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Desktop (WinForms and WPF) and Web Specifics

  • 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, ASP.NET Core, HTML JS)

Dashboard items

16 dynamic dashboard UI elements and 2 static presentation items

16 dynamic dashboard UI elements and 2 static presentation items

16 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

WPF themes

Generic, Generic Compact, and Material Design Compact DevExtreme themes

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.