WinForms Controls 2013.1 Released

by Avatar Bill Henning (Actipro)
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 3:50pm

SyntaxEditor - Markdown Language

by Avatar Bill Henning (Actipro)
Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 3:28pm

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Yesterday we talked about the new code block selection features coming to our SyntaxEditor code editor in the next 2013.1 maintenance releases of our WPF and Silverlight control products.

Today I'd like to announce that we're including a new free sample syntax language for Markdown as well.

Markdown Syntax Highlighting

Markdown

The screenshot above demonstrates some of the Markdown syntax highlighting features that are included.

Summary

If you have an app that edits Markdown source, then SyntaxEditor with its free new Markdown language will improve the editing experience for your end users.

This and some other exciting unannounced features are ready to go for the upcoming 2013.1 maintenance release, due soon.

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SyntaxEditor - Code Block Selection

by Avatar Bill Henning (Actipro)
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 2:52pm

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We've been hard at work on new features, many of which relate to SyntaxEditor, for the upcoming 2013.1 maintenance releases of our WPF and Silverlight products.

A new feature coming to SyntaxEditor that is already in our WinForms version is called code block selection.

What It Does

Code block selection is a feature where the view's selection can be expanded to include containing code blocks, and then later contracted all the way back down to the caret as appropriate.

For instance, in C# the first time you expand the selection (via Ctrl+Num+), it may select the containing identifier.  By expanding it again, it may select the containing expression, then the containing statement, then the containing method.  And so on up the compilation unit.

By contracting the selection (via Ctrl+Num-), it goes back and selects the previously selected block.  Contracting can occur recursively to go back to the original selection.

This feature can be implemented in any language (very easily so if your custom language uses our LL(*) Parser Framework), and we've done just that for the advanced C#, VB, and XML languages we provide.

A C# Example

Let's see how this works in the C# language from our .NET Languages Add-on.

CSharp1

The cursor starts in WriteLine.

CSharp2

The containing identifier is first selected.

CSharp3

Then the containing expression. 

CSharp4

Then the containing statement, which in this case was the expression plus the semi-colon.  Next, the containing block is selected.

CSharp5

Finally the containing for statement of that block is selected.  If we would continue on, the method, class, etc. would be selected.

A XML Example

Now let's see how the XML language in the Web Languages Add-on works with this feature.

Xml1

First the caret is in an attribute name.

Xml2

Then the attribute is fully selected.

Xml3

Then all attributes in the tag are selected.

Xml4

Next, the entire tag is selected.

Xml5

Then the containing element's content is selected.  This is great if you want to quickly press Del and replace the content of the element.

Xml6

Finally, the entire tag block is selected.  If we would continue on, the parser element's content would be selected, then the parser tag block, etc.

Summary

You can see how this great feature can help with quick selection of containing code blocks.

This and some other exciting unannounced features are ready to go for the upcoming 2013.1 maintenance release, due soon.

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Chart Features - Axes

by Avatar Bill Henning (Actipro)
Monday, April 15, 2013 at 9:31am

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The recent 2013.1 versions of our WPF, Silverlight, and WinRT XAML controls added full-size charts products.axis1

One feature of our new Charts products are axes. Axes allow you to visualize the value range of your chart by labeling values.

Minimum and Maximum Values

Changing axis values such as Minimum and Maximum will determine what data displays on your chart and where. Here is the same data displayed in two charts. In the first, Minimum and Maximum are determined automatically.

axis2

In the second one, they are set manually to arbitrary values.

axis3

Axis Positioning

We have several capabilities to help you achieve the right look and feel for your application. The first is axis positioning, where you can place axes on either end of the chart.

axis4

Tick Intervals

Next is the ability to set the tick intervals. Here, we see two of the same chart. In the first, tick intervals are set to one month.

axis5

In the second, tick intervals are set to three months.

axis6

Grid

You can show major and minor ticks, and our grid feature allows you to extend those ticks behind the chart surface.

axis7

Styling Ticks

You can also style ticks to match your application.

axis8

Axis Labels

Axes can show labels on each major tick, and also a title. The angle of the labels is adjustable for when you need to put long labels on a small chart.

axis9

Summary

These are just a sample of some of the options available. There are a ton more. Download the trial and check it out!

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WinRT XAML Controls 2013.1 Released

by Avatar Bill Henning (Actipro)
Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 3:45pm

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Today we released the 2013.1 version of our WinRT XAML controls, which contains the complete implementation of our new full-size Charts product.

SampleBrowserRoot

Charts for WinRT XAML gives you the ability to embed great-looking area, line, scatter, and bar charts in your Windows 8/RT apps.  Use our new Charts controls to build touch-friendly dashboards and reports.  The controls share the same codebase with our WPF and Silverlight Charts products, allowing for easy porting of code between platforms.

ChartsBaseballStats

Advanced features include easy binding to any data source, multiple series, data aggregation, bar chart data slotting, legends, data point labels, baseline, axes, grid lines/stripes, ranges, and numerous palettes.

ChartsFinancialDashboard

Moving Forward

We're very happy to have the 2013.1 version released and moving forward will be adding more features to the Charts product.  We also are working on porting SyntaxEditor to the WinRT XAML platform and will post news on that in the future here.

Enjoy the new controls!

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