Maintenance releases of our v2016.1 WPF, Universal Windows, and Silverlight controls have been released and are now available for download.

Docking/MDI for WPF and UWP has several new options that give you more control over UI appearance.  Tab text on tabbed MDI tabs will now trim long text with ellipses in the middle, instead of the end, allowing for filenames to be more readable.

SyntaxEditor's completion and parameter info providers in all language add-ons now allow you to intercept OnSessionOpening, even when no items were pre-populated, so that you can add your own custom items/info.  Cut, copy, paste, drag, and drop all now support the block and full line flags that are compatible with Visual Studio.  The Python Language Add-on added a text range property to all type and function definitions, allowing you to implement features like go to definition easier.

The Shared Library added a new RingSpinner control that is an animated ring where the two ring segment ends chase each other around the circle.  It's great for display while performing a lengthy operation.

All products received numerous other minor enhancements and bug fixes.  See the announcement posts for the detailed list of enhancements and updates:

• WPF Controls announcement
• Universal Windows Controls announcement
• Silverlight Controls announcement

Universal Controls 2016.1 build 303 has been released and is now available for download.  This version adds a beta of our Docking/MDI product, making it possible to include docking tool windows and/or a multiple-document interface in your apps for Universal Windows apps. SyntaxEditor also includes two new Metro-themed image sets that can be used.

The Docking/MDI beta included in this version includes nearly all the docking window functionality found in the WPF version of our Docking/MDI controls.  Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think.

See the announcement post for the detailed list of enhancements and updates in this build.

Do you want to chat with us about what we're working on next?  Register to join our Slack team and help guide our future development efforts!

WPF Controls 2016.1 build 631 has been released and is now available for download.  This build contains numerous minor features, updates, and bug fixes across the various WPF control product range. 

It is highly recommended that v2016.1 customers upgrade to this build since it fixes all issues that have been discovered in the major Docking/MDI control updates that were part of the first 2016.1 release.

The first 2016.1 release added new Metro themes that have accent colors, like in the screenshot below.

The QAT buttons on the upper left of the window were originally wider in Office 2016, matching the width of the system minimize, maximize, and close title bar buttons.  However in the most recent Office 2016 update, the QAT button width was reduced and we've updated their size in this build to match.

See the announcement post for the detailed list of enhancements and updates in this build.

Do you want to chat with us about what we're working on next?  Register to join our Slack team and help guide our future development efforts!

Quickly Selecting a Tab in the Same Container

Did you know that in the new 2016.1 version of our WPF Control's Docking/MDI product, you can quickly access another docking window tab in the same container by pressing Ctrl+[tabnumber]?  This also works in the Docking/MDI beta for Universal Windows.

For instance, in the tabbed MDI screenshot above, if I press Ctrl+2, the Document2.txt document would be selected.  And Ctrl+3 would select Document3.txt.

Ctrl+[tabnumber] will select the "normal" tab that has that tab index.  What if there are pinned tabs though?  Pinned tabs have an unpin button displayed on them and appear first in the tab list.  The same concept applies there but you'd press Ctrl+Alt+[tabnumber], where the tab number there is the tab index within the "pinned" tabs.

The same Ctrl+[tabnumber] keyboard shortcut will even work in docked tool windows when two or more tool windows are attached (tabbed) to each other.

Showing the Tool Window Container Options Menu

The Alt+- keyboard shortcut will show the options menu for the current tool window, when the focused tool window is docked in a tool window container.

Showing the Tabbed Document Context Menu

The Alt+- keyboard shortcut will also show a focused document's context menu when in tabbed MDI.

Showing the Tabbed MDI Document List Menu

The Ctrl+Alt+DownArrow keyboard shortcut will display the document list menu in tabbed MDI.

Summary

These keyboard shortcuts are great for end users to be aware of and provide access to common docking functionality, all via the keyboard.

A couple weeks back, we released our first set of Universal Windows controls.  And right before that, all the work we've been doing on Docking/MDI for WPF (codenamed vNext) the past few months was released as part of our 2016.1 WPF Controls.  Docking/MDI's internals were rewritten from scratch to support all the latest docking window oriented functionality found in apps like Visual Studio 2015 and the feedback on the new version has been tremendous.

Here's the really exciting part for Universal Windows app devs… Part of that vNext rewrite was to also ensure that the same Docking/MDI API and design would work in Universal Windows apps!  And today we are formally announcing that we are looking for beta testers to try it out. 

This SyntaxEditor and Docking/MDI combination screenshot shows a tabbed MDI and tool windows docked around it:

Are you making a Universal Windows line of business app or any other app that would benefit from docking tool windows and/or a fully-managed tabbed or windows multiple document interface?  Then look no further.  The Docking/MDI product for Universal Windows has nearly the entire feature set of the amazing WPF version!

Write Us to Beta Test

If you'd like to help beta test this brand new product for your Universal Windows app, e-mail our support address to request beta access.  In your email, please give us an overview of the app you're developing and how you plan to integrate docking windows and/or MDI into it.