VCL Team Blog

VCL – June 2026 Roadmap (v26.1)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:22:00 Z

The following list outlines features/capabilities we expect to ship for our VCL UI Component Libraries - Delphi & C++Builder (expected release date: June 2026). As you will see, accessibility (A11Y), developer productivity, and blazing fast pixel-perfect rendering for high-resolution displays remain cornerstones of our long‑term VCL product strategy. As always, our intent is also to reduce friction in day‑to‑day development tasks and help you build and maintain complex VCL applications more efficiently.

Before I detail our VCL Roadmap...if you have not yet done so, please take a moment to review What's New in v25.2 (our last major VCL update) and submit feedback using the inline survey. Your survey responses (both in the What's New and in Roadmap posts such as this) help us better understand your needs/concerns and allows us to make more informed development decisions. As always, thanks to everyone who has already submitted feedback/suggestions.

The information contained within this blog post details our current/projected development plans. Please note that this information is being shared for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and does not represent a binding commitment on the part of Developer Express Inc. This blog post and the features/products listed within it are subject to change. You should not rely or use this information to help make a purchase decision about Developer Express Inc products.

Accessibility, Microsoft UI Automation, and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

As you may recall from previous announcements, accessibility (A11Y) support remains a primary focus area across all DevExpress product libraries. As you may also know, Embarcadero introduced their own Microsoft UI Automation (UIA) support recently. DevExpress VCL efforts in this area began in 2024 (track our current progress).

Our accessibility strategy continues to be driven by the following principles:

Make our UI components and related software libraries more accessible to people with visual impairments (via narrator/screen reader apps such as NVDA or Narrator).
Ensure that applications built with our UI components are easily testable using automated UI testing and enterprise-scale end‑to‑end frameworks powered by UIA (such as Ranorex).
Help our customers comply with existing A11Y-related regulations in regions such as the US and Europe (Section 508, EN 301 549, EAA).

Full VCL accessibility support is a large undertaking and requires significant engineering investment. In 2026, we plan to finalize our main accessibility enhancements for the VCL platform. It may include, but is not limited to better accessibility support in the following components:

Remaining Data Editors and Forms (such as Shells, ListBoxes, Printing System dialogs, etc.) and Data Grid use-cases (like summaries)
Spreadsheet, Rich Text Editor, PDF Viewer, Scheduler
Designers in the ExpressReports/ExpressDashboards products
Pivot Grid, Vertical/Property Grid, Charts, Maps

VCL Reporting and BI Dashboard Enhancements

Following the introduction of the new ExpressReports Suite/VCL Subscription + in mid-2025 and our ExpressDashboards Suite preview in v25.2, VCL v26.1 release plans include the following key initiatives for both Delphi and C++Builder developers:

Expanded Demo and Project Template Coverage

For our customers, this will help everyone get started and improve confidence for production use. For us, it will reduce regressions via additional automated tests. For example, imagine using our new predefined templates/wizards to create a BI-powered application for various data analytics scenarios (master-detail reports, dashboards with charts, gauges, and maps) in a single click. Or you want to create a workflow/scheduled job (a Windows Service or Console application) to export reports to PDF silently, print or email dashboard documents, modify documents (split, merge, filter, Mail Merge, etc.) without any user interaction... We want to have a project template for that too.

Extended Learning Materials

We plan to deliver 10+ additional examples/tutorials for our VCL Reports and Dashboards. If you follow our FAQ updates, you might already see multiple new help topics recently. NOTE: our new v26.1 project templates will simplify database access in general and our getting started tutorials in particular (like VCL Reports - Create a Table Report Using the Report Wizard).

Additional AI-Powered Functions

DevExpress VCL Reports already includes multiple smart functions (like report generation from a prompt). We hope to derive yet more from our DevExpress .NET Reporting and BI Dashboard platforms to VCL.

Additional Delphi/C++Builder APIs and Related Usability Enhancements

This will help VCL developers configure/customize dashboards and reports in code easier. A few examples:

Our upcoming v25.2.5 update already includes related enhancements that made non-GUI workflow automation/distributed scenarios possible (a GitHub example: VCL Reports - Generate and Export Report Documents in a Headless / non-GUI Service Application).
Also in v25.2.5+, it is more natural to use TDataSource and its DataSet (a common Delphi-way) with TdxBackendDataSetJSONConnection for ORM-based integrations like RemObjects' Data Abstract (thanks to customer feedback).
In v26.1, we will introduce new OnViewer/DesignerFormShow, OnExport, and other events into TdxReport/TdxDashboard to help developers customize the End-User Report Designer and Print Preview forms easier (for example, to resize forms or make forms non-modal for MDI-based apps).

Some initiatives (especially AI and distributed/workflow service scenarios) depend on cross-team alignment and technical validation to ensure the final experience meets DevExpress quality standards.

High DPI Rendering and Performance Enhancements

VCL v25.2.5+ (and v26.1) introduces noticeable performance-related enhancements for VCL apps running on 4K+ displays.

Form resize performance on Windows 11 and WXI Compact is now 30-35% better for TdxRibbonForm (with rounded corners and other default settings).
Other optimizations to skinned forms and vector‑based UI elements. For example, you may notice that our Mail Client demo forms are rendered 10-20% faster.
Form shadow rendering enhancements. We made a new shadow (TdxWindowFrame), which behaves like the native/system OS shadow, but is 10x faster than our shadow. The new shadow also has a bigger "resize zone" and different display for active/inactive forms. The new shadow is always used on Windows 11 (and on Windows 10 when the form has square corners). Once again, we thank you for your feedback in this regard.

Fluent UI Support - Replicate Modern Microsoft Outlook and Teams User Interfaces

In v26.1, we will start our work on modern Fluent UI support, bringing VCL applications closer to contemporary Windows UI standards inspired by Microsoft Fluent 2 Design System and "new" Microsoft Outlook and Teams apps. Our goal is to allow VCL developers to adopt a more modern visual language progressively, without forcing large‑scale rewrites or breaking existing UI layouts.

Our work will likely continue into v26.2 due to its scope (it also took two majors for our .NET WinForms and WPF platforms - learn more from the roadmap). Planned areas of v26.1 investments include:

Refinements to existing VCL visual elements to better align with Microsoft Fluent UI principles (for example, Outlook-inspired Side Panel, Rounded Skin Panel, Ribbon and Layout control enhancements).
New project and form templates (for the VCL Template Kit)
Updated Mail Client demo or a new Outlook-Inspired Demo (like in WinForms/WPF below).
New Fluent icons with SVG Icon Colorization support

VCL Template Kit - Cut Time to Market with Project and Form Templates

In v26.1, we will introduce a VCL Template Kit designed to quickly create common VCL application types and frequently used UI forms. This new Template Kit will include both project templates and form templates, allowing you to scaffold complete applications or add new forms and modules to existing projects in just a few steps. Very similar to its DevExpress .NET counterpart, the VCL Template Kit is intended to address typical business app usage scenarios (such as data‑centric forms, master‑detail layouts, and common navigation patterns) and will evolve over time based on customer feedback throughout 2026.

Our goal with this initiative is to:

Reduce time spent on repetitive project and form setup (for example, 1-2 clicks instead of minutes-hours).
Encapsulate DevExpress VCL best practices introduced in recent releases (for example, accessibility, a global Skin Controller and vector skins, a single SVG image list for menu and navigation vs multiple images lists with duplicate images, modern Fluent UI layouts).
Improve onboarding for new VCL developers while boosting productivity for experienced teams (for example, get started with our VCL Reporting and BI Dashboard platforms or DevExpress AI-powered smart functions).

Initial list of templates includes, but is not limited to the following:

Outlook-inspired application (powered by our new Fluent UI Design System and inspired by the "new" Microsoft Outlook)
Reporting Application, BI Dashboard application (with options to select Designer, Viewer and also a file system/database/embedded layout storage, whether to use a separate or embedded backend service, whether to enable AI functions, etc);
Ribbon-based and Toolbar-based application (with options to select a Classic or single-lined ribbon, icon size, etc.);
Data-aware application (options to select data grid, treelist, pivot, chart, etc.).
JavaScript Hybrid VCL application (for example, to integrate an HTML Editor or Syntax Editor components using popular DevExpress or free/open-source JS libs).
Tabbed MDI, Tile, and Wizard application
Middle-Tier Security application (no direct database connection)
Office-inspired application (Word Processing, Spreadsheet, PDF Viewer, Scheduling, Mapping component integrations)
Splash Screens/Wait and Overlay Forms/Loading Panels

VCL Splash Screen Manager - Repeatable and Error-Prone Development Tasks Made Easy

In v26.1, we plan to introduce a VCL Splash Screen Manager (TdxSplashScreenManager) designed to simplify the creation and management of loading forms (aka splash screens, loading panels, wait and overlay forms). This new component will provide a centralized and consistent way to display splash screens during application startup or long‑running operations. As you'd expect, TdxSplashScreenManager API and capabilities will be similar to its .NET WinForms/WPF counterpart (see example code below). Of course, our new VCL Template Kit will include customizable splash form templates, to get started in a few clicks.

