Access and Customize PDF Viewer Controls

• Oct 23, 2025
• 2 minutes to read

The PDF Viewer Property Editor uses the following components internally: DxPdfViewer (Blazor) or PdfViewer (WinForms). This topic describes how to access and customize these components in XAF applications.

This approach follows the standard method for accessing and customizing a property editor with the CustomizeViewItemControl event, as described in the following guide: Access the Settings of a Property Editor in a Detail View.

1. Create a custom ViewController in the Controllers folder of the SolutionName.Blazor.Server / SolutionName.Win project.
2. Call the CustomizeViewItemControl method to access the PdfViewerPropertyEditor in the OnActivated method handler.
3. Use the editor’s ComponentModel (Blazor) or Control (WinForms) property to access the underlying component settings.
4. Modify component settings. The following code samples specify zoom level and hide the toolbar:

• BlazorPdfViewerController.cs
• WinPdfViewerController.cs

using DevExpress.Blazor.Reporting.Models;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Blazor.Editors;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;

public class BlazorPdfViewerController : ViewController<DetailView> {
    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        View.CustomizeViewItemControl<PdfViewerPropertyEditor>(this, editor => {
            editor.ComponentModel.ZoomLevel = 0.7;
            editor.ComponentModel.CustomizeToolbar = 
                EventCallback.Factory.Create<ToolbarModel>(this, toolbar => toolbar.AllItems.Clear());
        });
    }
}

using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;

namespace MainDemo.Win.Controllers;

public class WinPdfViewerController : ViewController<DetailView> {
    protected override void OnActivated() {
        base.OnActivated();
        View.CustomizeViewItemControl<PdfViewerPropertyEditor>(this, editor => {
            editor.Control.ZoomFactor = 70f;
            editor.Control.NavigationPaneInitialVisibility = 
                DevExpress.XtraPdfViewer.PdfNavigationPaneVisibility.Hidden;
        });
    }
}

PDF Viewer in an XAF Blazor app

PDF Viewer in an XAF WinForms app

Specify PDF Viewer Menu Type: Ribbon, Toolbar, or No Menu (WinForms)

The WinForms PDF Viewer can display its menu as a Ribbon or Toolbar. Use the MenuManagerType property to specify the menu type or hide the menu.

PDF Viewer ribbon menu merged into the main form’s ribbon (MenuManagerType = Default and FormStyle = Ribbon)

Separate toolbar menu in PDF Viewer (MenuManagerType = Bars)

No menu in PDF Viewer (MenuManagerType = None)

Hide PDF Viewer Toolbar Groups/Ribbon Tabs (WinForms)

The WinForms PDF Viewer menu can display the following toolbar groups/ribbon tabs, listed in the PdfViewerToolbarKind enumeration:

• Main
• Interactive Form (available when a document contains interactive form fields)
• Comment (not available when a document is read-only)

You can use the static PdfViewerPropertyEditor.DefaultPdfViewerToolbarKind property to list toolbars/tabs for display. The default property value is All, and the PDF Viewer displays every available toolbar.

• SolutionName.Win\Program.cs

using DevExpress.ExpressApp.Office.Win;
// ...
public class Program {
    public static void Main(string[] arguments) {
        PdfViewerPropertyEditor.DefaultPdfViewerToolbarKind = PdfViewerToolbarKind.Comment;
        // Use the vertical bar (|) to list several toolbars/tabs
        // PdfViewerPropertyEditor.DefaultPdfViewerToolbarKind = PdfViewerToolbarKind.Comment | PdfViewerToolbarKind.Main;
        // ...
    }  
    // ...
}

You can also use the Toolbar Customization menu at runtime. The result is saved to the user’s model differences.