PlusDock 3.0.0.0 - Beta
Following its successful predecessor,
PlusDock 2.0, the new version brings
new enhancements, improvements,
optimizations and a few unique features.
We are committed to provide you
the highest quality products and
therefore we are running the new
version through a period of public
beta testing. During the beta test
period we will accept suggestions,
requests and general feedback from
all users. You are invited to download
the beta version and try it out.
Please see below a list of improvements
and other tips:
 New
Features
 Modern
Docking Hints |
Version 3.0 is now aligned with the modern docking
hints introduced by the Visual Studio
2005. More than that, PlusDock will
adapt the colorization of the docking
hints based on the current Windows
Theme or will allow you to enforce
a certain color. The standard snap
hint is still available.
|
MDI
Windows vs. Tabbed MDI |
The classic MDI window feature was requested by our customers
and we responded. PlusDock supports
classic MDI windows as well as Tabbed
MDI documents. The switch between
the two states is done seamlessly,
at run-time. There is no need to
restart the application or refresh
the model. The switch is done as
requested.
|
Snap
Splitter |
The Snap splitter is a twist around the DockSplitter
that allows the user to click on
the button in the center of the
splitter to completely collapse
one of the two windows it splits.
This is especially useful to help
in collapsing windows that do not
show a caption.
|
ToolWindow
Mini-Toolbar |
As the tool window is a central part of the entire
DockModel we decided to improve
this object by adding a mini toolbar.
The mini toolbar appears on top,
right under the window caption.
You can define various buttons and
respond to their action.
|
FreeZone |
The free zone is a unique feature brought to you
by PlusDock. Basically, the freezone
is an area between the caption of
the toolwindow and it's body (or
it's toolbar if the window has one).
The freezone has a height that is
specified through the FreeZoneHeight
property. The freezone is not available
at design time, it's management
is done through the HeaderLayout
and HeaderPaint events. By listening
to the HeaderLayout you can put
your custom controls in the freezone
area (using the FreeZoneRectangle
property). The freezone is common
for all pages but you may display
different controls depending on
the selected page. This is very
useful for toolwindows that change
their use based on various events
or actions and you do not want to
go through the process of designing
an inherited toolwindow for each
type.
|
XP
Tab Appearance |
With the new version comes a new predefined theme
based on the Windows XP tab control.
By implementing this theme we also
announce another new feature: hot-tracking
for toolwindow tabs. The XP theme
will make the window tabs to behave
just like the Windows XP Tab Control:
|
Toolwindow
Gripper Style |
A new visual novelty are the various
gripper styles. In the previous
versions the gripper was painted
using the Image property of the
window's caption. In the new version
we separated the image from the
gripper. Now you can select your
favorite gripper style and provide
an image for the window's caption.
Improvements
|
Layout
Serialization |
A few bugs were fixed in the Xml serialization and
deserialization routines. Right
now the save and restore layout
work much better and also much
faster.
|
Licensing |
We have improved the licensing and starting with this
version you will no longer need
a license file. Instead only a
serial number will be provided.
The serial number must be set
before an instance of the
DockModel is created. As before
you can test our library with
all features enabled for 30
days. If 30 days are not enough
to evaluate the software you can
request additional evaluation
licenses. As a result of the new
license system the DockModel
instance is created much faster
and you will notice an
improvement in speed.
|
Memory
Management |
We optimized the memory management for various parts of
the dock model. As a result of
these improvements the model
takes a much better advantage of
the memory and preserves it much
better than before.
|
Docking
Engine |
The engine itself has been improved. A few minor bugs
were fixed and the management of
the panels has been optimized.
You will notice a "smoother"
behavior, much more precise and
you will find the entire system
much more responsive. |
Products 
Resources 
Download and Buy 