The VCL Splash Screen Manager will also reduce boilerplate code and improve maintainability while delivering a polished user experience in data‑centric applications. Even with AI coding assistants today, generating splash screen screens yourself across your application can easily go wrong due to Win32 API or known VCL multi-threading quirks (a real community example). With our new component, VCL developers will no longer deal with low-level window lifecycle (such as main UI thread message loop) and repeatable ad‑hoc logic (such as fade-in and fade-out animations) - they will focus on top-level design and business logic only.

Key goals for the VCL Splash Screen Manager include:

Simplified splash screen design, invocation, progress update and shutdown (with support for background operations/threads)
Better integration with modern VCL rendering in high‑DPI environments (vector skins, animations, multiple appearance options)
Improved consistency across applications that require startup or progress UI (reusable form templates and RAD Studio integration)

BBCode-Inspired Rich Text Formatting for Additional UI Elements

In v26.1, we plan to extend BBCode support across a wider range of VCL UI elements and captions:

Column headers in Data Grid, TreeList, and PivotGrid controls;
Form captions and window headers;
Captions and labels in charts, buttons, and other UI elements;
Screentips and other tooltip‑style UI surfaces.

The goal is to improve visual expressiveness and clarity in data‑centric and information‑dense applications (without introducing custom drawing logic or breaking existing layouts). As with other BBCode‑enabled features, formatting will remain optional and fully backward‑compatible with applications that rely on plain text captions.

RAD Studio vNEXT Support

We will continue to track Embarcadero’s RAD Studio roadmap closely. As new IDE versions and updates become available, v26.1 will include the necessary testing, build pipeline updates, and installer changes required to ensure a smooth development experience for active subscribers. For example, we've already researched the new cool features introduced for Windows desktop development in the latest version of RAD Studio 13.1 (Beta).

VCL Localization Reimagined - Research DevExpress Localization Tool Integration

In v26.1, we will evaluate how modern localization workflows and tooling can be applied to VCL applications. Ideal or final destination is to potentially deprecate the existing VCL Localizer Editor in favor of a new and better DevExpress Localization Tool by v26.2 or so.

Our research goals include:

Assess integration scenarios between VCL controls and the new tool (one and better tool to rule/localize all DevExpress platforms)
Simplify localization workflows and improve translation accuracy and consistency (reuse strings between similar .NET and VCL UI elements)
Ensure long‑term maintainability and backward compatibility for existing customer apps (make an adapter between INI files and the new format)

VCL Office File API - Research User Demand and Technical Feasibility

As you might know, we have a powerful .NET Office File API library for non-visual PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint document processing. These non‑visual Office file format processing APIs are also at the core of many DevExpress Office-inspired UI components such as .NET Rich Text Editors.

For us (internally), it is interesting to further isolate and enhance non-visual VCL Office File APIs (TdxRichEditDocumentServer, TdxPDFDocument, and something from our VCL Spreadsheet component) based on our existing .NET code. Especially when C# to Delphi conversion is now easier with AI. This would potentially simplify visual component maintenance (VCL Rich Text Editor, PDF Viewer, Spreadsheet).

For customers (externally), it can help expand support beyond Windows desktop application types to macOS/Linux/mobile/web ("Hi again, FMX!"). Even for Windows OS only, we are aware of multiple customer requests where non-visual document processing APIs would be helpful in non-GUI/service applications (very similar to what we discussed for VCL Reporting/BI Dashboard above). I hope to finalize this research by the end of 2026.

Your Feedback Matters

As always, we welcome your feedback. Should you have specific questions related to our v26.1 release, please submit a support ticket via the DevExpress Support Center.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL — Year-End Roadmap (v25.2)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 10:05:00 Z

The following post outlines VCL UI component (Delphi & C++Builder) features/capabilities we expect to ship in December 2025.

Before I detail our year-end VCL Roadmap...if you have not yet done so, please take a moment to review What's New in v25.1 (our last major VCL update) and submit feedback using the related survey. Your responses help us better understand your needs/concerns and allows us to make more informed development decisions. As always, thanks to everyone who has already submitted feedback/suggestions.

Disclaimer: The information contained within this blog post details our current/projected development plans. Please note that this information is being shared for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and does not represent a binding commitment on the part of Developer Express Inc. This blog post and the features/products listed within it are subject to change. You should not rely or use this information to help make a purchase decision about Developer Express Inc products.

RAD Studio 13 Support

As you probably know, RAD Studio 13 Ganymede is coming soon. As always, it requires us to test and modify our release artifacts:

Design-time packages and tests (to address architectural changes).
Licensed and trial installations.
Internal build farm and related development tools.

Our v25.1.4 build already includes unofficial support for RAD Studio 13 Beta.

Support Deprecation: Delphi/C++ Builder 10.3 (Rio), 10.2 (Tokyo), 10.1 (Berlin), 10.0 (Seattle)

Embarcadero first released its oldest IDE version (10.0) a decade ago. With v25.2, we will only support 10.4 Sydney (released more than 5 years ago) and the latest versions of newer updates (11.3, 12.3, 13.vLast). Please consult Prerequisites: Supported IDEs, Frameworks, and SDKs for additional information in this regard.

Accessibility, UI Automation, and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

As you may recall from previous announcements, accessibility (A11Y) support is a primary focus area across all product libraries. VCL is no exception in this regard. Our strategy is driven by the following principles:

Make our UI components and related software libraries more accessible to people with visual impairments.
Comply with existing A11Y-related regulations in regions like the US, Europe, etc.
Ensure that apps built with our UI components are testable using automated testing/e2e software (Microsoft UI Automation <UIA> is important for both external customers and us internally).

Full VCL accessibility support is a significant undertaking and requires substantial development resources. Accessibility-related engineering efforts will continue throughout 2025.

v25.2 will include the following accessibility enhancements:

TreeList and Data Grid navigation and data editing usage scenarios.
Other popular Data Editors and UI controls (like tagbox, hyperlink, color and currency edit, formatted label, etc.).
Improved accessibility support for the DevExpress VCL Scheduler and Pivot Grid.

Our VCL demos will have accessibility support enabled by default in v25.2.

ExpressReports: Official Release/RTM

As you may already know, hybrid desktop and mobile apps (apps that look like native apps for a given platform, but rely on JavaScript (JS) or other technologies inside) are becoming more and more prevalent in the marketplace. Good examples are desktop versions of Microsoft Teams, Outlook (new) and Visual Studio Code, which rely on a WebView2 (an embedded web browser) component inside a native container app for Windows, macOS, or Linux. DevExpress itself has been using JS wrappers in our .NET MAUI, Blazor, and even WinForms product lines for quite a long time (as well as our Blazor component wrappers in WinForms/WPF with BlazorWebView).

In our v25.1 release cycle, we published our new AI-powered Reporting Platform (ExpressReports) as a Community Technology Preview (CTP). This bridge leverages the DevExpress JavaScript Report Designer and Viewer for use in native VCL apps (using modern web-based design capabilities via WebView2 and ASP.NET Core).

In v25.2, we will officially release ExpressReports with the following new capabilities:

Enhanced .NET and JS dependency management (with CPM and props files, like our .NET/JS products).
Report parameter support.
Subreport support.
We will make it easier to configure report parameters, print settings and initiate other common reporting tasks using Delphi/C++ Builder code at the TdxReport level.
UI localization enhancements.
Better multi-user/distributed environment support (as a prerequisite to support a self-hosted report backend service in 2026).

Our ExpressReports demo will also include additional modules based on aforementioned usage scenarios (which we temporary excluded for v25.1). Our ExpressReports help system should also include additional GitHub examples, for instance:

edit report templates at runtime in the end-user report designer and store these templates in a file system (GitHub);
preview database-stored report templates in the application UI (GitHub);
filter a report data source based on currently selected grid records (GitHub);
localize report viewer and designer UI (GitHub)

ExpressDashboards: An Early Preview/CTP

As you know by now, our ExpressReports-based integration strategy is applicable to other DevExpress JS-based component libraries (like BI Dashboards). With v25.2, we plan to ship a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of our hybrid VCL Dashboard implementation powered by the DevExpress Dashboard Designer & Viewer (for ASP.NET Core/JS). With this implementation, dashboards can be created, designed and previewed inside VCL apps and stored in a database/file system as JSON/XML when necessary.

Technical prerequisites to run this solution also include ASP.NET Core and a WebView2 component (an embedded web browser) for Microsoft Windows. All required .NET and JS dependencies are embedded into a single self-contained EXE file transparently. As such, you can use Delphi/C++Builder for many dashboard customizations, maintaining one of the key advantages of VCL as a platform. For additional technical information in this regard, please review this FAQ.

Licensing: Our new BI Dashboards solution will require the purchase of our new VCL Subscription + OR an existing active VCL Subscription with the Universal Subscription (includes DevExpress BI Dashboards). Learn more at New VCL Subscription for Delphi/C++ Builder: Modern Web & Reporting Solutions (v25.1).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Enhancements

If you are unfamiliar with our existing VCL AI-Powered extensions for text editors and ExpressReports, please review these documents.

