Getting Started

• Apr 30, 2020
• 3 minutes to read

This guide describes how to create a .NET Core 3 application, configure it to use DevExpress WPF controls, and add the Spreadsheet control.

Prerequisites

• .NET Core 3
• Visual Studio 2019 v16.3 or later

Create a New Project

Open Visual Studio 2019 v16.3 (or later) and create a new WPF Application (.NET Core).

Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer, and select Edit Project File.

Set the UseWindowsForms key to true:

Xml

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.WindowsDesktop">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.0</TargetFramework>
    <UseWPF>true</UseWPF>
    <UseWindowsForms>true</UseWindowsForms>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Add DevExpress Controls to Your Application

Get DevExpress WPF Controls for .NET Core

Via NuGet

1. Obtain your NuGet feed URL.

2. Go to Tools | NuGet Package Manager | Manage NuGet Packages for Solution

   

3. Open “Settings”…

   

   … and add a new NuGet feed with the following credentials:

   Name: DevExpress
   Source: https://nuget.devexpress.com/{your feed authorization key}/api

   

4. Select the DevExpress package source.

Via Installer

1. Download and install the Unified Installer for .NET Core 3 Desktop Development.

   The installer creates a local NuGet feed with WPF controls for .NET Core.

2. Go to Tools | NuGet Package Manager | Manage NuGet Packages for Solution

3. Select the DevExpress .NET Core Desktop 19.2 Local package source.

   

Add Controls to Your Application

1. In the “Browse” tab, search for the ‘WindowsDesktop.Wpf’ keyword and install the DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.Wpf and DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.Wpf.Themes.All packages for the current project. Accept the license agreement.

   

2. Build the solution.

After you have added the DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.Wpf and DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.Wpf.Themes.All packages for the current project, and built the solution, the DevExpress WPF controls for .NET Core will appear in the Visual Studio Toolbox.

Set an Application Theme

Set the ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName property to a theme name at the application startup.

C#

public partial class App : Application {
    protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
        DevExpress.Xpf.Core.ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = 
            DevExpress.Xpf.Core.Theme.Office2019ColorfulName;
        base.OnStartup(e);
    }
}

VB.NET

Class Application
    Protected Overrides Sub OnStartup(e As StartupEventArgs)
        DevExpress.Xpf.Core.ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = _ 
            DevExpress.Xpf.Core.Theme.Office2019ColorfulName
        MyBase.OnStartup(e)
    End Sub 
End Class

Add a Control

1. Open MainWindow.xaml.

2. Add the following DevExpress namespace reference:

   Xaml

   xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core"  
   

3. Change Window to the ThemedWindow,

   Xaml

   <dx:ThemedWindow x:Class="DxWPFNetCoreApp.MainWindow"
       xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
       xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
       xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core"
       xmlns:local="clr-namespace:DxWPFNetCoreApp"
       Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800">
       <Grid>
   
       </Grid>
   </dx:ThemedWindow> 
   

   … and in the code behind:

   C#

   using DevExpress.Xpf.Core;
   ...
   public partial class MainWindow : ThemedWindow {
       public MainWindow() {
           InitializeComponent();
       }
   }
   ...
   

   VB.NET

   Imports DevExpress.Xpf.Core
   ...
   Public Partial Class MainWindow
       Inherits ThemedWindow
   
       Public Sub New()
           InitializeComponent()
       End Sub
   End Class
   ...    
   

4. Drag the Spreadsheet control from the Visual Studio Toolbox to the XAML code. Change the application markup as follows:

   Xaml

   <dx:ThemedWindow x:Class="DxWPFNetCoreApp.MainWindow"
       xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
       xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
       xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core"
       xmlns:dxsps="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/spreadsheet"
       xmlns:local="clr-namespace:DxWPFNetCoreApp"
       Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800">
       <Grid>
           <dxsps:SpreadsheetControl CommandBarStyle="Ribbon" ShowFormulaBar="True"/>
       </Grid>
   </dx:ThemedWindow>
   

5. Build and run the solution.