Version Compatibility: Default Property Values

• Dec 24, 2018
• 6 minutes to read

DevExpress version updates introduce new features that may change a control’s default behavior. When you migrate to a new version, you can revert these changes to the previous version using the WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode static property. Set this option at application startup.

C#

namespace WindowsFormsApp1 {
    static class Program {
        [STAThread]
        static void Main() {
            DevExpress.XtraEditors.WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode = DevExpress.XtraEditors.SettingsCompatibilityMode.v16;

            Application.EnableVisualStyles();
            Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
            Application.Run(new Form1());
        }
    }
}

VB.NET

Public Class Form1
    Shared Sub Main()
        DevExpress.XtraEditors.WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode = DevExpress.XtraEditors.SettingsCompatibilityMode.v16

        Application.EnableVisualStyles()
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(False)
        Application.Run(New Form1)  
    End Sub 
End Class 

All of the latest changes are in effect if the WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode property is set to Latest.

Version 16

The table below illustrates which properties and behaviors change if you set the WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode property to v16 (in comparison to the Latest mode).

Control	Affected properties and features	Behavior
		v16	Latest
GridControl TreeList VGridControl	ColumnViewOptionsBehavior.UnboundColumnExpressionEditorMode TreeListOptionsBehavior.UnboundColumnExpressionEditorMode VGridOptionsBehavior.UnboundColumnExpressionEditorMode	End-users invoke the standard Expression Editor dialog.	End-users invoke the advanced Expression Editor dialog, which supports auto-completion and syntax highlighting.
GridControl TreeList	XlsExportOptionsEx.GroupState XlsxExportOptionsEx.GroupState	In Data-Aware Export Mode (when the XlsExportOptionsEx.ExportType / XlsxExportOptionsEx.ExportType property equals DataAware), the XlsExportOptionsEx.GroupState and XlsxExportOptionsEx.GroupState properties do not depend on the current GridOptionsPrint.ExpandAllGroups and TreeListOptionsPrint.PrintAllNodes property values. GroupState properties are initially set to Default, and groups within an exported Excel document are expanded or collapsed based on their current state within a Data Grid or Tree List.	In Data-Aware Export Mode, if the GridOptionsPrint.ExpandAllGroups and TreeListOptionsPrint.PrintAllNodes properties are true, the XlsExportOptionsEx.GroupState and XlsxExportOptionsEx.GroupState properties’ Default values are equivalent to ExpandAll. Otherwise, the Default setting checks the current group (node) state within a control (equal to the legacy behavior).
GridControl TreeList	GridOptionsFilter.AllowAutoFilterConditionChange OptionsColumnFilter.AutoFilterCondition TreeListOptionsFilter.AllowAutoFilterConditionChange TreeListOptionsColumnFilter.AutoFilterCondition WindowsFormsSettings.ColumnAutoFilterMode WindowsFormsSettings.AllowAutoFilterConditionChange	End-users cannot modify filter conditions when utilizing the Data Grid and TreeList automatic filter rows. As a developer, you can manually select the desired condition via the OptionsFilter.AutoFilterCondition property for a Data Grid or Tree List column.	In Data Grid and TreeList controls, automatic filter rows display buttons that allow end-users to change the filter expression operator. End-users are limited to a specific set of conditions, depending on the column data type and filter mode (the GridColumn.FilterMode and TreeListColumn.FilterMode properties). For instance, end-users cannot select conditions such as “Begins with…” for numeric columns by default. The same limitations apply to developers. If you switch the OptionsFilter.AutoFilterCondition option to BeginsWith for a numeric column, it has no effect unless you change this column’s filtering mode to DisplayText.
GridControl	GridOptionsView.BestFitMode	Best fit operations prefer calculation precision.	Best fit operations prefer calculation speed.
GridControl	GridOptionsCustomization.AllowMergedGrouping	Simultaneous grouping by multiple columns is disabled.	Simultaneous grouping by multiple columns is enabled.
TreeList	TreeListOptionsFind.AllowFindPanel	Find panel is not available by default; the Ctrl+F shortcut does not invoke this panel.	Find panel is available.
TreeList	TreeListOptionsBehavior.EnableFiltering	Filtering in Tree List is disabled by default.	Filtering in Tree List is enabled by default.
TreeList	TreeListOptionsFilter.FilterMode	The Default filter mode is equal to FilterMode.Standard.	The Default filter mode is equal to FilterMode.Extended.
PropertyGridControl	PropertyGridControl.AutoGenerateRows	Rows do not generate automatically.	Rows generate automatically.
GridControl TreeList	WindowsFormsSettings.ColumnFilterPopupMode ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupMode TreeListOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupMode OptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode TreeListOptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode	Controls display standard filter dropdown menus.	Controls display Excel-style filter dropdown menus
GridControl TreeList	OptionsColumnFilter.ShowEmptyDateFilter TreeListOptionsColumnFilter.ShowEmptyDateFilter	In Excel-style filter dropdowns, the “Show Empty” items are hidden.	In Excel-style filter dropdowns, the “Show Empty” items are visible.
RibbonControl	RibbonControl.RibbonStyle	The Default style applies the RibbonControlStyle.Office2007 style.	The Default style applies the RibbonControlStyle.Office2013 style.
RibbonControl	RibbonControl.TransparentEditorsMode	When focused, certain in-place editors (CheckEdit, RadioGroup, TrackBarControl and PictureEdit) do not have a transparent background.	When focused, these editors have a transparent background.
DevExpress Forms	Title bar skinning	To enable form title bar skinning, you need to call the SkinManager.EnableFormSkins method manually before the form is created.	The SkinManager.EnableFormSkins method is called automatically, and you need to call the SkinManager.DisableFormSkins method to revert it.

