Desktop (WinForms and WPF) and Web Specifics

• Jan 27, 2020
• 3 minutes to read

The DevExpress Dashboard has a similar dashboard definition for different platforms. The dashboard created in the designer or in code can be loaded into WinForms, WPF, or Web application. However, each platform has its specifics.

The table below lists supported features and main differences between platforms:

	WinForms	WPF	Web (ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web Forms, .NET Core, HTML JS)
Dashboard items	15 dynamic dashboard UI elements and 2 static presentation items	15 dynamic dashboard UI elements and 2 static presentation items	15 dynamic dashboard UI elements and 2 static presentation items + Custom items to extend the built-in dashboard item set
Dashboard Editing	End-User Dashboard Designer & Visual Studio Embedded Designer	Visual Studio Embedded Designer	End-User Dashboard Designer & Visual Studio Embedded Designer
Data Source Editing	End-User Data Source Wizard and Query Builder	Visual Studio Embedded Data Source Wizard	End-User Query Builder for server-secured connections
Interactivity	Master Filters, Drill-Down	Master Filters, Drill-Down	Master Filters, Drill-Down
Data-based Coloring	yes	yes	yes
Conditional Formatting	yes	yes	yes
Advanced data processing options	window calculations, calculated fields, grouping, data aggregates, summaries	window calculations, calculated fields, grouping, data aggregates, summaries	window calculations, calculated fields, grouping, data aggregates, summaries
Export and Printing	Data-aware and WISIWYG export and Printing with Preview	Data-aware and WISIWYG export and Printing with Preview	Data-aware and WISIWYG export
Themes and Skins	Skins support	WPF themes support	Light and Dark themes and their compact alternatives. Standard ASP.NET themes are not supported.

A list below describes some differences and limitations in detail:

• Dashboard Item Appearance

  Certain dashboard items can have different appearances on different platforms.

  • The Gauge dashboard item has different designs on different platforms.
  • Chart axes are rendered differently.
  • Grid columns/rows can have a different width/height.

• Fonts and Colors

  • Font settings (size, type, etc.).
  • Colors used to indicate delta values.
  • Colors used to render financial charts.

• Feature Set

  Certain features are not implemented on the web or on the WPF platform. For instance, cell merging is not available for the Grid dashboard item.

• Printing and Exporting

  Despite various WinForms, WPF and web specifics, a dashboard and dashboard items are exported in the same manner, but not exactly WYSIWYG. For instance, dashboard items have no borders on the printed document, or font settings can vary.

• End-User Capabilities

  The use of different platforms imposes the following limitations to end-user capabilities.

  • On the web, a dashboard item does not provide a context menu used to switch between different layers and export items.
  • Multi-selection in the desktop (WinForms and WPF) application and on the web is utilized using different approaches. For instance, an end-user can use the CTRL/SHIFT keys to select multiple elements in the WinForms and WPF application. On the web and in WinForms application which use the Touch UI mode, the Multi-Select button in the item’s captions serves for this purpose.