VCL v19.2 Beta 1

Our newest release (VCL v19.2) is just around the corner (official release will be in early December). If you own an active VCL Subscription, you can download Beta 1 from our website.

We've completed work on major functionality and look forward to your feedback as you explore the capabilities of Beta 1. Please remember that we have yet to finalize our code and have a few minor issues to resolve. As such, we don’t recommend that you use this version in production projects.

The following is a summary of changes/updates we'd like you to try first. To review the complete list of features included with v19.2, navigate to the What’s New page on our website.

Performance Enhancements

ExpressScheduler Suite
Scrolling, event selection, and drag-and-drop operations are now up to 10 times faster.

ExpressSpreadSheet
Performance enhancements for conditional formatting and formula parser.

ExpressQuantumGrid Suite
A new View based on our Entity Model Framework allows you to display and manipulate large amounts of data. This new EMF View has several advantages over other views:

• Fewer data management limitations when compared to ServerMode views (for example, no limitations on master-detail data display)
• Operates directly with your EMF model - bypassing the dataset layer which can impose additional restrictions
• Better overall data management and browsing performance

ExpressLayout Control
We optimized resize operation performance and added new CheckBox and RadioButton replacements to improve control render/update speed.

New Unbound Expression Editor

Data aware controls can now calculate unbound field data using string expressions (formulas). These expressions can include any number of fields, constants, operators, and functions. Use our Expression Editor (with auto-complete) to customize formulas at both design and runtime. The DevExpress VCL Expression Editor supports the following VCL controls:

• Data Grid
• Vertical Grid
• Tree List

Scrollbar Annotations

Our Grid, TreeList, and Vertical Grid controls now support scrollbar annotations - colored markers arranged along the vertical scrollbar (or the horizontal scrollbar in the Vertical Grid control). Scrollbar annotations allow you to indicate:

• Rows that match search results
• Rows with validation errors
• Focused/selected rows
• Custom data, including hints

Users can click an annotation to bring the associated row into view.

Formatted Labels

A new TdxFormattedLabel editor allows you to display BBCode-formatted text.

To our loyal VCL Subscribers - we know your time is valuable and want to thank you for testing Beta 1 in advance. As always, we welcome everyone’s feedback. Please post your comments below should you have any questions on Beta 1 or our upcoming release.

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