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Announcing the ExpressPrinting System v4

The DevExpress Printing and Control Rendering Library for the VCL

DevExpress is proud to announce the immediate availability of the ExpressPrinting System v4 - the DevExpress Printing and Control Rendering Library for the VCL. With this release, we've extended the market-leading capabilities of our Delphi and C++Builder Printing System with the following new features.

PDF Export

With v4, reports can be exported to PDF files. Various export, pagination, security, and document settings can be customized by end-users via a built-in PDF Export Options dialog.

New Print Preview Dialog Style Options

Previously, to specify the Print Preview dialog style, you had to manually add a corresponding unit to the ‘uses’ clause and make sure it was in effect by promoting the unit within the unit list. With this release, you can use a single TdxPSEngineController.PreviewDialogStyle option to select one of the following Print Preview dialog styles:

  • Standard (uses standard TToolBar controls).
  • Advanced (uses toolbars shipped with the ExpressBars Suite v6).
  • Ribbon (uses Ribbon controls shipped with the ExpressBars Suite v6).

Ribbon-Style Print Preview Dialog

If your applications utilize the Ribbon UI, ExpressPrinting System v4 allows you to replicate this look and feel within the Print Preview dialog window.

Skins and Look and Feel Styles for Built-in Dialogs

All built-in dialogs support skins and look and feel styles. To apply skins or styles, use the TdxSkinController, TcxLookAndFeelController, or TdxPSEngineController component.

Separate Design- and Runtime Report Link Packages

We now ship runtime packages for report links. Your applications can be built using only these packages to reduce distribution size.

Additional New Features

  • Settings persistance
    Settings of printing components and dialog windows can now be stored in .INI files and in the registry.
  • Printing of report footnotes similar to report titles.
  • Automatic creation of child control report link
    Previously, creating a report link for a container control didn't add report link units for its child controls. As a result, these child controls were printed as images. Now, once a container report link is specified, child control report links are automatically added to the ‘uses’ clause, allowing you to improve print results.
  • Custom painting of child controls when printing their container
    In v4, printing a report for a container control automatically fires the OnCustomDraw~ events of report links created for its child controls.
  • Resized images can now be smoothly stretched in a report.
  • The number of report page lines can be customized.
  • Report cell padding can be changed manually.
  • Optional rendering of column and row headers, and a pre-filter on each page of a pivot grid report.
  • In addition to a vertical page break, you can horizontally split a report across pages at custom positions.
  • The report storage’s default name in the Save File dialog can be overridden via file-based report explorer events.
  • TcxLabel controls can now be printed as plain text, ignoring any paint styles and effects.
  • Optional sizing of the label height, so that label contents are displayed fully within a report.
  • Dialog UI updates
    Icons in the Print Preview, Report Designer, Page Setup, and Print dialogs have been updated.

To learn more about the ExpressPrinting System visit DevExpress online at: http://www.devexpress.com/Products/VCL/ExPrintingSystem/. To see the complete range of DevExpress VCL controls for Delphi and C++Builder visit: http://www.devexpress.com/Products/VCL/

If you are currently using older versions of our products or are considering switching from competing products, feel free to write to us at clientservices@devexpress.com for upgrade/competitive pricing options. If you have technical questions or require additional pre-sales information, we can be reached at info@devexpress.com.

As always, we welcome your feedback/comments and our support team is ready to help you transition your projects to these new products.

Thank you and Best Wishes
The DevExpress Team
www.devexpress.com