vcl-403745-expresseditors-vcl-editors-overview.md
The VCL ExpressEditors Library includes a variety of controls that can be divided into the following five categories:
EditorsData input controls you can use in two modes – as standalone or in-place editors. As in-place editors, you can embed them into the Data Grid, Tree List, Ribbon, menus, and other controls.ControlsA multi-purpose control library that includes more advanced versions of standard controls as well as unique controls not available in the default RAD Studio toolbox.Utility ComponentsNon-visual components that help you enhance an application’s UI.Shell ComponentsSkinnable editors and dialogs that allow you to add the shell navigation functionality to your application.Skinnable Message BoxesMessage box dialogs that support the DevExpress Skin Engine.
The ExpressEditors Library includes over 40 editor types you can use as standalone controls or in-place editors in container controls (Data Grid, Tree List, Vertical Grid, Pivot Grid, Ribbon, menus, etc.). The majority of editors in this category are shipped in unbound and data-aware versions.
A barcode control is designed to generate and display a barcode or QR code from a source text string. Barcode controls support 13 barcode types.
TdxBarCodeAn unbound barcode control.TdxDBBarCodeA data-aware barcode control.
A BLOB (Binary Large Object) editor can display an image or text in a drop-down window.
TcxBlobEditThe BLOB editor.TcxDBBlobEditRepresents a data-aware control used for displaying and editing BLOB data from a data source.
A calculator editor is a numeric editor with a pop-up calculator.
TcxCalcEditAn editor with a dropdown calculator window.TcxDBCalcEditRepresents a data-aware control that enables editing a value via a popup calculator.
A check box corresponds to an option, and can be in checked, unchecked, and grayed states. You can use a check group if it is possible to interpret the target edit value as a set of options.
TcxCheckBoxAn unbound check box editor.TcxDBCheckBoxA data-aware check box editor.
TcxCheckGroupAn editor displaying a set of check boxes.TcxDBCheckGroupRepresents a data-aware check group control.
A color editor allows users to pick a color from a color gallery embedded into a drop-down window.
TdxColorEditAn editor that allows users to pick a color from a color gallery embedded into a dropdown window.TdxDBColorEditA data-aware color editor control.
A color gallery displays a palette from which users can pick a color. This gallery ships with a number of built-in palettes, including those found in Microsoft Office®.
TdxColorGalleryAn unbound color gallery control.TdxDBColorGalleryA data-aware color gallery control.
A simple combo box allows users to select an option in a drop-down list. A check combo box enables users to select multiple options simultaneously.
TcxComboBoxAn unbound combo box.TcxDBComboBoxA data-aware combo box.
TcxColorComboBoxRepresents a color combo box control.TcxDBColorComboBoxRepresents the data-aware version of the TcxColorComboBox.
TcxImageComboBoxAn unbound combo box with support for images.TcxDBImageComboBoxA data-aware image combo box.
TcxCheckComboBoxAn unbound combo box editor that can display items with check boxes.TcxDBCheckComboBoxA data-aware combo box editor that can display items with check boxes.
A currency editor is a simple numeric editor designed to work with monetary values.
TcxCurrencyEditAn unbound currency editor.TcxDBCurrencyEditA data-aware currency editor.
A date editor is an edit control with a drop-down calendar. The editor also allows users to adjust time in addition to the date selection functionality.
TcxDateEdit TcxDateEdit is an edit control with a dropdown calendar.TcxDBDateEditRepresents a data-aware edit control with a dropdown calendar that enables editing date values.
A date/time wheel picker is a touch-friendly editor that can display and change a TDateTime value.
TdxDateTimeWheelPickerAn unbound date-time wheel picker editor.TdxDBDateTimeWheelPickerA data-aware date-time wheel picker editor.
This label control can format its text based on BBCode-inspired tags. You can use the built-in Formatted Label Editor to specify markup code.
TdxFormattedLabelAn unbound formatted label control.TdxDBFormattedLabelA data-aware formatted label control.
A hyperlink editor is a single-line text editor that displays its content as a hyperlink. The editor can start the default system browser to open a hyperlink when a user clicks it.
TcxHyperlinkEditAn unbound hyperlink editor.TcxDBHyperlinkEditA data-aware hyperlink editor.
An image editor is designed to store and display an image. Users can open a context menu to manage and edit images.
TcxImageAn unbound image editor.TcxDBImageA data-aware image editor.
A lookup combo box combines the functionality of a lookup grid and a combo box.
TcxLookupComboBoxRepresents a lookup combo box control.TcxDBLookupComboBoxRepresents a data-aware editor displaying a set of values from a lookup dataset used for editing values in another dataset.
