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    API Reference

    Use the Template Kit to Create an Office File API-Based Application

    • 4 minutes to read

    You can use the DevExpress Project Template Kit or call CLI commands to create a .NET WPF application with DevExpress Office File API libraries. A project template configures the project settings and references required NuGet packages (Word Processing, Spreadsheet, and PDF Document API libraries).

    Prerequisites

    DevExpress Product License

    To use Office File API in your application, you need an Office File API Subscription or Universal Subscription.

    Install the Project Template Kit

    The DevExpress Project Template Kit is included in the DevExpress installer. If you have already installed DevExpress components via the installer, you can skip this step.

    If you do not use the installer or use another IDE (VS Code), install Template Kit as described in the following help topics:

    Obtain DevExpress NuGet Packages

    Refer to the following section for instructions on how to configure your IDE to use DevExpress NuGet packages:

    Create a Office File API-Powered Project in Visual Studio

    • Run Visual Studio and select Create a new project.

    • Select DevExpress v25.2 Template Kit and click Next.

      Visual Studio - Create New Project

    • Specify the project name and location. Click Create.

      Visual Studio - Configure New Project

    • The DevExpress Template Kit window appears. Select WPF | Office-Inspired Controls | Office File API Application. Click Create Project.

      Office File API app in DevExpress Template Kit

    • Build and run the project. The resulting project includes multiple modules. You can also add each module separately (see Add Separate Office File API-Based Modules):

      Office File API - Resulting Application

    Create an Office File API-Based App via CLI

    You can also use the following CLI command to create a WPF Office File API-based application:

    dotnet new dx.wpf.officefileapi -n TestOfficeFileApiApp

    For more information, refer to the following section: CLI Project Templates.

    Add Separate Office File API-Based Modules

    Add Views in the Template Kit’s App Builder

    • In the DevExpress Template Kit, select WPF | Application Builder. Select the application navigation type:

      DevExpress Template Kit

    • Then select the desired views to add them to your project:

      DevExpress Template Kit

    • Click the Create Project button.

    • Build and run the project.

    Add an Item in Visual Studio

    You can add views as separate items to an existing project.

    • In Visual Studio, right-click the project in the Solution Explorer and select Add | New Item…:

      DevExpress Template Kit

    • In the Add New Item dialog, select DevExpress v25.2 Template Kit . Specify the item name and click Add:

      DevExpress Template Kit

    • In the Template Kit, select the desired item template. Click Add Item:

      DevExpress Template Kit

    Add an Office File API-Based Modules via CLI

    You can also use the following CLI command to create a WPF Office File API-based application with separate views (available views/item templates are listed in the next section):

    dotnet new dx.wpf.appbuilder -n officeFileApiProject -shell accordion -views excelToPdf wordToPdf excelToGrid mergePdf

    Available Item/View Templates

    Rich Text Editor

    dx.wpf.item.richeditor

    Creates a Rich Text Editor with a Word document loaded asynchronously.

    Word to PDF Converter

    dx.wpf.item.wordtopdf

    A module that converts a Word file to PDF.

    Mail Merge

    dx.wpf.item.mailmerge

    A module that implements mail merge. Office File API binds data to a template Word document to generate an output document.

    Spreadsheet

    dx.wpf.item.spreadsheet

    A Spreadsheet with an Excel document loaded asynchronously.

    Spreadsheet Writer

    dx.wpf.item.populatespreadsheet

    A module that efficiently generates a large Excel file.

    PDF Viewer

    dx.wpf.item.pdfviewer

    A PDF Viewer with a sample PDF document specified in a view model.

    Excel to PDF Converter

    dx.wpf.item.spreadsheettopdf

    A module that converts an XLSX file to PDF.

    Merge PDFs

    dx.wpf.item.mergepdf

    A module that merges two PDF files.

    Use MCP Server

    In the DevExpress Template Kit, you can activate the Use DevExpress MCP Server option to use an AI-powered coding assistant in your project.

    DevExpress Template Kit - Use MCP Server

    For more information, refer to the following help topic: DevExpress MCP Server: Configure Your AI-powered Coding Assistant.