRT, and should be available around the time Windows 8 ships.  All three platform implementations share a similar codebase, so code can be easily reused.

We'll be doing a series of blog posts over the next couple weeks getting into detail on what is included in the new product:

• Part 1 - Introduction (this post)
• Part 2 - Sample Usages
• Part 3 - Line Charts
• Part 4 - Area Charts
• Part 5 - Bar Charts
• Part 6 - Scatter Charts
• Part 7 - Win/Loss Charts
• more coming

UPDATE: Micro Charts are now live for WPF and Silverlight with the release of version 2012.1!

What Are Micro Charts?

Micro charts are a special form of chart that are meant to be used in small spaces, to help visualize quantitative data.  They are often found in dashboards, reports, and grids.  I'm sure you've heard the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words", and micro charts certainly paint a pretty picture.

Since micro charts are designed to typically be very short in height, we've taken great care to make sure that our charts render with clear, exact pixel precision so that they are easy on your eyes and accurately relate the data being presented.

Gallery

Let's see a gallery of example usages.  All of the screens below are from one of our many samples that will ship with the product.  In this particular sample, we show multiple ways to compare sales data between two stores via the use of micro charts.  All these examples present the same data.

This example shows basic line charts where the axis is displayed.  The high/low markers are made visible as well.

This example shows two area charts.  The areas are given different appearances to differentiate them.

This example shows bar charts, with the high/low bars highlighted.

This example shows bar charts again, however the axis has been moved to a target sales value appropriate to each series.  Values that fall under the target sales value appear under the axis.  And special highlighting has been activated to render negative bars differently from positive bars.

This example shows another type of bar chart, called a win/loss chart.  In win/loss charts, all bars render at full height above and below the axis.  They give an absolute sense of positive or negative values.

This example shows a scatter series, where markers are plotted for each data point.  The data is presented in a single chart.  Hot tracking (to be described more in a subsequent post) can be enabled, allowing for mouse overs to display a tooltip indicating the values of each series under the mouse.  Hot tracking is available for any micro chart.

This example shows two line series in a single chart.

This example shows two area series, stacked in a single chart.  Bar series can also be stacked together.

This example shows two 100% stacked bar series.  The same 100% option is available for stacked area series.

This last example shows the combination of two series kinds.  A bar series is in the back with a line series on top of it, markers displayed.

Summary

You can see from the gallery above that there are many ways to use our robust micro charts product.  And we're just scratching the surface.  In follow-up posts, we'll go into more detail on features.

Micro Charts will be available in the 2012.1 version of our WPF and Silverlight controls, coming in the next several weeks.

UPDATE:  Micro Charts are now live for WPF and Silverlight with the release of version 2012.1!