VCL v25.2 will introduce one or more AI-related enhancements from the following list:

Semantic or Smart Search in the DevExpressw VCL Data Grid and Lookup editors.
Semantic or Smart Search within our VCL Ribbon and Accordion controls.
AI-powered Smart Paste within our VCL Data Grid and Layout control. SmartPaste analyzes content and intelligently assigns correct values to appropriate layout fields or row cells (to transform traditional copy-and-paste operations).
AI Chat integration (including a project template).

Smart Grid Search

Smart Menu Search

Smart Form Paste

AI Chat Control

DevExpress MCP Server for AI-Powered Documentation Access

Available in Preview

We will introduce an MCP server that connects GitHub Copilot Chat, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible AI tools directly to our comprehensive documentation database. The server will provide instant access to over 300,000 help topics through natural language queries within your IDE. This will allow you and AI coding agents such as Claude Code to access current DevExpress documentation directly within the AI assistant's context. Learn more: DevExpress Documentation MCP Server: Configure an AI-powered Assistant.

Your Feedback Matters

As always, we welcome your feedback. Should you have specific questions related to our v25.2 release, please submit a support ticket via the DevExpress Support Center.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

New VCL Subscription for Delphi/C++ Builder: Modern Web, Reporting, and BI Dashboard Solutions

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 01:01:00 Z

As the title of this blog posts suggests, we've created a new VCL subscription (VCL Subscription +). This new subscription will offer access to our JavaScript/ASP.NET Core/Blazor UI libraries and allow you to integrate ExpressReports (a new AI-powered reporting solution for VCL developers) within your next VCL application.

Throughout this post, I'll do my best to explain our reasoning and hopefully offer a few incentives to upgrade from your current VCL Subscription to VCL Subscription +.

New VCL Subscription +

Motivation #1 - Make DevExpress JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue) and ASP.NET (Blazor & ASP.NET Core MVC) UI Component Libraries Available at a Lower Cost to VCL Developers

First a simple breakdown: `VCL Subscription +` = `VCL Subscription` + `ASP.NET & Blazor Subscription (includes DevExtreme)`. The latter includes hundreds of DevExpress web controls/libraries for different web technologies (even legacy ASP.NET WebForms, MVC5, Bootstrap).

Since we chose not to support Embarcadero's WebStencils, our new VCL SKU will allow VCL developers to create client-side or server-side apps using JS or ASP.NET/Blazor as necessary.

With your VCL Subscription +, you can download all your ASP.NET, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, DevExtreme/JS and VCL products from the DevExpress Download Manager, as always:

Motivation #2 - Use Our New DevExpress ExpressReports/ExpressDashboards Suites (with AI-powered Designer and Viewer)

Our VCL Subscription + includes our built-in Report Designer and Report Viewer in v25.1 (using JS/DevExtreme wrappers for Delphi/C++Builder). This new VCL reporting platform (ExpressReports) leverages the DevExpress JavaScript Report Designer, Report Viewer, and AI-powered extensions for use in native VCL apps (using modern web-based design capabilities via WebView2 and ASP.NET Core). All required .NET and JS dependencies are embedded into a single self-contained EXE file transparently.

Our ExpressReports-based integration strategy is applicable to other DevExpress JS-based component libraries (like BI Dashboards). With v25.2, we will also ship our hybrid VCL Dashboard implementation powered by the DevExpress Dashboard Designer & Viewer (for ASP.NET Core/JS). With this implementation, dashboards can be created, designed and previewed inside VCL apps and stored in a database/file system as JSON/XML when necessary.

Demos | Documentation | FAQ

NOTE:
- ExpressReports will require the purchase of our "VCL Subscription +" OR an active VCL Subscription (regular) with any active .NET subscription that includes DevExpress Reports for ASP.NET Core/JavaScript (these subscriptions include: Reporting, ASP.NET & Blazor (includes DevExtreme), DXperience, or Universal).
- ExpressDashboards will also require the purchase of our "VCL Subscription +" OR an active VCL Subscription (regular) with an active Universal Subscription that includes DevExpress Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboard.

New/Renewal Price

VCL Subscription + includes everything that ships as part of our standard VCL Subscription and our ASP.NET/Blazor Subscription (including DevExtreme). From a financial perspective, `VCL Subscription +` purchase price is $2,499.99. Second year renewal price is 50% or $1,249.99. The price difference between the VCL Subscription + and our standard VCL Subscription is $800.

Other VCL Pricing/Licensing-related Changes

We've increased pricing for both the VCL Subscription and Express QuantumPack by $200 - they now cost $1,699.99 and $999.99 respectively. Renewal price is 50% for all product subscriptions - $849.99 and $499.99 respectively.
We no longer offer new Express NavigationPack and Express GridPack licenses (said differently, these two subscriptions will not be available for future purchases). Active Express NavigationPack and Express GridPack subscribers can continue to renew existing licenses (if you own an expired Express Navigation Pack or Express Grid Pack license, please contact the DevExpress Client Services Team for upgrade options).

While a price increase is never good news, we appreciate your understanding in this regard. We've done our best to maintain price stability over that last 7+ years and this price increase notwithstanding, we will do everything possible to maintain price points down the road.

Your Feedback Matters

Should you have any questions about our new SKU or if you wish to discuss pricing related matters with us, please email management@devexpress.com at your convenience. We will be happy to follow up.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL — Early Access Preview (v25.1)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 03:44:00 Z

We are just a couple of months away from our next major update (v25.1). This post describes a few VCL-related features we expect to ship in early June and details what’s inside our Early Access Preview (EAP) build. For additional information on what you can expect in our v25.1 release, please refer to VCL – June 2025 Roadmap.

Active DevExpress VCL Subscribers can download our most recent EAP builds using the DevExpress Download Manager. If you are using a trial version and want to try these preview features today, you can purchase a DevExpress VCL Subscription and this will give you access to the EAP/Beta builds. If you own our Express GridPack, Express Quantum GridPack or Express NavigationPack subscriptions and are ready to upgrade, email us at clientservices@devexpress.com.

Early Access and CTP builds are provided solely for early testing purposes and are not ready for production use. This build can be installed side by side with other major versions of DevExpress products. Please backup your project and other important data before installing Early Access and CTP builds. This EAP may not include all features/products we expect to ship in our v24.1 release cycle. As its name implies, the EAP offers an early preview of what we expect to ship in two months.

RAD Studio 12.3 Support

As you would expect, DevExpress v24.2.5+ and v25.1.1+ officially support the most recent versions of RAD Studio (Delphi 12.3 and C++ Builder 12.3 for both 32-bit and 64-bit).

Please take a moment to test our EAP against these IDEs (including 64-bit design-time support) and let us know if you encounter any difficulties/issues. Your early feedback will help us better support RAD Studio 12.3.

RAD Studio Dark Mode at Design Time

We improved developer-specific user experiences and modified DevExpress dialogs and wizards to apply a dark theme, when that has been selected in the IDE.

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

VCL v25.1 additionally propagates global TdxSkinController skin settings to the Layout Control, Navigation Bar, and Bar Manager components (if UseGlobalSkin = True is set in code or in the Project Settings dialog). For the majority of VCL developers, these changes will produce fewer errors and offer simpler configuration steps for common usage scenarios (see examples: one, two, three).

This should not affect customers who prefer advanced/ad-hoc skin customizations or where a global skin is not required (users can also revert to the previous behavior using feature toggles, if needed). Frankly speaking, these enhancements have simplified our own lives, because our VCL installer uses the layout control inside, and in previous versions we had to do skin-related "cherry-picking" for inner elements like check-boxes, etc.

Layout Control

Layout Control users no longer need to deal with TdxLayoutCxLookAndFeel or TdxLayoutSkinLookAndFeel (in most instances). Much like our TdxRibbon control, the TdxLayoutControl now automatically updates its skin settings from a TdxSkinController component in the application (including components added inside the layout control).

dxSkinController1.SkinName := 'WXI';
dxLayoutSkinLookAndFeel1.LookAndFeel.SkinName := dxSkinController1.SkinName;  // Not needed in v25.1+
dxLayoutControl1.LayoutLookAndFeel := dxLayoutSkinLookAndFeel1; // Not needed in v25.1+

To apply an individual skin, you can still modify the TdxLayoutControl.LayoutLookAndFeel.LookAndFeel.SkinName property - local skin settings always override global application settings.

Navigation Bar

We improved the design-time experience for the Navigation Bar control's Appearance Designer:

Sorted different views so that skinnable appears at the top.
Filtered the Color Scheme dropdown based on the available/global project skins.
Updated icons and added Dark Mode support in the designer.
Made the Accordion View the default (instead of the Base View for newly added controls).

Bar Manager

Again, if UseGlobalSkin = True is set in code or in the Project Settings dialog, and users did not change the TdxBarManager.Style property (it is not set in DFM and is bmsStandard by default), our Bar Manager automatically updates its skin settings from a TdxSkinController component in the application.

The default Style value depends on the NativeStyle installer setting ("Use native look and feel style as default for DevExpress components"): if it is True, then the default value is bmsUseLookAndFeel, otherwise the default value is bmsEnhanced.

