Basic .NET WinForms & Blazor Tutorial (Project Manager)

• May 07, 2025
• 2 minutes to read

This tutorial explains how to create a Cross-Platform .NET App UI (XAF) application for Windows and Web platforms to manage projects within a company department. The application uses the ASP.NET Core Blazor and Windows Forms UI platforms to display data and Entity Framework Core for data access.

Tip

For additional information on how to choose an ORM that suits your needs, refer to the following topic: Why We Recommend EF Core over XPO for New Development.

The tutorial shows how to write platform-agnostic code. XAF automatically generates the application UI and establishes access to a database.

ASP.NET Core Blazor Windows Forms

In this application, users can:

• View, search, create, update, and delete employees, projects, and task data.
• View, search, create, update, and delete customers and comments from customers about a product to manage data on a promotional website.

Dependencies and Prerequisites

Before you start the tutorial, read this section and ensure that the following conditions are met:

1. Visual Studio 2022 v17.0+ with the ASP.NET and web development and .NET desktop development workloads is installed on your machine. You have basic experience of .NET framework development in this IDE.
2. .NET 8+ SDK is installed on your machine.
3. Microsoft SQL Server.
4. A free 30-day trial version or a licensed version of DevExpress Universal Subscription is installed on your machine.
5. You have basic knowledge of Object-relational mapping (ORM) concepts and the Entity Framework Core.
6. You are familiar with the XAF application architecture.
7. XAF Considerations for Newcomers.

Tutorial’s Lessons

Create a Combined XAF Web and Desktop ApplicationThis lesson explains how to create a Cross-Platform .NET App UI application.Define the Data Model and Set Initial DataThis lesson explains how to define the data model that serves as a base for the application’s CRUD UI.Customize Application UI and BehaviorThis lesson explains how to customize the auto-generated UI’s structure and metadata and implement custom user interaction.Reuse Implemented FunctionalityThis lesson explains how to add a module to your application to enable additional functionality.

Learn More

• Read Frequently Asked Questions - Blazor UI (FAQ).
• Read "How-to" Instructions.
• Try XAF demos.
• Visit the XAF home page.
• Follow the In-Depth .NET WinForms & Blazor UI Tutorial (Employee Manager).

Note

If you need assistance with your XAF application, submit a ticket to the Support Center.