Download using this direct link…
Download 4.0
New for Version 4.0
– VS2010 Style Docking system
– KryptonWrapLabel
– KryptonSeparator
– Workspace persistence
– Workspace max/restore feature
– Various bug fixes
Expected Release Date
The release of Krypton Suite 4.0 is looking like being the middle of next week. So expect an announcement on Wednesday 26th if all goes to plan. Obviously this could slip if a major bug appears just before release but I promise it will not be released early!
Reduced Product Line-up
Something like 90% of all sales are for the full Krypton Suite and so I intend to simplify the list of product offerings by selling only the full Suite. Existing customers with the Navigator, Workspace or Ribbon that are still within their 12 month subscription will get a free upgrade to the Suite + Source. So no customers will miss out because of the change in policy.
The Suite will also only be offered with the full source code included so the ability to buy just a license is being removed. Most companies want the source code anyway and so this reduces the number of purchase options making it a simpler decision. So the purchase page is going to have just the Krypton Suite + Source with the only options being the number of licenses you want to buy.
BARGAIN ALERT: Yes, that means you could buy the Navigator at $149 before next Wednesday and get a free upgrade to the full Suite including the source code. Reading my blog means you get the inside track and your reward is a truly once in a lifetime bargain. Or why not get a 4 pack and save even more!
New Pricing
Currently the Suite + Source is priced at $399 (USD) and the new price with the docking system added will be $499 (USD). Looking at other comparable products on the market I still think this is a reasonable price given the extra flexibility and features it offers.
New Licence Options
Last is a change to provide customers with an upper limit on costs. I hope this will tempt more of the larger outfits to consider buying the Suite for the entire development department. I am introducing Site and Enterprise license options.
A Site license will allow an unlimited number of developers within your organization but limited to one geographic location. An Enterprise license allows for an unlimited number of developers at an unlimited number of locations for your organization. Customers with 16 or more licenses at the moment will be offered the chance to convert to either the Site or Enterprise depending on their licenses requirements.
Finally we can now use the mouse to drag a page header into a new position. This feature is a must for the docking system but I am sure it is helpful for those using the Navigator or Workspace standalone controls. It has been requested quite a few times over the last couple of years and finally it has made it to the top of the to-do list.
The feature works with all the Navigator modes that display elements per-page. So any of the modes that have tabs, ribbon tabs or check buttons per-page can be reordered. Even the Outlook modes have the ability as they contain a set of check buttons at the bottom of the control.
I would show some screenshots but there is no effective way of showing it working. Just wait until the docking beta 2 in a couple of week’s time and then you can play with it.
I’m currently deep in the bowels of adding docking functionality. I’ve reached the point where you can add/remove/show/hide pages on the edges of a container control. This includes docking them as well as the auto hidden feature where they slide into view when you hover over the tab stubs on the edge.
To help me out I needed to add some new events, methods and properties to the workspace and navigator controls. I thought you might find some of these handy for y0ur own applications so here is a quick summary…
KryptonWorkspace
Methods
HideAllPages()
ShowAllPages()
FirstVisibleCell()
NextVisibleCell(…)
PreviousVisibleCell(…)
LastVisibleCell()
IsCellPresent(…)
PageForUniqueName(…)
CellForUniqueName(…)
Properties
CellVisibleCount
Events
CellCountChanged
CellVisibleCountChanged
KryptonNavigator
Methods
HideAllPages()
ShowAllPages()
Properties
AllowTabSelect
Bar.BarLastItemInset
Events
TabCountChanged
TabVisibleCountChanged
TabMouseHoverStart
TabMouseHoverEnd
The KryptonNavigator is going to be the primary container used within the docking framework for hosting docking pages. So we need to ensure we can manipulate the appearance of the navigator so it looks appropriate when inside the docking framework. By default we have the following…
I have added HeaderBarTabGroup as a new navigator mode that displays two headers around the edge of the tab headers area. As with all the header modes the buttons are placed inside the primary header instead of inside the tab bar. Switching to the new mode we get the following…
To replicate the Visual Studio 2008 docking windows we need to remove the secondary header and change the tabs orientation so they appear at the bottom. We can do that by changing a couple of existing properties. For this example I have removed the display of the context button so we have just a close button showing…
Now we have the correct layout we need to add some new palette styles so the appearance can be customized for just the docking scenario. Two new header styles called HeaderDockActive and HeaderDockInactive allow the header to indicate the active state of the navigator. The next two images show the header in each of the two styles.
Also added are a new TabBorderStyle called Dock and a tab style of Dock that allow the shape and appearance of the tabs to be defined specifically for the docking scenario. These changes give the final look and feel as follows for the Office 2007 – Blue palette…
Once I get to write the docking code there will be an event that is fired whenever a navigator is created. Just before the event is fired the navigator will be customized so it looks as seen above. But you will be able to hook into that event and alter the appearance to whatever you prefer instead. For example, you might decide to have a stacking buttons style instead. Allowing easy customization of appearance and operation are a key goal of the docking windows system.