You can revert to previous behavior via UseGlobalSkin = False (in project settings) or global TdxBarManager.DefaultUseGlobalSkin = bFalse (in the module initialization section, when you have multiple places to customize).

Status Bar

The same changes made to TdxBarManager also apply to TdxStatusBar. Similarly, you can revert to previous behavior via UseGlobalSkin = False and TdxStatusBar.DefaultUseGlobalSkin = bFalse. The only differences are:

The name of the property and its default value - TdxStatusBar.PaintStyle and stpsStandard respectively.
Our Status Bar does not depend on installer settings.

When our status bar is skinned, its default height and rendering is slightly different from native style (SkinController.NativeStyle is true) - we consider this more of a "bug fix" than a breaking change, because the overall appearance is now more accurate in v25.1.

v24.2 (PaintStyle = stpsStandard by default)

v25.1 (PaintStyle = stpsUseLookAndFeel by default)

A Preview of the Report Designer and Report Viewer (Powered by JS/DevExtreme Wrappers for Delphi/C++)

As you recall from our v25.1 roadmap, VCL is taking a big step toward modernization with a new CTP for hybrid reporting that seamlessly integrates the DevExpress JavaScript Report Designer and Viewer. This bridges native VCL apps with modern web-based design capabilities via WebView and ASP.NET Core. All required .NET and JS dependencies are embedded into a single self-contained EXE file transparently (or even magically!) and developers can still use Delphi/C++ for many report customizations - this maintains one of the key advantages of VCL as a platform.

While not currently included in the EAP, I wanted to invite our loyal VCL customers to join the following feature discussion/FAQ thread - I have documented our interim results and some developer experience considerations. We welcome your thoughts on what is coming, how you are going to use it, what is missing or concerns you - your feedback will shape new product development strategies for the rest of this year. Here are a few teaser screenshots from our WIP - some core functionality is already implemented.

Your Feedback Matters

Just another reminder that our What's New in v24.2 and Roadmap surveys give you the opportunity to communicate your needs/concerns so we can make more informed long-term component development decisions.

For additional information on what you can expect in our June release, please refer to our VCL – June 2025 Roadmap.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL – June 2025 Roadmap (v25.1)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:23:00 Z

The following list outlines features/capabilities we expect to ship for our VCL UI Component Libraries - Delphi & C++Builder (expected release date: June 2025).

Before I detail our VCL Roadmap...if you have not yet done so, please take a moment to review What's New in v24.2 (our last major VCL update) and submit feedback using the inline survey. Your survey responses (both in the What's New and in Roadmap posts such as this) help us better understand your needs/concerns and allows us to make more informed development decisions. As always, thanks to everyone who has already submitted feedback/suggestions.

A Preview of the Report Designer and Report Viewer

In v25.1, we plan to ship a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of our hybrid VCL reporting solution powered by the DevExpress JS Report Viewer/Designer. With this implementation, reports can be created, designed and previewed inside VCL apps and stored in a database/file system as JSON/XML when necessary. This is a new solution/implementation for the VCL framework and is based on v24.2-related research (hybrid VCL components - aka JS/DevExtreme Wrappers - see our proof-of-concept with the HTML Editor here). Technical prerequisites to run this solution include ASP.NET Core and a WebView component (an embedded web browser) for Microsoft Windows.

Licensing: Our new reporting solution will require the purchase of our new "VCL Subscription +" OR an existing active VCL Subscription with any .NET subscription that includes DevExpress Reports for ASP.NET Core/JavaScript (relevant subscription SKUs include: Reporting, ASP.NET and Blazor (includes DevExtreme), DXperience, or Universal). Learn more at New VCL Subscription for Delphi/C++ Builder: Modern Web & Reporting Solutions (v25.1).

Accessibility, UI Automation and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

Make our UI components and related software libraries more accessible to people with visual impairments.
Comply with existing A11Y-related regulations in countries like the US, Germany, etc.
Ensure that apps built with our UI components are easily testable using automated testing/e2e software (this is important for both external customers and us internally).

Full VCL accessibility support is a large undertaking and requires significant development resources. Our efforts will continue throughout 2025 and will include enhancements for major unsupported components:

Form layout manager (including layout groups, tabs).
TreeList and Data Grid (key navigation, read-only and data editing scenarios, without other complex interactions).
Other popular data editors (key scenarios in both in-place and standalone use editors).

We expect to introduce improved accessibility support to the DevExpress VCL Scheduler/Pivot Grid (and other controls) by the end of 2025. Our VCL demos will also have accessibility support enabled by default in v25.2.

RAD Studio 12.3 Support

As you probably know from Embarcadero's public announcements, RAD Studio 12.3 Athens is coming soon. As always, it requires us to test and modify our release artifacts:

Design-time packages and tests (due to architectural changes).
Licensed and trial installations.
Internal build farm and related development tools.

Form and Control Rendering Performance Enhancements

First, a reminder to review our v24.2 release notes (details related to performance optimizations) and test v24.2 live with our demos or within your projects. You may be surprised that certain DevExpress-powered VCL forms now open faster (even without DirectX) than the same in .NET WinForms.

Performance enhancements to skinned forms (with vector skins and SVG icons) continue to be a part of our long-term VCL product strategy. In our v25.1 release cycle, we have isolated a new set of use-case scenarios requiring optimization (based on feedback via the DevExpress Support Center and internal research).

Dark Mode at Design Time

We also want to improve developer UX and modify DevExpress tool windows to match IDE styles (for example, apply a dark theme to DevExpress dialogs and wizards).

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

Having started in 2024 with our VCL Ribbon component, v25.1 will make it easier to apply the global TdxSkinController and project settings (learn more) to the following controls:

Layout Control (no need to deal with TdxLayoutCxLookAndFeel or TdxLayoutSkinLookAndFeel any longer for controls added inside the layout component).
Navigation Bar (refresh the design-time experience, hide older styles, and avoid extra steps with SkinExplorerBarView, AccordionView and other views).
Bar Manager (a single-row bar menu, status bar).

For the majority of VCL developers, changes will produce fewer errors and offer simpler configuration steps for common usage scenarios (see examples: one, two, three). This should not affect customers who prefer advanced/ad-hoc skin customizations or where a global skin is not required.

More Control over the Enabled/Disabled and Small/Large SVG Icons

This is one more feature from our 2024 roadmap, which we had no time to implement in our v24.2 release cycle. In short, we want to expand UseRegularAsLarge, LargeSize and related SVG image options to other controls like Button, Backstage View, List View, Navigation Bar, Image Combobox, etc. For additional information, please review the following Support Center ticket.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration Research

We expect to leverage/integrate AI chat and other "smart" functions from our .NET libraries (like Smart Paste, Search, Summary, Translation, etc.) for both the DevExpress VCL Rich Text Editor and VCL Data Grid.

A Simpler Way to Save/Restore the Grid and TreeList State

I am pretty sure many of you are familiar with our obsolete KB articles (KA18654 and A2279) and associated custom 'cxStatusKeeper' implementation/package. At least one can easily google more than 100 tickets with various keywords over the years (and I can see even more with private Support Center tickets). Some of our users are still using these solutions today with RAD Studio 12, and it takes their time to upgrade and maintain.

In v25.1, we want to simplify the following save/restore layout requirements:

Save and restore expanded, selected, focused, and top visible nodes/records into a file/stream.
Support our Data Grid's table and banded views and the TreeList.
Support design-time or easy plug-and-play runtime experiences.

We hope to get started with the VCL Data Grid (refactor and simplify existing code, see which APIs can be added out-of-the-box, etc.) and then see how it goes for our TreeList (may be delayed to v25.2). Ultimately, our hope is that you will have much less code to copy and maintain in your own project(s).

As always, we appreciate your feedback on what you customized in our default example solution, what proved to work well and what did not. Thanks in advance.

Your Feedback Matters

Should you have any questions about the new features we expect to ship in June or if you’d like to discuss enhancements planned for v25.1, please submit a support ticket via the DevExpress Support Center or leave a comment in the survey below. We’ll be happy to follow up.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL v24.2 EAP — RAD Studio 12.2 Support, Hybrid VCL/JS Components, Modern 64-bit C++ Compiler and Usability Enhancements

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 02:48:00 Z

As you may already know, we are a couple of months away from our next major update (v24.2). This post describes a few VCL-related features we expect to ship in early December and details what’s inside our Early Access Preview build (for additional information on what you can expect in our year end release, please refer to our Year-End v24.2 roadmap).

Active DevExpress VCL Subscribers can download our most recent EAP builds using the DevExpress Download Manager. If you do not own an active DevExpress VCL Subscription, you can also download our EAP demos using this link.

If you are using a trial, and want to try these preview features today, you can purchase a DevExpress VCL Subscription (this will give you access to the EAP/BETA builds). If you own our Express GridPack, Express Quantum GridPack or Express NavigationPack subscriptions and are ready to upgrade, email us at clientservices@devexpress.com.

RAD Studio 12.2 Support

As you would expect, DevExpress v24.2 and v24.1.6+ officially supports Embarcadero's newest IDE (Delphi 12.2 and C++ Builder 12.2 for both 32-bit and 64-bit).

