SftBox/OCX 5.0 - New Features

SftBox/OCX 5.0 is virtually 100% upward compatible to earlier version of the product. A simple conversion is required to upgrade a project to version 5.0.

Click here to review the online web documentation for all product enhancements, with links to the topics describing each new property, method and event in detail.

• Now includes 64-bit controls in addition to the 32-bit controls. This is most useful for all managed .NET applications compiled for "Any CPU" and for native C++ and MFC applications compiled as 64-bit applications.
• The file Softelvdm.OCXHelperV2.dll (required for managed .NET applications) no longer needs to be registered for COM Interop, simplifying distribution and installation of end-user applications - XCOPY deployment of this file is now possible.
• New ColumnSizeStarted and ColumnSizeEnded events to signal when column resizing starts and ends.
• Expanded GridStyle property with new options.
• New Columns.Order property to save/load the order of all columns.
• New Columns.Widths property to save/load the widths of all columns.
• The Load and Save methods have been expanded to support an additional format.
• New MouseOverTransitionEffect property used to define transition effects used when the mouse enters/leaves the control.
• Support for Visual Studio 2010 with help integration.
• Installation options allow the control to be automatically added to the Toolbox in Visual Studio 2010 (in addition to earlier Visual Studio versions).

Enhancements in Version 4.5

• Support for new image formats, such as PNG, TIFF, JPEG, GIF, Exif, EMF+, EMF (GDI+ images) with full support for alpha-blended (translucent and semi-transparent) images.
• SftPictureObject.Image property, SftPictureObject.GetImage, SftPictureObject.SetImage, SftPictureObject.LoadImage, SftPictureObject.LoadImageFromHBITMAP and SftPictureObject.LoadImageFromResource methods supporting GDI+ images.
• New GDIPlusSupport property, LoadGDIPlusImage, LoadGDIPlusImageFromResource and DeleteGDIPlusImage methods supporting GDI+ images.
• New SftPictureObject.NETImageObject property for direct support of .NET Image objects when using managed applications (C#, VB.NET).
• Cell merging is now supported, where the contents of a cell can merge into an adjacent cell (on the right), including the cell colors, fonts and graphics attributes (see Column.Merge, Column.MergeInto).
• New AlignSelection property to control the display of the hierarchy area within the static portion of the control.
• The Items.SelectEnabledItemsOnly property can be used to define whether only enabled items can be selected by the user using the mouse or keyboard.
• The height of items can now be controlled using the Item.MinHeightPix, Item.MaxHeightPix, Items.MinHeightPix, Items.MaxHeightPix properties
• New selection outline display style (see Items.OutlineStyle) which supports a rounded outline rectangle with a gradient fill used for selected items, flyby highlighting and drop targets (SelectOutlineBorderColor, SelectInnerBorderColor, SelectInnerFill1, SelectInnerFill2, SelectHotOutlineBorderColor, SelectHotInnerBorderColor, SelectHotInnerFill1, SelectHotInnerFill2, SelectNoFocusOutlineBorderColor, SelectNoFocusInnerBorderColor, SelectNoFocusInnerFill1, SelectNoFocusInnerFill2, HotOutlineBorderColor, HotInnerBorderColor, HotInnerFill1, HotInnerFill2, DropTargetOutlineBorderColor, DropTargetInnerBorderColor, DropTargetInnerFill1, DropTargetInnerFill2).
• Additional search modes using the DropDown.CharSearchMode property.
• The DropDown.BackColor has been expanded to allow a default setting and to control the background color of a semi-transparent drop down button (Windows Vista and up).
• The Save/Load methods now support saving/loading data in a user-specified file.
• The source files OLEConvert.cs or OLEConvert.vb are no longer needed - a new component (SftHelperComponent) is now available that assists in ActiveX to .NET transitioning, allowing for easier handling of .NET Color, Image and Font types.
• Installation and usability changes for Visual Studio .NET 2003, 2005, 2008 - User-definable installation options allow the control to be automatically added to the Toolbox.
• Various corrections to help file syntax.
• Help integration for Visual Studio 2008.
• Support for Visual Studio 2005 with .NET Framework version 2.0 SP1 and above.
• Support for C/C++ applications using DEP (Data Execution Prevention).
• Enhanced property pages.

To find out more about this product, download our product demo now. The demo includes working controls, so you can start using the controls today and test-drive them thoroughly in your application, before your purchase.

That's the good news. For the "not-so-good" news: If you like it, you will have to purchase the product to use it beyond the free 30 day trial. Of course, that's not all that terrible, considering all the features you'll get to use, along with the royalty-free distribution of the control with your completed end-user application.

And, don't forget, the product includes free support and all major updates for one entire year.

Please see our Product Overview page for included options and supported operating systems.