PlusDock 4.0.0.0 - New Release
Following its successful predecessor, PlusDock 2.0, the new version brings new
enhancements, improvements, optimizations and a few unique features. Please see
below a list of improvements and other tips:
New Features
 Modern Docking Hints |
Version 4.0 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:
| Localized Internal Strings |
With version 4.0 you can now localize the
various strings displayed by PlusDock in English, by default. These strings
include menu items, tool tip text, informational strings, button texts. The
setting is extremely easy done through static string variables.
| 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.
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