Please take a moment to test our EAP against these IDEs and let us know if you encounter any difficulties/issues. Your early feedback will help us better support RAD Studio 12.2.

Modern 64-bit C++ Compiler Support

Please let us know whether modern 64-bit C++ compiler support works as expected within RAD Studio v12.2. We have yet to decide whether we can push this Modern 64-bit C++ compiler in v24.1, and are estimating costs/risks for our user base (as you can appreciate, new IDEs and standard libraries bring new changes).

Deprecation of XE7 and XE8

For additional information about this change (in our v24.2 release cycle) refer to following: The DevExpress VCL installation no longer supports XE7 and XE8 of the RAD Studio Delphi and C++Builder IDE.

Note the following known issue: "Cannot copy file(s)" error occurs on an attempt to install DevExpress VCL controls on a Parallels Desktop v20 virtual machine. We implemented a workaround for this issue at the installer level (v24.1.6, v23.2.9). Please download the new installer version from our Download Manager.

A Proof-of-Concept for Hybrid VCL Components (Powered by JS/DevExtreme Wrappers for Delphi)

Our GitHub demo application illustrates the benefits of hybrid VCL applications - apps that rely on a WebView component (an embedded web browser) in a native container app for Microsoft Windows. VCL developers can configure this JS widget using Delphi code and integrate JS HTML Editor commands with our VCL Ribbon control. The editor can also switch between light and dark CSS DevExtreme themes in response to changes between corresponding DevExpress VCL skins and palettes.

As you may already know, hybrid apps (apps that look like native apps for a given platform, but rely on JavaScript (JS) or other technologies inside) are becoming more and more prevalent in the marketplace. Good examples are desktop versions of Microsoft Teams and Visual Studio Code, which rely on a WebView (an embedded web browser) component inside a native container app for Windows, macOS, or Linux. DevExpress itself has been using JS wrappers in our .NET MAUI, Blazor, and even WinForms product lines for quite a long time (and lately for our AI-powered extensions - again thanks to our DevExtreme/JS and Blazor Hybrid components).

Experience tells us that in nearly all instances, deployment of a hybrid app rarely affects usability as internal JS components are generally fast, highly interactive, and support similar application themes. For application developers, the hybrid approach opens new opportunities, because of component availability (be it components from DevExpress or other third-party vendors). For example, VCL developers can then theoretically reuse the DevExpress JS Report Viewer/Designer inside their VCL apps in the future (much like our Blazor and WinForms teams reused the web chat component for their AI story). By pursuing this strategy, new reports can be created/designed at runtime and stored in a database, file system, etc.

If hybrid solutions make sense to you (or if they don't), please share your feedback with us in the survey below.

NOTE: This example is a proof of concept and should not be used in production. Production use also requires a license for DevExpress JavaScript products (not included in VCL subscriptions). For additional information, refer to Hybrid VCL Components (aka JS/DevExtreme Wrappers) and Additional Thoughts on Hybrid VCL Apps with DevExpress (Reporting, Dashboards, etc.).

Layout Control Enhancements

VCL v24.2 incorporates the following usability enhancements for the DevExpress VCL Layout Control - all thanks to our community feedback in the Support Center (one, two, three):

New Close and Open methods to TdxLayoutSplitterItem (along with the corresponding OnClosed and OnOpened events) so you control state in code, without complex inheritance. This change will also impact accessibility support, because you will be able to implement extended keyboard support for this layout item.
An IsClosed flag to determine the state of TdxLayoutSplitterItem.
An OnMoved event that provides information about splitter operations. Event arguments (TdxLayoutSplitterItemMovedEventArgs) allow you to access layout items delimited by the splitter, which triggered a movement operation (FarItem, NearItem). You can also determine the boundaries of delimited layout items before (OldFarItemBounds, OldNearItemBounds) and after (NewFarItemBounds, NewNearItemBounds) splitter operations. This will be helpful for advanced usage scenarios where the OnCanResize event is insufficient - simply said, you no longer need a complicated solution based on mouse down and up events.
New AllowCloseOnClick property for TdxLayoutSplitterItem allows users to collapse or expand a layout item with a click on the splitter. Alternatively, you can check the Collapsible item in the splitter item's context menu in the Customization Form.
New GetFarItem and GetNearItem methods for TdxLayoutSplitterItem designed to access far or near adjacent layout items.

Skin Editor Usability Enhancements

With v24.2, we made it easier for VCL developers to locate a list of skin elements. You can use the Control+Click combination to display a list of target UI elements (recommended). You can also use the Highlight Element menu command to highlight a required skin element from the Skin Editor preview area, much like our WinForms implementation (this option is less effective, because it is not always possible to unambiguously highlight the target UI elements).

Chart Control - Configure Text Position for Bars

In our v24.2 release cycle, we will give you full control over the position of TdxChartXYSeriesBarView value labels using the new Position property (TopInside, BottomInside, Center, Top).

var
  ADiagram: TdxChartXYDiagram;
  AValueLabels: TdxChartXYSeriesStackedBarValueLabels;
  I: Integer;
begin
  ADiagram := dxChartControl1.Diagrams[0] as TdxChartXYDiagram;
  ADiagram.BeginUpdate;  // Initiates the following batch change
  try
    for I := 0 to ADiagram.SeriesCount - 1 do  // Iterates through all series in the diagram
      begin
        AValueLabels := (ADiagram.Series[I].View as TdxChartXYSeriesStackedBarView).ValueLabels;
        AValueLabels.Visible := True;  // Displays value labels for the current series
        AValueLabels.Position := TdxChartStackedBarValueLabelPosition.TopInside;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FillOptions.Mode := TdxFillOptionsMode.Hatch;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FillOptions.Color := TdxAlphaColors.AliceBlue;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FillOptions.Color2 := TdxAlphaColors.LightBlue;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FillOptions.HatchStyle := TdxFillOptionsHatchStyle.DarkDownwardDiagonal;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FontOptions.Name := 'Arial';
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FontOptions.Size := 10;
        AValueLabels.Appearance.FontOptions.Bold := True;
        AValueLabels.TextFormat := '{V:0.000} M';  // Defines a custom label formatting pattern
      end;
  finally
    ADiagram.EndUpdate;  // Calls EndUpdate regardless of the batch operation's success
  end;
end;

These enhancements are not yet finalized, but our complete implementation should be available as we near Beta 1 in November (v24.2.2+). In the meantime, you can check out a few screenshots from our labs (these changes are not yet included into this EAP):

Your Feedback Matters

Just another reminder that our What's New in v24.1 and EAP/Roadmap surveys give you the opportunity to communicate your needs/concerns so we can make more informed long-term component development decisions.

Once again, for additional information on what else you can expect in our year end release, please refer to our Year-End v24.2 roadmap (there are more enhancements to our charts, usability when working with skins and SVG icons, better Cloud API integrations, etc.).

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL — Year-End Roadmap (v24.2)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 02:08:00 Z

The following list outlines VCL UI component (Delphi & C++Builder) features/capabilities we expect to ship in December 2024.

Before I detail our year-end VCL Roadmap...if you have not yet done so, please take a moment to review What's New in v24.1 (our last major VCL update) and submit feedback using the related survey. Your survey responses (both in the What's New and in Roadmap posts such as this) help us better understand your needs/concerns and allows us to make more informed development decisions. As always, thanks to everyone who has already submitted feedback/suggestions.

C++ Builder 64-bit Compiler and Linker

We expect to support modern C++ compiler-related features in our v24.2 release cycle. For technical information in this regard, please review the following: second Behind the Build webinar and documentation on upgrading with key things to know. Let me also quote https://blogs.embarcadero.com/the-new-clang-toolchain-in-cbuilder-12-1/:

The new toolchain targets Windows 64-bit Intel apps, and is based on Clang 15, with a new STL, a new C++ runtime, and uses the Windows Universal C Runtime (UCRT.) It has a new linker, and uses the COFF and PDB object and debug file formats.

All binaries (the compiler, linker etc) are 64-bit EXEs, meaning they can handle large memory requirements – and you’d be surprised how often this is needed for C++. This even includes when compiling in the IDE, where we call out to the external process.

Deprecation of XE7 and XE8

For more information about this change (in our v24.2 release cycle). refer to following: The DevExpress VCL installation no longer supports XE7 and XE8 of the RAD Studio Delphi and C++Builder IDE.

Updated Cloud Integration

With v24.2, we will update existing Cloud API integrations and switch to newer or replacement APIs, where applicable. These changes will impact the following:

The DevExpress VCL Map Control will ship with a replacement solution for those using Bing Maps. For more information about this change, please review the following notice: Important Announcement: Bing Maps for Enterprise Service Deprecation
VCL Scheduler integration with Microsoft 365 and Google calendars.
Cloud Storage components.

Enhanced Visual Testing

New DevExpress VCL Skins such as WXI and WXI Compact (with multiple palettes) and the need to test environments using various DPI and monitor setups (for instance, multiple monitors with different DPI settings) complicated internal testing processes. Some things that could be tested manually (or with simple unit tests) in the past are simply too time consuming today.

