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Lesson 3 - Create a Digital Gauge

  • 3 minutes to read

This is the third tutorial of the DXGauges Getting Started series. It will guide you through the process of creating a Digital gauge and adjusting its common settings.

Lesson3_13_Result

View Example: Lesson 3 - Create a Digital Gauge

Step 1. Create a New Project and Add a Gauge Control

In this step, we will perform the common actions that are required when you add a Gauge control to your application.

  • Run Microsoft Visual Studio.
  • Create a new WPF Application project.
  • Add the DigitalGaugeControl component to your project. To do this, locate the DigitalGaugeControl item in a Visual Studio toolbox on the DX.24.2: Data & Analytics tab and drop it onto the main window.

    Lesson3_01_Selection a Digital Gauge

  • Right-click the DigitalGaugeControl object and choose the Reset Layout | All option in the context menu. This will stretch the Gauge control to fill the whole window.

    Lesson3_02_ResetLayout

  • After this, your XAML may look like the following. If it doesn’t, you can overwrite your code with:

    <Window x:Class="Digital_Gauge.MainWindow"
            xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
            xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
            xmlns:dxga="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/gauges"
            Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
        <Grid>
            <dxga:DigitalGaugeControl Name="digitalGaugeControl1"/>           
        </Grid>
    </Window>
    

Step 2. Select a Symbol View Type

The Digital Gauge control can represent its content using one of the predefined symbol view types: 7 segments, 14 segments, 5x8 and 8x14 segment matrices.

In this example, we will use the 8x14 segment matrix to display a creeping line with a custom text.

Step 3. Specify a Text

A 8x14 segment matrix can display any text consisting of numbers, Latin or other characters.

  • Let’s add custom text to the digital gauge. For this, set the DigitalGaugeControl.Text property to ON AIR.

    Lesson3_06_SetCustomText

    The digital gauge displays this text immediately at design time within Visual Studio.

    Lesson3_07_CustomText

Step 4. Add a Layer and Customize the Gauge Layout

In this step, we’ll add a layer to the Digital Gauge control and align the gauge vertically.

  • To add a layer to the digital gauge, locate the DigitalGaugeControl.Layers property on the Properties window. Then, click the ellipsis button to invoke the Layers collection editor. In this editor, add a new DigitalGaugeLayer object using the Add button.

    DigitalGauge_Lesson3_Add a Layer

  • Let’s change the digital gauge layout. For this, set the VerticalAlignment property to Center.

    After this, the MainWindow should look like the following.

    DigitalGauge_Lesson3_ChangeVerticalAlignment

Step 5. Specify a Model

In this step, we’ll select a model for the Digital Gauge control.

  • For this, locate the DigitalGaugeControl.Model property and select DigitalClassicModel from the drop-down list.

    Lesson3_08_SelectModel

    Now the Gauge control should look as shown in the image below.

    Lesson3_09_ClassicModelView

Step 6. Customize Animation Settings

The digital gauge supports two animation types: creeping line and blinking animation. In this lesson, we’ll use the creeping lime animation to demonstrate a moving text.

Step 7. Result

After performing all the steps, your XAML should look as follows.

Lesson3_13_Result

<Window x:Class="Digital_Gauge.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
        xmlns:dxga="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/gauges"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Grid>
        <dxga:DigitalGaugeControl Name="digitalGaugeControl1" Text="ON AIR" 
                                  VerticalAlignment="Center">
            <dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.Model>
                <dxga:DigitalClassicModel />
            </dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.Model>
            <dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.Layers>
                <dxga:DigitalGaugeLayer />
            </dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.Layers>
            <dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.SymbolView>
                <dxga:MatrixView8x14>
                    <dxga:MatrixView8x14.Animation>
                        <dxga:CreepingLineAnimation Repeat="True" 
                                                    RefreshTime="00:00:01" />
                    </dxga:MatrixView8x14.Animation>
                </dxga:MatrixView8x14>
            </dxga:DigitalGaugeControl.SymbolView>
        </dxga:DigitalGaugeControl>
    </Grid>
</Window>
See Also