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WinUI

What’s New in 2021 Volume 3: WinUI and WPF

The Syncfusion WinUI and WPF toolkits have been strengthened further in our recent 2021 Volume 3 release. In this blog, we will see the new controls and major features included in WinUI and WPF for this release.

WinUI

Production-ready controls

The following WinUI controls were developed to meet industry standards and are marked as production-ready:

ComboBox (new)

The WinUI ComboBox control (dropdown list) is a text box component that allows users to type a value or choose an option from a list of predefined options. It has several out-of-the-box features, such as data binding, multiselection, filtering, UI customization, and custom templates.

WinUI ComboBox control

Editable mode

Editable text box to type in and select items from the given data source.

Searching

On typing, the best-matched items will be highlighted for easier selection. In addition, filtering can be enabled if needed.

Filtering

The ComboBox filters items based on the entered text and auto-fills with the first suggestion.

Single and multiple selections

The ComboBox control allows single and multiple selections. The required selection can easily be specified using the SelectionMode property.

Watermark

Display placeholder text inside the control until the user inputs the text.

Appearance customization

Dropdown list items and the ComboBox area can be completely customized with an image or custom controls using templates.

Segmented Control (new)

The WinUI Segmented control provides a simple way to choose from a linear set of two or more segments, each of which functions as a mutually exclusive option.

WinUI Segmented Control

Key features

  • Customize the segmented background, text color, selection style, and more using the built-in features to fit your application’s theme.
  • Populate the segment items from a collection of strings and business objects.
  • Completely customize the segments with a custom UI.

Calendar

Change the first day of the week based on culture

Previously, the first day of the week was always set to Sunday, irrespective of the culture of the Calendar.  Now, the first day of the week in a calendar will be automatically set based on the current culture.

DataGrid

Time column

The new time column is integrated with the TimePicker control to easily select a time.

Using TimePicker in WinUI DataGrid

Numeric column

The new numeric column allows editing the values smartly using the built-in NumberBox control.

Editing Numbers Using NumberBox in WinUI DataGrid

Input controls

Header and description

Now, the following input controls support headers and descriptions:

The header and description can either be strings or custom controls.

NumberBox

Culture

Modify the culture of an individual NumberBox. The text in the NumberBox will be updated based on the specified culture.

Restrict maximum number of decimal digits

NumberBox will not allow users to enter more decimal digits than the specified format.

Input scope

NumberBox will show a numeric keypad by default in tablet mode. It can also be changed to other types of keypads.

Hide text box

Hide the text box in the NumberBox control and attach the repeat button to another control.

Scheduler

Calendar types

Now you can display different types of calendars such as Gregorian, Korean, Hebrew.

Allowed views

All the different scheduler view types can be listed in the scheduler header to quickly navigate among them. You can show only specific view types if needed.

Easy Access to Views in WinUI Scheduler

Date navigation using the date picker

Navigate through different dates using a built-in date picker available in the scheduler header.

Resource view auto and minimum heights

Adjust the height of the resource view in timeline views based on the appointments. Set the minimum height for the resource view in timeline views.

TreeGrid

Date column

Show a date column and select a date easily using the CalendarDatePicker editor control.

Date Selection Using CalendarDatePicker in WinUI TreeGrid

Time column

Show a time column and select a time easily using the TimePicker editor control.

Time Selection Using TimePicker in WinUI TreeGrid

Numeric column

Show a numeric column and smartly edit the values using the NumberBox editor control.

Edit Numbers Using NumberBox in WinUI TreeGrid

WPF

There are some of the notable features included in WPF in the 2021 Volume 3 release.

Diagram

Restrict negative axis dragging

This feature restricts the users from dragging and dropping diagram elements to negative axis bounds.

Restricting Negative Bounds in WPF Diagram

Toolbox support for stencil control

The stencil control is now available in the Visual Studio toolbox. Drag it easily into the designer to include it in the application.

Undo and redo improvement

View, delete and limit the operations recorded in the undo and redo stack. You can also group diagram actions and store them as a single entry in the history manager.

PDF Viewer

Annotation locking

Locking Annotations in WPF PDF Viewer

Users can now lock annotations in PDF files to prevent modifications.

Active viewport rendering

Render only the parts of a PDF file within the viewport region at higher zoom percentages, saving memory and improving performance.

Scheduler

Calendar types

Now you can have different calendar types such as Gregorian, Korean, Hebrew.

Allowed views

All the different scheduler view types can be listed in the scheduler header to quickly navigate among them. You can show only specific view types if needed.

Easy Access to Views in WPF Scheduler

Date navigation using the date picker

Navigate dates using a built-in date picker available in the scheduler header.

Resource view auto and minimum heights

Adjust the height of the resource view in timeline views based on the appointments. Set a minimum height for the resource view in timeline views.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! In this blog, we have seen the new, user-friendly controls and notable feature enhancements rolled out in our Syncfusion desktop platforms in the 2021 Volume 3 release. You can check out all the available new features in our WinUI and WPF platforms in our Release Notes and on the What’s New page.

Nowadays, desktop applications are becoming more popular than ever. Try out these new, versatile controls and features and build innovative desktop applications!

Explore samples of the WinUI and WPF controls from the GitHub location. Additionally, you can download and check out our WinUI and WPF demo apps in the Microsoft Store.

You can also contact us through our support forumsDirect-Trac, or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!

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Meet the Author

Mohamed Samsudeen

Mohamed Samsudeen is a Product Manager for Xamarin, Flutter, WinUI, and WPF products in Syncfusion. He has been a .NET developer since 2013 who is now prominently working in creating and managing custom components for WPF and WinUI platforms.