WPF — June 2025 Roadmap (v25.1)

In this blog post, I’ll highlight WPF-related features/capabilities we expect to ship in our upcoming mid-year release (v25.1). As you'll note below, key focus areas will be Artificial Intelligence, Accessibility, and streamlined project setup. A few features in this post include links to DevExpress Support Center discussions - we invite you to join the conversation and help shape our mid-year release. As always, we appreciate your input.

The information contained within this blog post details our current/projected development plans. Please note that this information is being shared for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and does not represent a binding commitment on the part of Developer Express Inc. This roadmap and the features/products listed within it are subject to change. You should not rely on or use this information to help make a purchase decision about Developer Express Inc products.

Drag & Drop & Clipboard Operations in .NET 9

As you may know, Microsoft removed BinaryFormatter from .NET 9 for security reasons. Since standard drag & drop functionality relied on BinaryFormatter to serialize custom objects, we disabled cross-application drag & drop for some WPF controls in our v24.2 release cycle. You can still pass data to drag & drop as a simple type (such as a JSON-formatted string), but this requires additional project logic.

We will simplify drag & drop and clipboard operations for those usage scenarios that previously relied on BinaryFormatter. Given the importance of this functionality, we’ll evaluate potential changes for those using v24.2 as well.

For additional information on BinaryFormatter-related changes, refer to the following thread: Component functionality changes due to BinaryFormatter deprecation.

.NET Upgrade Assistant Integration for Project Upgrades (Discussion)

We expect to ship a new plugin (VSIX) for Microsoft's .NET Upgrade Assistant. We expect this plugin to ultimately replace the DevExpress Project Converter for .NET 8+ projects. Benefits will include the following:

The .NET Upgrade Assistant allows us to support more IDEs and operating systems, as it is available in Visual Studio Code for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The upgrade process is simpler and streamlined because we will maintain less code across versions (in the future, we will only offer the DevExpress Project Converter for .NET Framework projects).
Unlike our Project Converter, the new plugin will have access to NuGet, Roslyn, MEF, and other IDE services. With the .NET Upgrade Assistant's auto–fix capabilities, we can automatically detect and safely resolve breaking changes in DevExpress code. This includes but is not limited to obsolete code replacements (such as, Font > DXFont, DxPivotGrid > DxPivotTable, etc.).
We will deliver the new plugin for minor and major DevExpress versions. The plugin will include the most recent Directory.Packages.props file updates (with DevExpress–compatible 3rd party dependencies for CPM). You will be able to update all project dependencies and resolve security vulnerabilities with a single click.

Our Unified Component Installer will automatically install the new plug–in. The plugin will also be able for download from the Visual Studio Marketplace, nuget.org, and nuget.devexpress.com.

DevExpress Template Kit (Discussion)

Our new Template Kit will make it easier to create projects for a variety of usage scenarios. With v25.1, you will be able to configure new projects by selecting navigation type and a set of pre-designed views. Here’s an image demonstrating our implementation in .NET MAUI:

You’ll also be able to add view templates to existing projects.

Our Template Kit will include a new project template to create a WPF application with a secured data layer powered by ASP.NET Core WebAPI, EF Core, and Middle–Tier Application Server*. With this additional layer of protection (authentication, authorization, and encryption), desktop UI clients will not be able to access database connection information or modify database tables directly. Developers will be able to maintain an existing data context (DbContext) and business logic while establishing remote/secure connections to an RDBMS–based data store.

* Ships as part of the DevExpress XAF (Cross–Platform .NET App UI). An Active DevExpress Universal subscription is required to use this capability.

Currently, the DevExpress Template Kit is available for Visual Studio and VS Code.

Avalonia XPF (Discussion)

As you may know, Avalonia XPF allows WPF projects to run on macOS and Linux. The Avalonia team has added support for DevExpress controls. We expect to migrate some of our demos to this technology to help you evaluate whether Avalonia XPF meets your cross-platform development needs.

Important considerations:

Avalonia XPF was not developed by DevExpress. Support for DevExpress controls is managed by the Avalonia team. You can find a list of known limitations here: Supported DevExpress Components
Avalonia XPF is different from Avalonia UI. While Avalonia XPF enables WPF applications to run on macOS and Linux, Avalonia UI is a separate framework for building cross-platform apps from the ground-up. DevExpress components do not support Avalonia UI.