In our next major release cycle, we will fine-tune internal procedures/systems to test existing/new features more efficiently. This will include additional screenshot-based tests for our demos and internal test apps for a variety of operating systems, display resolutions and configurations.

Accessibility Enhancements

As you may have noticed, accessibility has been one of our main priorities over recent release cycles. For the VCL, we created a new Microsoft UI Automation (UIA)-powered engine and base component API/infrastructure for ongoing accessibility-related enhancements in v24.1. We also added support for a few basic controls such as buttons and editors (learn more).

In our next major update (v24.2), we expect to introduce the following accessibility-related enhancements for the following unsupported components:

Form layout manager (including layout groups, tabs, etc.)
Navigation and menu (primary usage scenarios when using our Ribbon and standard toolbars)
Other simple data editors like memo and comboboxes.

Further Microsoft UI Automation Support

Accessibility-related initiatives will spill over into our v25.1 release and include our VCL Data Grid, TreeList, Scheduler, Pivot Grid, and other data editors/data-aware controls. This is a huge undertaking and requires significant development resources.

Layout Control Enhancements

With v24.2, we will incorporate the following usability enhancements for the DevExpress Layout Control:

New Close and Open methods to TdxLayoutSplitterItem (along with the corresponding OnClosed and OnOpened events) so you control state in code, without complex inheritance. This change will also impact accessibility support, because you will be able to implement extended keyboard support for this layout item.
An IsClosed flag to determine the state of TdxLayoutSplitterItem.
An OnResized event to determine the size of resized controls without a complicated solution based on mouse down and up events. This is helpful for advanced usage scenarios (one, two) where the OnCanResize event is insufficient.
Clickable URL inside UI elements that support HTML or BBCode formatting, for example, inside the layout control items or groups (learn more).

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

As you probably know, prior to our v24.1 release cycle, you had to explicitly set the ColorSchemeName property for Ribbon controls to introduce a unified look and feel throughout a DevExpress-powered VCL application (see Usability - Ribbon controls do not follow the current color scheme). v24.1 addressed this particular issue. The recommended way to apply skins in DevExpress-powered VCL apps is to use the global TdxSkinController (or TcxLookAndFeelController - now deprecated). You should use this in both runtime and design-time environments for following reasons:

Simplicity: You can apply this skin setting once per application instead of setting skins for multiple controls on multiple forms.
Maintenance: Global skin setting is less error-prone.
Consistency: Our VCL components are optimized for performance and UI/UX consistency for usage scenarios where a single style (skin and palette) is used throughout the application. For instance, you cannot use WXI Compact for one control and WXI for another - or a green palette for one and a blue palette for another (within the same skin).

NOTE: It is still possible to set a skin at the individual control level (via LookAndFeel.SkinName), but this is not the recommended approach. If you do not wish to apply DevExpress VCL Skins to all the controls simultaneously, handle the OnSkinControl and OnSkinForm events of TdxSkinController (for instance, you can filter out standard Delphi controls like buttons by type).

In v24.2, we will continue the work started in v24.1 and extend look & feel configuration options as follows:

Update the DevExpress Layout and Navigation Bar to use TdxSkinController in the same manner as the DevExpress Ribbon (learn more).
Make it easier for customers to introduce advanced solutions where a global skin is not required. We are considering the following options and would love your feedback:
A. Use Global Skin – Make it possible to apply Ribbon style per component at both design-time and runtime (like in v23.2). We already implemented this option in v24.1.4+ for early testing (learn more).
B. Apply DevExpress Skins only to DevExpress controls or to both DevExpress and third-party controls (learn more).

Updated TdxSkinController Dialog at Design Time

In v24.2, the Skin Controller dialog will display vector skins at the top. Raster skins will be displayed in a separate category and disabled by default. You can also select a default palette name and skin using a single mouse click (WXI is enabled by default) – you no longer need to set multiple properties in the Object Inspector.

Conceptually, this dialog will be similar to the Project Settings page in our WinForms product line. Dialog settings will also be applied to all forms within your app, including skin and palette selector components.

We also want to avoid duplicate skin registrations in your units (under `uses`):

More Control over the Enabled/Disabled and Small/Large SVG Icons

We hope to introduce two new properties at the image list/image level and at the global TdxVisualRefinements level: UseEnabledSkinPaletteForSVG and UseDisabledSkinPaletteForSVG. With these options, you can explicitly enable/disable application of our VCL vector skin palette to your SVG glyphs for the enabled or disabled UI element state respectively. We already implemented these options in v24.1.4+ for early testing (learn more).

Why is this important? All SVG icons from the DevExpress Icon Library include CSS styles that define corresponding SVG element colors: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Black, and White. DevExpress VCL and .NET controls can use these CSS styles to apply the active vector skin palette to SVG glyphs to maintain contrast. A few of our customers reported an issue in this regard (incorrect appearance of disabled menu icons), so we hope to add more flexibility for the VCL Bar Manager, Ribbon, PDF Viewer, and potentially other components where enabled/disabled UI element state matters.

We are also looking forward to hearing your feedback about extending our v24.1 Ribbon feature to other controls like Button, Backstage View, List View, Navigation Bar, Image Combobox, etc. (learn more). Please post separate tickets in the Support Center if you are interested in this functionality for your VCL apps:

In v24.1, the DevExpress VCL Ribbon (and other UI controls) allow you to use a single image list for large and small SVG icons. With this capability you can simply specify a small SVG icon and we will scale it up automatically (for instance, in places where the control needs a large icon in the Ribbon). This will improve overall usability and should reduce time spent/maintenance in half.

Skin Editor Usability Enhancements

With v24.2, we want to make it easier for VCL developers to locate a list of skin elements or highlight a required skin element from the Skin Editor preview area, much like our WinForms implementation ( Highlight Element).

Hybrid VCL Components (aka JS/DevExtreme Wrappers)

In our v24.2 release cycle, we want to publish a VCL example built using our DevExtreme JS HTML Editor. The editor already supports dark and light themes, and we want to extend this example to:

Make it easier to configure this JS widget using Delphi code (!).
Make it so that VCL developers do not have to worry about embedding JS code and CSS styles manually (we hope it can be embedded into a library as resources and loaded from the library transparently to developers).
Integrate JS HTML Editor commands with our VCL Ribbon control.

Additional Thoughts on Hybrid VCL Apps with DevExpress (Reporting, Dashboards, etc.)

If JS wrapper R&D efforts proceed according to plan and we find a straightforward way for VCL developers to configure hybrid components at both runtime (in code) and design-time, VCL developers can then theoretically reuse the DevExpress JS Report Viewer/Designer inside their VCL apps in the future (let's leave licensing considerations aside and focus on the tech side for now). By pursuing this strategy, new reports can be created/designed at runtime and stored in a database, file system, etc.

This same hybrid approach will be applicable to other DevExpress JS-based components: for instance, complex or advanced chart views like 3D, Funnel, or controls like BI Dashboards (hopefully I caught your attention with the last item). If hybrid solutions make sense to you (or if they don't), please share your feedback with us in the survey below.

Disclaimer: We have not yet planned anything in regarding VCL reporting, so I cannot give you any ETAs or promises. This purpose of this reference is to collect user feedback. Please post separate tickets in the Support Center if you are interested in hybrid/JS reporting functionality for your VCL apps and describe your specific user scenarios/expectations.

Chart Control - Configure Text Position for Bars

As you probably know, our VCL Chart Control (ExpressCharts Suite) ships as part of our VCL Subscription. As of today, it supports the following features/capabilities:

Multiple series types (bar, area, doughnut, pie, line, etc.);
Secondary axes (like bars and lines);
Logarithmic axes;
Printing and exporting data;
Bound and unbound data modes;
User interaction support from Simple Tooltips and Crosshair Cursor to HitTest and the OnHotTrackElement API for drill-down and other advanced scenarios;
Various appearance customization options from palettes to advanced events like OnGetSeriesPointDrawParameters and OnGetValueLabelDrawParameters for label and value point customization;
DirectX support for optimal performance;
and much more.

If you have yet to consider our VCL Chart control perhaps the following feedback from Stefan Prister might give you a reason to give this library a try:

I mainly program for my business in the fruit growing sector. I create programs to evaluate data that amounts to millions of records in our company. Visually representing data graphically is the most basic thing. You can immediately see what it looks like. I tried Competitor #1 and also Competitor #2. Was waiting for DevExpress. If you're used to DevExpress tools, you won't easily use anything else.

Congratulations for the EAP VCL 24.1. Excellent work. I've been waiting for this dxChartControl for a long time. It meets my needs by far. Great looks, performance excellent. Selection of palettes already implemented thanks to your demo. Second axis is simply necessary. Crosshair works great, no flickering when moving the mouse.

In our v24.2 release cycle,we will give you full control over the position of TdxChartXYSeriesBarView value labels.