TcxExtLookupComboBoxRepresents a lookup editor displaying a grid View in its dropdown window.TcxDBExtLookupComboBoxRepresents a control to edit a dataset field by picking up a record in its dropdown data-aware View.
A memo editor is a multi-line text box.
TcxMemoRepresents an edit control that allows editing memo data.TcxDBMemoRepresents a memo editor that enables editing dataset fields.
A numeric wheel picker is a touch-friendly spin editor for integer values.
TdxNumericWheelPickerAn unbound numeric value wheel picker editor.TdxDBNumericWheelPickerA data-aware numeric value wheel picker editor.
The Office Search Box editor is an auxiliary UI element inspired by the Tell Me search box found in Microsoft Office® applications. The Office Search Box simplifies command search in a complex Ribbon or Toolbar UI. You can use a TdxOfficeSearchBox editor as a standalone UI element or embed the editor into a toolbar item container (TcxBarEditItem).
A pop-up editor is a single-line text editor that allows you to embed other controls into a pop-up window. Users can work with embedded controls in the same way as with standalone controls.
TcxPopupEditRepresents a text editor that enables embedding another control in its popup window.TcxDBPopupEditRepresents a data-aware text editor with a popup window embedding a control.
A progress bar gradually fills from left to right or from bottom to top, depending on its orientation.
TcxProgressBarRepresents an advanced progress bar control.TcxDBProgressBarRepresents the data-aware version of the TcxProgressBar.
A radio group is a container for radio buttons that allow users to switch between available options.
TcxRadioGroupA container for radio buttons, functioning together.TcxDBRadioGroupRepresents a data-aware version of the radio group control.TcxRadioGroupItemRepresents an individual radio button in a radio group.
A range track bar editor is a track bar editor that displays two sliders (also called thumbs) to select a range of values on its bar.
TdxRangeTrackBarAn unbound range track bar editor.TdxDBRangeTrackBarA data-aware range track bar editor.
A rating control allows users to rate content. Rating controls support custom element images.
TdxRatingControlAn unbound rating control.TdxDBRatingControlA data-aware rating control.
Rich text editors allow users to edit rich-formatted text.
TcxRichEditRepresents an edit control which allows rich text to be edited.TcxDBRichEditRepresents a data-aware version of the TcxRichEdit control.
Tip
The DevExpress VCL Subscription ships with a separate Rich Edit Control that allows you to create fully functional word processing applications.
Single-line text editors allow users to edit a non-formatted string value. Different single-line editor types offer additional functionality, such as input masks, extra buttons, etc.
TcxButtonEditAn unbound single-line text editor with embedded buttons.TcxDBButtonEditA data-aware single-line text editor with embedded buttons.TcxMaskEdit TcxMaskEdit implements a generic masked edit control.TcxDBMaskEditRepresents a masked editor that enables displaying and editing text fields within a dataset.TcxMRUEditRepresents a text editor displaying the list of most recently used items (MRU) within a dropdown window.TcxDBMRUEditRepresents a data-aware text editor that stores the list of most recently used items and allows the selection of a value from this list.TcxTextEditAn unbound single-line text editor.TcxDBTextEditA data-aware single-line text editor.
A sparkline is a small line, point, area, or bar chart designed to visualize data as a condensed graph without axes and additional inscriptions. Sparklines are particularly useful as in-place editors if you need to display trends in a container control.
TdxSparklineEditAn unbound sparkline editor.TdxDBSparklineEditA data-aware sparkline editor.
TdxLookupSparklineEditA lookup sparkline editor.TdxDBLookupSparklineEditA data-aware lookup sparkline editor.
A spin editor allows users to enter a numeric value directly or adjust it with spin buttons. The Up and Down spin buttons increment and decrement the edit value by a specified amount.
TcxSpinEditRepresents a spin editor.TcxDBSpinEditRepresents a spin editor, which enables editing numerical dataset fields.
A time editor allows users to change the selected time value digit directly or adjust a time value with spin buttons. The Up and Down spin buttons increment and decrement the time value at the input caret position.
TcxTimeEditRepresents an editor displaying time values.TcxDBTimeEditRepresents a data-aware editor which enables editing time values.
A toggle switch is designed as a touch-friendly check box version. The thumb position corresponds to a check state.
TdxToggleSwitchAn unbound toggle switch editor.TdxDBToggleSwitchA data-aware toggle switch editor.
Token editors validate user input and convert matching words (substrings) into tokens (clickable boxes designed to display a caption and an image).
Track bars display a thumb that users can drag within the scale to select a numeric value within a specific range. All DevExpress track bar editors support multiple mouse/touch and keyboard-based user interaction options.
