When will the new Workflow features of .NET 4.5 be available in the DevExpress Workflow module?
Treeview, annotations, find, auto-connect etc.
See for example http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2012/2-033.
When will the new Workflow features of .NET 4.5 be available in the DevExpress Workflow module?
Treeview, annotations, find, auto-connect etc.
See for example http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2012/2-033.
Hello Simon,
Thank you for contacting us. We ara aware of the WF 4.5 features, but I am afraid we have not yet planned supporting them in our Workflow module in the near future. Frankly speaking, the WF integration (Workflow - Integrate Windows Workflow Foundation into XAF) had been one of the most requested and discussed features in the XAF community before we implemented it more than 1.5 year ago, but the real usage results (measured by the support traffic and other means) regarding this module are not that high (we also believe that this is not because our implementation is not that good, especially based on the number of reported suggestions and issues) as one would expect based on the customers' demand for it. So, to better spend our team resources in the future, we are now monitoring actual customers' requests for adding any improvements in this regard.
Having said that, I would like to add your ticket in our TODO list and ask anyone who is really using our Workflow module to upvote it or give us your feedback in comments to this thread.
UPDATE 1:
We recently allocated a part of our resources on testing the Workflow module under .NET 4.5 and it all worked fine. The module itself does not even need to be recompiled under .NET 4.5 explicitly, because the new runtime will be used automatically if your application is targeted to .NET 4.5. As for the new features introduced in WF 4.5, you can see what is available in the rehosted workflow designer from this article: Support for New Workflow Foundation 4.5 Features in the Rehosted Workflow Designer. We regret to inform you that Microsoft made not all the aforementioned features available in the workflow rehosted designer, and I am afraid we cannot do much on our side to overcome this. Feel free to contact Microsoft directly via their support forums if you require availability of the remaining features in the rehosted designer.
UPDATE 2
Starting with version 12.2.11/13.1, you can assign the 'true' value to the static DevExpress.ExpressApp.Workflow.Win.WorkflowDesignerControlBase.CanSetTargetFramework45 property to enable certain WF 4.5 features. Refer to the Workflow - XmlException 'sads:DebugSymbol.Symbol' is a duplicate attribute name.' occurs when saving changes in WorkflowDesigner in .NET FW 4.5 discussion for more details.
See Also:
Workflow versioning - Handle error in definitions in a user-friendly manner
>>
but unfortunately it's not an event:
public static EventHandler<WorkflowDesignerCreatedEventArgs> WorkflowDesignerCreated;
<<
Simon, I am having difficulty understanding your issue. Exactly what is the problem with handling this static event? If possible, please create a separate ticket and provide additional details there (e.g., your sample), not to mix everything within a single thread. Thanks.
Guys - as far as i understand the outline view is by default enabled in the rehosted designer - but it needs to be added manually to the form/view. So i guess DevEx Guys has to add it to the XafWorkflowDesigner.xaml - the static event dennis mentioned earlier does not help here.
@Noxe,
I checked the OutlineView project under the WF45ImprovementsInRehostedScenarios solution downloaded from Dev Center - Windows Store apps> Samples> Support of WF 4.5 Designer Improvements in Rehosted Scenarios and it looks like you are correct. The RehostingWFDesigner_EnableOutlineView.xaml file in this sample project also contains the <Border Grid.Column="1" Name="OutlineViewBorder"/> element, which is then managed in code behind:
C#WorkflowDesigner wd = new WorkflowDesigner();
...
OutlineViewBorder.Child = wd.OutlineView;
It is possible that a similar element and code behind can be added by us in our XafWorkflowDesigner.xaml and the related WorkflowDesignerControl class:
C#...
//WorkflowDesignerControl.cs
protected override void LoadActivity(string xaml) {
base.LoadActivity(xaml);
control.DesignerBorder.Child = Designer.View;
control.PropertyGridExpander.Child = Designer.PropertyInspectorView;
//Enable outline support here.
...
Or, potentially, the same WPF elements and supporting code can be added by users themselves. This requires additional R&D + testing, though.
Anyway, our team will take your suggestion into account for the future. Thanks for your input in this regard.
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