Your Feedback Matters

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL v23.2 — Support for RAD Studio 12.1 Patch 1

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 19:34:00 Z

Kudos and a big thanks to Embarcadero for their quick turnaround on the RSS-536 incompatibility issue for the Delphi 64-bit compiler (please apply this patch if you installed RAD Studio 12.1 previously). From RAD Studio 12.1 Athens Patch 1 Available:

Embarcadero released a patch for RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder 12.1 Athens. This patch addresses some issues in RAD Studio 12.1, around the new editor split view feature of the IDE, the Delphi 64-bit compiler when building packages, debugging, and strings. This patch is about 517MB to download.

As some of you may know, this compiler-related issue affected some in our VCL developer community: It is not possible to install VCL components to RAD Studio 12.1 Athens due to RichEditControl incompatibility issues To address this problem, we proactively published an EAP v24.1 build with a temporary workaround for early adopters.

This week, we released a RAD Studio 12.1-compatible build of our VCL product line (v23.2.6) because our x64 workaround is no longer necessary. As always, we thank you for your continued support and feedback - please contact us if you encounter issues with v23.2 or have suggestions on upcoming v24.1 features.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL v24.1 EAP — RAD Studio 12.1 Support, Secondary Axes & Palettes in Charts, Office 365 Ribbon Style, Enhanced Image Editors

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:35:00 Z

As you may already know, we are a couple of months away from our next major update (v24.1). This post describes a few VCL-related features we expect to ship in early June and details what’s inside our Early Access Preview build (for additional information on what you can expect, refer to our Mid-Year 2024.1 roadmap).

Active VCL Subscribers can download our most recent EAP builds using the DevExpress Download Manager. You can also download our EAP demos using this link at your convenience.

RAD Studio 12.1 Support

Embarcadero released RAD Studio 12.1 last week. As you would expect, DevExpress v24.1 officially supports this new IDE (Delphi 12.1 and C++ Builder 12.1 for both 32-bit and 64-bit). Of note, we found a workaround for this Embarcadero x64 compatibility issue. DevExpress VCL customers can find more information here: It is not possible to install VCL components to RAD Studio 12.1 Athens due to RichEditControl incompatibility issues.

Please take a moment to evaluate our EAP and let us know if you encounter any difficulties/issues. Your early feedback will help us better support RAD Studio 12.1. We will also release a RAD Studio 12.1-compatible build of our VCL v23.2 components in the coming weeks. We know that Embarcadero is working on this issue and we are confident that it will be addressed (and our workaround for x64 will no longer be needed).

Chart Control - New Features

We expect to ship the following VCL chart-related enhancements in v24.1+:

Secondary axes (a .NET counterpart)
Palettes (a .NET counterpart)

As you would expect, we will also publish Chart-related help topics https://docs.devexpress.com/VCL/ and add new Chart-specific modules to our VCL Demo Center.

VCL Ribbon Control: Office 365 Style

Our VCL Ribbon Control will ship with a new Office 365 rendering style in June 2024. When our new Office 365 style is used, the Ribbon control will display a Search box at the top of the Ribbon form and Show Ribbon options on the bottom right of the Ribbon UI.

Enhanced High DPI Resolution and Vector Skin/Image Support

Bug Fixes and Minor Features

In addition to new features, we also focus on bug fixes, especially for High DPI-related issues, vector skins, and performance bottlenecks. Ultimately, we want our VCL UI components to be polished, modern, and stand out among all competitors in these aspects (UI matters and this affects almost every VCL customer).

Many "fixes" are technically "features". We've recently started to publish more bug reports (for instance, from our internal/private testing) and also include more information into all bug reports such as screenshots before/after and samples - everybody can review this info and analyze the complexity of the work involved.

Layout and Image Modifications in Design-Time Wizards, Designers, and Dialogs

As you know, we worked hard to improve runtime High DPI resolution support in 2023. High DPI support is crucial and we want to set the highest standards in this regard (in terms of developer usability and speed). Thanks to great feedback in recent surveys and through Support Center tickets, we recognize that this area continues to be important to our customers.

EAP v24.1 includes dozens of layout and `raster to vector` image adjustments in key wizards, designers, and dialogs. We have nearly completed a half of the scope we planned originally, and will continue retrofitting our design-time experience towards the final release in June 2024.

Easier SVG Assignment for Image Lists at Design-Time

In v24.1, the DevExpress VCL Ribbon (and other UI controls) will allow you to use a single image list for large and small SVG icons. With this capability you can simply specify a small SVG icon and we will scale it up automatically (for instance, in places where the control needs a large icon in the Ribbon). This will improve overall usability and should reduce time spent/maintenance in half.

Based on our roadmap survey votes, we made it possible for customers to use both old and new icon assignment strategies using UseSmallImagesForLargeIcons and related SVG image options. Existing apps and usage habits will remain unaffected.

Field Name-Based Expressions for Data-Bound Controls

With v24.1, you can use {FieldName} in formulas/expressions to refer to a field by underlying name instead of a display name. Previously, you could only use a display name/caption or an index. This capability will help you create formulas for unbound grid columns, conditional formatting rules.

This is helpful in VCL apps that support multiple languages or other scenarios where you cannot rely on a field caption (due to its dynamic nature such as translation to another language).

EXIF Metadata Support in Image Controls

In v24.1, our image controls (TcxImage and TcxDbImage) will read and interpret EXIF metadata from images and modify the image display accordingly. For instance, our image controls will automatically rotate the image based on orientation metadata (unlike the standard TImage control and some image viewers). Impacted image-based scenarios (where rotation will take place) include:

Data Grid cells
TreeList cells
Vertical and Property Grid cells

Previously, this required a complex custom solution with a manual call of the Rotate method. Customers who implemented custom solutions on their own (for instance, image rotation in the grid or standalone image editors), can disable this default behavior using a static feature toggle in v24.1+.

Editing Operations (Rotate, Crop, Flip, etc.) in Image Controls

In our next major update (v24.1), you'll be able to invoke the Image Editor dialog for TcxImage and TcxDbImage components using the Edit context menu command. Our design-time Image Picker dialog will include the new Edit command as well. The Edit command will unlock basic image editing operations:

Crop and straighten
Adjust brightness, contrast and saturation
Mirror
Rotate
etc.

The Image Editor maintains operation history and offers both undo and redo functionality. Once the editor is closed and changes are saved, modifications cannot be undone.

EAP/BETA and CTP builds are provided solely for early testing purposes and are not ready for production use. This build can NOT be installed side by side with other major versions of DevExpress VCL products. Please backup your project and other important data before installing EAP/BETA and CTP builds. This EAP may not include all features/products we expect to ship in our v24.1 release cycle. As its name implies, the EAP offers an early preview of what we expect to ship in a month.

Your Feedback Matters

Just another reminder that our v24.1 Roadmap and What's New in v23.2 surveys give you the opportunity to communicate your needs/concerns and allow us to make more informed development decisions.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL UI Controls — June 2024 Roadmap (v24.1)

Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:00:00 Z

UPDATE: What's New in VCL (v24.1) - please vote in the survey | Year-End Roadmap (v24.2)

---------

The following list outlines features/capabilities we expect to ship for VCL UI Components for Delphi & C++Builder (expected release date: June 2024). You can also test our Early Access Preview (EAP v24.1) live and share your feedback before June: VCL v24.1 EAP — RAD Studio 12.1 Support, Secondary Axes & Palettes in Charts, Office 365 Ribbon Style, Enhanced Image Editors. We will outline plans for our second major release of this year (expected release date: Dec 2024) in July.

Before I detail our VCL Roadmap...if you have not yet done so, please take a moment to review What's New in v23.2 (our last major VCL update) and submit feedback using the related survey. Your survey responses (both in the What's New and in Roadmap posts such as this) help us better understand your needs/concerns and allows us to make more informed development decisions. As always, thanks to everyone who has already submitted feedback/suggestions.

VCL Accessibility Enhancements and Keyboard Support

In our next major update (v24.1), we expect to introduce the following accessibility-related enhancements for key unsupported components:

Data grid (key navigation and "read-only" scenarios, likely without data editing and other complex interactions in the first release)
Popular data editors (key scenarios in both in-place and standalone editors)
Form layout manager (including layout groups, tabs, etc.)
Navigation and menu (key scenarios in both Ribbon and standard toolbars)

More information on accessibility will be forthcoming as we get closer to our mid-year release. This work will likely continue throughout 2024, and include our VCL TreeList, Scheduler, Pivot Grid, and other data editors/data-aware controls.

New Theme - Windows 11 (WXI) Compact

In our v23.2 development cycle (from June to December 2023), we addressed over 100 issues within our products and showcase demos. A number of these issues related to the DevExpress WXI Skin/SVG support/High DPI layouts. Our focus on these issues was driven - in part - by the introduction of our WXI Compact Skin this year.

In our next major update (v24.1), we will ship our WXI Compact Skin - a clone of the WXI skin with smaller paddings and margins, which many of you were used to from traditional DevExpress VCL skins such as Bezier, Office, etc.