Simple track bar editors.
TdxZoomTrackBar | TdxDBZoomTrackBar
Advanced track bar editors with two different scales for more granular positioning (similar to a zoom slider found in Microsoft Office® applications).
This section lists more advanced versions of standard controls as well as unique controls not available in the default RAD Studio toolbox.
An activity indicator displays animation during ongoing events with an unknown duration. Use the activity indicator together with a label to display the status of such events.
An advanced variant of the standard VCL TButton component can work in the following modes:
Standard Mode
The button behaves identically to the standard VCL button.
Menu Mode
The button opens an associated drop-down menu.
Drop-Down Button Mode
The button displays an additional drop-down button that opens an associated menu. A click on the main button executes an OnClick event handler.
Command Link Mode
The button mimics the appearance of command links found in Microsoft Windows® Vista native applications. The button can display an additional description.
Office Drop-Down Mode
The button mimics the appearance and behavior of buttons with drop-down menus found in Microsoft Office® 2010 and later versions. A click on the button opens an associated drop-down menu.
Refer to the TcxButton class description for details.
The camera control allows you to capture a video or an image from a built-in or connected camera. The camera control displays the selected camera’s feed.
Refer to the following topic for details: Camera Preview Dialog.
The gallery control displays a set of items categorized into groups and arranged into columns.
Refer to the following topics for details:
The List View control allows a user to display items vertically or horizontally and arrange them in groups and columns. Each item can show its caption, subitems, images, check box, and hint. The control supports look & feel settings common to all DevExpress VCL controls. These settings allow you to keep application appearance consistent for all UI elements.
A range control is designed to help users select intervals and data ranges. The range control supports the following data range models:
Allows users to select ranges of integer, float, or currency values.
Allows users to select value ranges on a single predefined scale with formatted TDateTime values.
Allows users to select TDateTime value ranges on various predefined scales in different measurement units.
Allows users to select and display ranges of TDateTime values in the TcxScheduler control associated with the range control.
Refer to the following topics for details:
The Tree View control allows a user to display data in nodes with customizable captions, images, check boxes, and hints. The control supports look & feel settings common to all DevExpress VCL controls. These settings allow you to keep applications appearance consistent for all UI elements.
A wheel picker is a touch-friendly multi-choice editor.
Refer to the following topic for details: Wheel Picker Editors.
This section lists non-visual components that help you enhance an application’s UI.
The Alert Window Manager is a non-visual component that arranges alert windows on screen, and sets their timing, animations, and look & feel settings. Use this component to display on-screen notifications such as those from messenger and e-mail clients.
Refer to the following topics for details:
The UI adorner manager is a non-visual component designed to display the following adorner layers on top of the target form:
Displays custom marks anchored to specific UI elements.
Highlights specific UI elements or regions. Users can navigate between outlined regions called guides. The currently selected guide removes the darkening effect from the target UI element:
This section lists components that allow you to add the shell navigation functionality to your application.
A shell combo box allows users to specify file paths and browse folder structure. Users can type the path within the editor box or display the editor’s drop-down window to display the folder tree:
TcxShellComboBoxA Shell Combo Box editor.TcxDBShellComboBoxRepresents the data-aware version of the shell combo box control.
A shell breadcrumb editor offers the shell navigation functionality out-of-the-box. You can use this editor to complement shell combo box editors.
TdxBreadcrumbEditImplements the virtual breadcrumb control.TdxDBBreadcrumbEditImplements the data-aware breadcrumb control.TdxShellBreadcrumbEditA Shell Breadcrumb control.
The ExpressEditors Library ships with the following set of skinnable counterparts for standard VCL shell dialog components:
| DevExpress Component | Standard Component | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TdxOpenFileDialog | TOpenDialog | An Open dialog component. |
| TdxSaveFileDialog | TSaveDialog | A Save As dialog component. |
| TdxOpenPictureDialog | TOpenPictureDialog | An Open dialog component for image files. |
| TdxSavePictureDialog | TSavePictureDialogs | A Save As dialog component for image files. |
You can use these components to keep your application appearance consistent for all UI elements, including shell dialogs:
Note
All DevExpress controls with the built-in Windows shell navigation functionality (such as Spreadsheet and Rich Edit controls) use skinnable shell dialogs. If you prefer standard system dialogs, set the dxUseStandardShellDialogs global constant to True.
All DevExpress products use the TdxMessageDialogForm class to display message dialog boxes with support for skins and BBCode-inspired markup tags:
The ExpressEditors Library includes multiple global methods that display skinnable message boxes. Refer to the following topic for a full list of available methods and their standard counterparts: Message Dialog Boxes.