Use BI Dashboard Project and Form Templates

• Jun 05, 2026
• 6 minutes to read

The VCL Template Kit ships with automatically installed Project and Form templates for the ExpressDashboards Suite. These templates are designed to reduce time spent on repetitive project and form setup as well as improve onboarding for new VCL developers and boost productivity in experienced teams.

In this topic…

• Before You Begin
• Project Template
  • Result: Generated Project
    • App Deployment Settings
    • Sample Data & Layout
    • Run & Test the App
• Form Template
  • Result: Generated Form
    • Sample Data, Layout, and Deployment
    • Use the Generated Form
• Application Builder Options
  • Step 1 — Select Navigation Type
  • Step 2 — Add Views to the Application
• Next Steps

Before You Begin

Note

• ExpressReports will require the purchase of our VCL Subscription + OR an active VCL Subscription (regular) with any active .NET subscription that includes DevExpress Reports for ASP.NET/JavaScript (these subscriptions include: Reporting, ASP.NET & Blazor (includes DevExtreme), DXperience, or Universal).
• ExpressDashboards will also require the purchase of our VCL Subscription + OR an active VCL Subscription (regular) with an active Universal Subscription that includes DevExpress Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboard.

Ensure that your development environment meets ExpressDashboards and ExpressReports prerequisites:

1. Microsoft Windows 10 or newer.
2. Embarcadero RAD Studio IDE 12.3 or newer (Community Edition IDEs are not supported).
3. DevExpress VCL v26.1.x.
4. The EdgeView2 SDK package installed from the GetIt package manager.

Project Template

The BI Dashboard Viewer Application template creates a single-form application project that contains a TdxDashboardControl component.

To run the Application/Project Wizard, select the following item in the RAD Studio IDE menu:

File → New → DevExpress VCL v26.1 Application/Project - Delphi

Select BI Dashboard Viewer Application in the Reporting & Data Analytics category and click Create Project.

Result: Generated Project

The TdxDashboardControl component occupies the main form area (the component’s Align property is set to alClient). The generated form is derived from the TdxForm class and encapsulates all best practices regarding app building for high-DPI multi-monitor environments.

App Deployment Settings

The generated BI Dashboard Viewer project includes a Windows 32-bit build target, including all preconfigured post-build events required for automatic WebView2 Loader deployment:

Tip

You may need to manually add an extra build target (Windows 64-bit) and/or additional resources and dependencies according to your business needs and desired app functionality. Refer to the following help topics for detailed information in this regard:

VCL Reports/Dashboard App Deployment

Sample Data & Layout

The TdxDashboardControl component is empty at design time. The generated project includes the main form’s OnCreate event handler that creates a TdxBackendInMemoryJSONConnection component to load a sample JSON data file (RevenueByIndustryData.json) located within the nested Data project folder.

The same handler loads a sample dashboard layout from the RevenueByIndustryLayout.xml file located within the same Data folder.

Run & Test the App

Build and run the generated project. Check industry categories to filter data and use built-in UI elements to export dashboard content in any supported format.

Form Template

The BI Dashboard Viewer Form template allows you to add a configured DevExpress form with a TdxDashboardControl component to an existing application.

To run the Form/User Control Wizard, select the following item in the RAD Studio IDE menu:

File → New → DevExpress VCL v26.1 Application/Project - Delphi

Select BI Dashboard Viewer Form in the Reporting & Data Analytics category and click Create Form.

Result: Generated Form

The template creates a child form derived from the TdxForm class. The TdxDashboardControl component occupies the form’s area similar to the main form created by the BI Dashboard Viewer Application template.

Sample Data, Layout, and Deployment

The added form loads the same sample data and layout on form creation as the BI Dashboard Viewer Application template. If the target project does not include post-build events required for WebView2 Loader deployment, the form template adds them automatically.

Use the Generated Form

The form template does not automatically associate the generated form with existing app functionality. You need to manually display the form in code. For example:

Delphi

uses
  uChildForm;  // Adds the generated form's unit explicitly

procedure TMainForm1.cxDashboardDisplayButton1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
  ChildForm.Show;  // Displays the generated form
end;

Application Builder Options

Application Builder is a universal application template that allows you to choose/combine multiple target business scenarios, and different UI layouts and navigation options. You can add one or multiple views with pre-configured DevExpress UI controls based on project requirements.

The Application Builder template wizard contains two steps:

Step 1 — Select Navigation Type

This step allows you to select a navigation UI type (sidebar and/or tabbed MDI layout) designed to switch between multiple Views on the same application form:

Scroll the Application Builder pane down to select required Views (Step 2).

Step 2 — Add Views to the Application

Step 2 lists multiple options that allow you to add one or multiple Views dedicated to corresponding DevExpress UI controls.

All available options are grouped into the following categories: All, Grid, TreeList, Chart, Reporting & Data Analysis, Scheduler, Word, Excel, and PDF. Select Reporting & Data Analytics to display Report and Dashboard Views.

You can click individual Views to select or deselect them. All selected Views are added into the generated project once you click Create Project.

Result: Generated Project

The generated project includes a TdxNavBar control as a sidebar and selected View forms displayed as frames. Each View includes a Ribbon UI.

Individual application Views use the same sample data and layouts as corresponding standalone project templates. Similar to standalone Report and Dashboard templates, the Application Builder template automatically adds post-build events required for WebView2 Loader deployment.

Next Steps

Review the following tutorials to get started with the TdxDashboardControl component:

Read Tutorial: Create a Dashboard

Basic Tutorial. Follow this tutorial to create a simple dashboard application: set up a memory-based data source, load JSON data, create Bubble Map and Chart dashboard items, and bind them to data.

Read Tutorial: Bind a Dashboard to FireDAC Data

Follow this tutorial to create a dashboard and bind it to data using standard FireDAC components (TFDQuery and TFDConnection) shipped with the RAD Studio IDE.

Read Tutorial: Bind a Dashboard to a Stored Procedure

Follow this tutorial to create a dashboard, bind it to a parametrized stored procedure, and pass dashboard parameters to that procedure using the Dashboard Designer dialog at design time.