Enhanced Design-Time High DPI Resolution Support

Layout and Image Modifications in Design-Time Wizards, Designers, and Dialogs

In v24.1, we will continue to enhance the design-time experience and focus on High DPI resolution support (thanks to new capabilities unlocked in recent versions of RAD Studio). From an implementation perspective, this includes numerous layout and `raster to vector` image adjustments in our wizards, designers, and dialogs. As you might imagine, IDE limitations drive some of our decisions/priorities. This notwithstanding, we will prioritize the most important design-time scenarios in our upcoming release.

Easier SVG Assignment for Image Lists at Design-Time

In v24.1, the DevExpress VCL Ribbon (and other UI controls) will allow you to use a single image list for large and small SVG icons. You can just specify a small SVG icon and we will scale it up automatically (for instance, in places where the control needs a large icon in the Ribbon). This will improve overall usability and should reduce time spent/maintenance in half. Please cast your vote in the survey at the end of this post to share your implementation preferences, because we have multiple strategies to choose from/select.

Simplified Application-Wide Skin, Palette and Other Design Time Settings

In v24.1, the dialog will display vector skins at the top. Raster skins will be displayed in a separate category and disabled by default. You can also select a default palette name and skin using a single mouse click in the list (WXI is enabled by default) – you no longer need to set multiple properties in the Object Inspector.

Conceptually, this dialog will be similar to the Project Settings page in our WinForms product line. Settings in this dialog will also be applied to all forms within your app, including skin and palette selector components.

VCL Ribbon Control: Office 365 Style

Our VCL Ribbon Control will ship with a new Office 365 rendering style in June. When our new Office 365 style is used, the Ribbon control will display a Search box at the top of the Ribbon form and Show Ribbon options on the bottom right of the Ribbon UI.

You can use the following API to enable new UI enhancements in other Ribbon styles:

OptionsExpandCollapseMenu - Gets availability and behavior settings for the "Show Ribbon" popup menu.
ExpandCollapseMenuShowing - Allows you to customize the "Show Ribbon" menu or prevent it from being displayed (based on a specific condition).
SearchItemPosition - Specifies the position of the Search box.

Data-Aware Controls: Accent-Insensitive Operation Support

With v24.1, you will be able to configure how various diacritic glyphs in letters (umlauts, grave, acute, and other accents) are treated. For instance, if you type "Joao" in a search box, Data Grid filtering results will include data records with both “João” and “Joao”. For more information, let me quote Wikipedia:

A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek διακριτικός (diakritikós, "distinguishing"), from διακρίνω (diakrī́nō, "to distinguish"). The word diacritic is a noun, though it is sometimes used in an attributive sense, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritics, such as the acute ⟨á⟩, grave ⟨à⟩, and circumflex ⟨â⟩ (all shown above an 'a'), are often called accents. Diacritics may appear above or below a letter or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.

Impacted text-comparison operations and control features include:

Sorting
Grouping
Incremental search
Auto-filter row
Find panel
etc.

This behavior will expand to the following controls:

Navigation control
Ribbon and standard toolbars
Lookup editors
Data grid
Pivot grid
Tree list
Other data-bound controls (powered by our Data Controller).

You will be able to turn off accent-insenstive operations using a set of global Boolean flags at the TcxCustomDataController.Options level: IgnoreDiacritics, IgnoreDiacriticsInSearchFilter, IgnoreDiacriticsInSortGroup, etc. By default, we want to ignore accents regardless of the current application culture (even if the language does not contain accents). This is especially helpful in apps used in global organizations where users are from different countries and data (like names of employees or goods) can be in different languages.

Field Name-Based Expressions for Data-Bound Controls

This is helpful in VCL apps that support multiple languages or other scenarios where you cannot rely on a field caption (due to its dynamic nature such as translation to another language).

Chart Control - New Features

As you probably know, we released our VCL Chart control in our v23.1 release cycle. We also introduced numerous cool features in our v23.2 release.

To maintain momentum, we expect to ship the following VCL chart-related enhancements in v24.1+:

Point and segment color customization via events (a .NET counterpart)
Secondary axes (a .NET counterpart)
Logarithmic axes (a .NET counterpart)
Palettes (a .NET counterpart)
Skin support

As you would expect, we will also publish Chart-related help topics https://docs.devexpress.com/VCL/ and add new Chart-specific modules to our VCL Demo Center.

EXIF Metadata Support in Image Controls

Data Grid cells
TreeList cells
Pivot Grid cells
Vertical and Property Grid cells

Previously, this required a complex custom solution with a manual call of the Rotate method.

Editing Operations (Rotate, Crop, Flip, etc.) in Image Controls

Crop and straighten
Adjust brightness, contrast and saturation
Mirror
Rotate
etc.

The Image Editor maintains operation history and offers both undo and redo functionality. Once the editor is closed and changes are saved, modifications cannot be undone.

Your Feedback Matters

Just another reminder that our v24.1 Roadmap and What's New in v23.2 survey give you the opportunity to communicate your needs/concerns and allow us to make more informed development decisions.

Thanks,
Dennis Garavsky
Principal Product Manager
dennis@devexpress.com

VCL Team Blog

​VCL – June 2026 Roadmap (v26.1)

Accessibility, Microsoft UI Automation, and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

VCL Reporting and BI Dashboard Enhancements

Expanded Demo and Project Template Coverage

Extended Learning Materials

Additional AI-Powered Functions

Additional Delphi/C++Builder APIs and Related Usability Enhancements

High DPI Rendering and Performance Enhancements

Fluent UI Support - Replicate Modern Microsoft Outlook and Teams User Interfaces

VCL Template Kit - Cut Time to Market with Project and Form Templates

VCL Splash Screen Manager - Repeatable and Error-Prone Development Tasks Made Easy

BBCode-Inspired Rich Text Formatting for Additional UI Elements

RAD Studio vNEXT Support

VCL Localization Reimagined - Research DevExpress Localization Tool Integration

VCL Office File API - Research User Demand and Technical Feasibility

Your Feedback Matters

VCL — Year-End Roadmap (v25.2)

RAD Studio 13 Support

Support Deprecation: Delphi/C++ Builder 10.3 (Rio), 10.2 (Tokyo), 10.1 (Berlin), 10.0 (Seattle)

Accessibility, UI Automation, and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

ExpressReports: Official Release/RTM

ExpressDashboards: An Early Preview/CTP

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Enhancements

DevExpress MCP Server for AI-Powered Documentation Access

Your Feedback Matters

New VCL Subscription for Delphi/C++ Builder: Modern Web, Reporting, and BI Dashboard Solutions

New VCL Subscription +

Motivation #1 - Make DevExpress JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue) and ASP.NET (Blazor & ASP.NET Core MVC) UI Component Libraries Available at a Lower Cost to VCL Developers

Motivation #2 - Use Our New DevExpress ExpressReports/ExpressDashboards Suites (with AI-powered Designer and Viewer)

New/Renewal Price

Other VCL Pricing/Licensing-related Changes

Your Feedback Matters

VCL — Early Access Preview (v25.1)

RAD Studio 12.3 Support

RAD Studio Dark Mode at Design Time

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

Layout Control

Navigation Bar

Bar Manager

Status Bar

A Preview of the Report Designer and Report Viewer (Powered by JS/DevExtreme Wrappers for Delphi/C++)

Your Feedback Matters

​VCL – June 2025 Roadmap (v25.1)

A Preview of the Report Designer and Report Viewer

Accessibility, UI Automation and Keyboard Navigation Enhancements

RAD Studio 12.3 Support

Form and Control Rendering Performance Enhancements

Dark Mode at Design Time

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

More Control over the Enabled/Disabled and Small/Large SVG Icons

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration Research

A Simpler Way to Save/Restore the Grid and TreeList State

Your Feedback Matters

VCL v24.2 EAP — RAD Studio 12.2 Support, Hybrid VCL/JS Components, Modern 64-bit C++ Compiler and Usability Enhancements

RAD Studio 12.2 Support

Modern 64-bit C++ Compiler Support

Deprecation of XE7 and XE8

A Proof-of-Concept for Hybrid VCL Components (Powered by JS/DevExtreme Wrappers for Delphi)

Layout Control Enhancements

Skin Editor Usability Enhancements

Chart Control - Configure Text Position for Bars

Your Feedback Matters

VCL — Year-End Roadmap (v24.2)

Deprecation of XE7 and XE8

Updated Cloud Integration

Enhanced Visual Testing

Accessibility Enhancements

Further Microsoft UI Automation Support

Layout Control Enhancements

Simplified Application-Wide Skin

Updated TdxSkinController Dialog at Design Time

More Control over the Enabled/Disabled and Small/Large SVG Icons

Skin Editor Usability Enhancements

Hybrid VCL Components (aka JS/DevExtreme Wrappers)

Additional Thoughts on Hybrid VCL Apps with DevExpress (Reporting, Dashboards, etc.)

Chart Control - Configure Text Position for Bars

Your Feedback Matters

VCL v23.2 — Support for RAD Studio 12.1 Patch 1

VCL v24.1 EAP — RAD Studio 12.1 Support, Secondary Axes & Palettes in Charts, Office 365 Ribbon Style, Enhanced Image Editors

VCL – June 2026 Roadmap (v26.1)

VCL – June 2025 Roadmap (v25.1)