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Change the Application Skin

  • 2 minutes to read

This document describes how to use a DevExpress skin in a WinForms reporting application.

Apply a DevExpress Skin to a Reporting Application

You can use a DevExpress skin if the form that contains the Report Designer or Document Viewer inherites from a DevExpress form:

Control on the Form The Form’s Base Class
RibbonReportDesigner RibbonForm
StandardReportDesigner XtraForm
DocumentViewer XtraForm

Change your form’s base class appropriately.

using DevExpress.XtraBars.Ribbon;

//...

public partial class Form1 : RibbonForm {

    //...

}

Right-click your project in the Solution Explorer and select DevExpress Project Settings. This invokes the Project Settings Page that allows you to specify global settings and the skin.

The following image illustrates a RibbonForm that contains an End-User Report Designer with the Office 2016 Black skin applied:

themes-win-report-designer-bars-office-2016-black

Use DevExpress Open/Save Skinned Dialogs

The code below demonstrates how to use DevExpress Open/Save dialogs in the End-User Report Designer and Print Preview. These dialogs apply the application’s skin.

using DevExpress.XtraEditors;
//...
static void Main() {
    //...
    //Enable this option
    WindowsFormsSettings.UseDXDialogs =  DevExpress.Utils.DefaultBoolean.True;

    Application.Run(new Form1());
}

switch-to-dxdialog