Version 17.1

The table below illustrates which properties may change if you set the WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode property to v17_1 (compared to the Latest mode).

Control	Affected properties	Behavior
		v17_1	Latest
RepositoryItemPopupContainerEdit RepositoryItemLookUpEditBase RepositoryItemBlobBaseEdit classes and their descendants	RepositoryItemPopupContainerEdit.PopupWidthMode RepositoryItemLookUpEditBase.PopupWidthMode RepositoryItemBlobBaseEdit.PopupWidthMode	The Default property value is equal to the ContentWidth value.	The Default property value is equal to the UseEditorWidth value.
TreeList	TreeListColumn.Width	A column width does not exactly match the Width property value.	The Width property specifies the exact column width.
	TreeListColumn.MinWidth	A Column’s MinWidth property values changes dynamically when TreeListOptionsView.BestFitNodes is set to Visible.	The MinWidth property has a constant value that depends only on the maximum available node indent.
	TreeListOptionsView.BestFitMode	Best fit operations take more time, but calculate widths more accurately.	Best fit operations prefer calculation speed.
	TreeListOptionsNavigation.UseTabKey	The default property value is false.	The default property value is true.
VGridControl	VGridOptionsFilter.AllowFilter	The VGridControl cannot filter its data.	The VGridControl can filter its data. The VGridOptionsFilter.AllowFilter property is set to true by default.
	VGridOptionsMenu.EnableContextMenu	The VGridOptionsMenu.EnableContextMenu property equals false by default.	The VGridOptionsMenu.EnableContextMenu property equals true by default.
RibbonForm	RibbonForm.AllowFormGlass	You can manually enable Aero glass effects for a RibbonForm that contains a Ribbon, whose RibbonControl.RibbonStyle property is set to Default.	If a RibbonForm contains a Ribbon with the Default RibbonControl.RibbonStyle property value (which is interpreted as Office2013), you cannot enable Aero glass form effects.

Version 17.2

The table below illustrates which properties may change if you set the WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode property to v17_2 (in comparison to the Latest mode).

Control	Affected properties	Behavior
		v17_2	Latest
Filter Editor Control embedded in data-aware controls (GridControl, TreeList and VGridControl)	-	The data-aware controls use the legacy FilterEditorControl (from the DevExpress.XtraRichEdit library).	The data-aware controls use the advanced FilterEditorControl (from the DevExpress.DataAccess.UI library), which supports syntax highlighting and auto-complete in the filter editor’s Text panel. You can also switch to the legacy Filter Editor Control via the WindowsFormsSettings.UseAdvancedFilterEditorControl static setting.
Look-and-feel settings for the following controls are handled by the BarAndDockingController component: Bars (BarManager), dock panels (DockManager), Ribbon UI (RibbonControl and BackstageViewControl), App UI Manager (DocumentManager) and tabbed windows (XtraTabbedMdiManager).	The look-and-feel of these controls when they are placed onto skinnable forms (XtraForm and its descendants - RibbonForm, TabForm, FluentDesignForm, etc.)	The controls do not take into account the form’s look-and-feel settings (XtraForm.LookAndFeel). To specify the look-and-feel settings for these controls within a certain form, place a BarAndDockingController component onto the form.	The controls take into account the form’s look-and-feel settings (XtraForm.LookAndFeel) if the form does not contain a BarAndDockingController component.
Bars and Ribbon controls	BarManagerProperties.ScaleEditors, RibbonProperties.ScaleEditors and RibbonProperties.ScaleGalleryItems properties	The default value is false.	The default value is true.
LayoutControl and DataLayoutControl control	OptionsView.UseParentAutoScaleFactor property	The property’s default value is false.	The property’s default value is true.