Accessibility Enhancements (Discussion)

Keyboard Navigation

We continue to enhance accessibility across all DevExpress UI controls. In v25.1, we expect to improve accessibility for our Property Grid, Backstage View, and Editors.

Screen Reader & UI Automation

We expect to enhance the UI Automation tree for Screen readers (Narrator, NVDA) and UI Automation tests. You will be able to retrieve more information about element state and structure (such as selection status and node levels). This will make it easier for visually impaired users to interact with your applications.

AI Enhancements (Discussion)

New AI Chat Control

We will create a new WPF AI Control to help you introduce AI agents into your DevExpress-powered WPF application. This chat component will be based on our Blazor AI Chat control (DxAIChat). While we will use Blazor Hybrid, native WPF APIs will allow you to use the component in XAML just like any other native control.

At present, you can incorporate the DevExpress Blazor AI Chat into your WPF application as follows: Blazor AI Chat - How to add the DevExpress Blazor AI Chat component to your next Blazor, MAUI, WPF, and WinForms application.

Smart Paste (Data Grid & Layout Control)

With v25.1, we will add Smart Paste operations to our WPF Data Grid and Layout Control. Smart Paste is an AI-ready feature that transforms traditional copy-paste operations. Designed to improve productivity, Smart Paste analyses copied content and intelligently assigns correct values to appropriate fields/row cells in the DevExpress Data Grid and Layout Control-powered forms.

When Smart Paste is activated, the "Smart Paste" command will be automatically added to a control's popup menu. When a user copies data from a source (such as a spreadsheet, document, or web page) and pastes it into a Data Grid or Layout Control-powered form, Smart Paste will automatically interpret content and map data to correct data fields or cells.

Smart Search (Ribbon & Accordion)

DevExpress WPF Ribbon and Accordion controls will support AI-powered search. Smart Search will work alongside traditional search algorithms to deliver a more powerful and user-friendly search experience.

When a user pauses text entry in the search field (within the Ribbon or Accordion control), the control will send the current search query to an AI service that understands context, synonyms, and user intent beyond exact keyword matches. Once the AI service returns results, the control filters items accordingly.

Semantic Search (Data Grid)

We will implement Semantic Search in our WPF Data Grid to help you locate items based on meaning rather than an exact match. For instance, if your Data Grid contains CV info, and users search for "developers with AI experience", Semantic Search will include results for terms such as "machine learning", "deep learning" or "neural networks" (even if "AI" isn’t explicitly mentioned).

Performance in Demos

A few releases ago, we introduced Lightweight (LW) Themes, which significantly reduce view load time and memory consumption. In v25.1, we’ve reworked our Demo Center modules to help you better evaluate the performance improvements across our controls.

These optimizations were made possible by Lightweight Themes, a resource preloading mechanism, and demo refactoring.

Data Grid Enhancements (Discussion)

Grid Column Print Width

You will be able to set the width of printed/exported columns with dedicated properties. This will allow you to control printed column width without changing column width in your actual Data Grid.

Tree View Customization Settings

We're adding more APIs to simplify configuration of the internal TreeListView used in our TreeViewControl. Based on your feedback in the Support Center, we’ll introduce new APIs at the TreeViewControl level to streamline customization.

Column-Specific Button Visibility and Posting Mode

DevExpress Data Grid allows you to customize the following behaviors:

Editor button visibility - Always visible, in a focused cell/row, or only in an active editor (EditorButtonShowMode).
Data posting behavior - Update the data source when a user leaves a cell or as they type (EnableImmediatePosting).

At present, these settings apply to the Data Grid as a whole. Based on your feedback in Support Center, we’ll introduce per-column support for more granular control.

Reporting

Improved Label and Table Cell Text Formatting (Discussion)

Our next release will allow users to define line spacing for displayed text/values within the DevExpress Report Designer. This feature will enhance readability and provide greater control over individual report layouts. Users can directly modify line spacing for basic report controls to improve multi-line text clarity and reduce the memory footprint associated with the XRRichText control.

Time Zone Conversion (Discussion)

With v25.1, DevExpress Reports will be able to convert UTC date and time values to the viewer's local time zone. This feature is essential for applications with a global user base, as it ensures that all users analyze report data in their respective local time zones.