We thank you for your continued support and for sharing your document processing-related needs/requirements with us. If you’d like to discuss this roadmap in greater detail, or if you’d like to share a business use case that our Office File API product does not address, feel free to share your feedback and submit a Support Center ticket. We’ll be happy to follow up.
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 roadmap and the features/products listed within it are subject to change. You should not rely on or use this information to help make a purchase decision about Developer Express Inc products.
End of .NET Standard 2 Support
With our next major update v23.2 (December 2023), our assemblies will not be built against this target. Learn more about this change in the following blog post: .NET — .NET Standard 2.0 Deprecation, Support for .NET 6 or .NET 8 (LTS) in DevExpress Libraries (v23.2).
Word Processing — Content Controls
WinForms
WPF
Office File API
Released in v23.2
We understand the importance of robust content control objects– tools that offer additional flexibility and control over document generation. Our next release will introduce a comprehensive set of content controls:
- Rich Text
- Plain Text
- Combo Box
- Drop-Down List
- Date Picker
- Check Box
These content controls will allow users to create structured and interactive documents with ease. You will have options to manage content controls in Word documents using either associated APIs or the RichEdit’s UI.
Word Processing — Protected Section Enhancements
Office File API
WinForms
WPF
Released in v23.2
To address the need for document security and control, we are planning enhancements to protected sections in our Word Document API. In our next major update (v23.2), we will enhance our APIs to manage protection for multiple sections within a single document.
Additionally, we plan to add the ability to allow filling in forms within protected sections (to provide a convenient method for filling out generated forms).
WinForms
WPF
Office File API
Released in v23.2
In response to the growing demand for scalable and visually appealing document graphics, we expect to ship native SVG support in our v23.2 release. This feature will allow users to seamlessly import, edit, and manipulate SVG images within their documents (and export them to PDF).
WinForms
WPF
Office File API
Released in v23.2
We expect to support additional form control types and also offer new APIs and UI elements for interaction purposes. We plan to support the following Form Controls:
- CheckBox
- ComboBox
- Spin Button
- ListBox
- Option Button
WinForms
WPF
Office File API
Released in v23.2
We expect to implement the following chart-related enhancements in our Excel Spreadsheet API and Spreadsheet Controls (WinForms and WPF):
- Error bar rendering
- Rotated axis labels
- Rich text formatting in axis and labels
PDF Document API
Office File API
Released in v23.2
Digital Signature Validation API
We will offer a subset of the API to validate signatures in a PDF document: obtain the signer’s identity, signature validity, signing time, etc.
Free Text Annotation Font API
We will introduce APIs to modify free text annotation font settings.
PDF/A Export
With our next major update, our PDF Document API will allow you to generate PDF/A2-b and PDF/A-3b documents.
Your Feedback Matters
Please complete the following survey and help us shape the direction of PDF Document API features:
v23.1 - What's New
If you have yet to review the features/capabilities introduced in our most recent major update, please visit the following webpage and let us know what you think of this release by responding to our online survey:
Explore Our Newest Features (v23.1).
Free DevExpress Products - Get Your Copy Today
The following free DevExpress product offers remain available. Should you have any questions about the free offers below, please submit a ticket via the
DevExpress Support Center at your convenience. We'll be happy to follow-up.