Beware of the situation when a signed assembly with a business type used in the dashboard changes its version

I wanted to inform our Dashboard module users about a situation, which we missed originally:

DashboardObjectDataSource serializer fails to load a data source type when signed assemblies with a changed version are used

As you understand, it may occur only when target business types used in XML dashboard definitions with ObjectDataSource are from signed assemblies and the assembly version changes, e.g. when you deliver a new app version to the client:

 <DataSources>
    <ObjectDataSource ComponentName="dashboardObjectDataSource1">
      <Name>Object Data Source 1</Name>
      <DataSource Type="YourNamespace.YourObjectType, YourAssemblyName, Version=17.1.6498.1953, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=YourPublicKeyToken" />
    </ObjectDataSource>
  </DataSources>

Currently, we recommend XAF application developers try a couple of solutions described in that thread, but they are not final solutions. We are currently reviewing them from the security point of view to make sure that the app won't be broken by passing another non-signed dll. For now, this does not seem to be the case, because business type information is obtained using the ReflectionHelper API from the already loaded assemblies, which are protected by the default .NET mechanisms. We just want to double-check or see if there are more suitable options. Ideally, I wish this to be working transparently for an application developer without the need to resolve any assemblies or types manually.

Your feedback is needed!

Have you experienced this behavior in your Dashboard apps? How do you currently cope with it? If there are existing solutions, share their details and also elaborate on their costs. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

What's New in XAF Help 17.1.3 and 17.1.4

In this post, I would like to provide an overview of the most important additions to XAF documentation introduced after the 17.1 release.

Addition to the VisibleInXXX attributes family for controlling available types and fields in the application UI

With v16.2.6 and v17.1.3, DevExpress.Persistent.Base > VisibleInReportsAttribute  can be applied to a business class property as well. When the VisibleInReports attribute is applied to a business class property, it specifies whether or not the target property is visible in the Report Designer field list.

BTW, with the introduction of the Dashboards Module, VisibleInDashboardsAttribute was added as well. I hope you did not miss it as well.

XAF ASP.NET WebForms v16.2 - Beware of the ArgumentException (An item with the same key has already been added) in Web Dashboards

I want to draw your attention to the T511396: Web Dashboards - ArgumentException - An item with the same key has already been added issue, which is already fixed in XAF for v16.2.7. 

This error can occur if the application model contains different BO Models with the same Caption and is visible in dashboards.

If you came across a similar issue (check the call stack), the highlighted thread contains a simple temporary solution (make captions different or remove the VisibleInDashboardsAttribute from classes that are not required in dashboards)  + hotfix installation.

New and updated help topics in version 16.2.4

Recently, Dennis has published a huge list of changes introduced in XAF documentation in the previous major update (16.2). In this post, I would like to overview another set of changes in XAF documentation introduced with the 16.2.4 minor update of XAF.

New and updated XAF videos

I am glad to announce that the XAF team have published several new videos in DevExpress channel. These videos demonstrate the most attractive features from the What's New in XAF v16.2 list.

XAF Mobile Platform (CTP)

With this video, you can learn how to add a mobile client for your XAF application. This is the updated version of the previously published video. It demonstrates the following mobile enhancements introduced in 16.2

1. New UI layouts optimized for desktop and tablet devices.
2. Improved look and feel.
3. Application Simulator no longer requires an internet connection.
4. 'Active' and 'Enabled' action states are now context-dependent.

DashboardView - Allowing end-users to delete created dashboards via the application UI

In v15.2.4 we have added the DeleteDashboardsController which provides the DeleteDashboard Action. This Action is located in the Tools category and invokes a popup dialog with a list of all dashboard views defined in the user's model differences.

In this popup you can select one or more dashboards and click Delete to remove them. The DeleteDashboardsController.CanDeleteParentGroup property specifies whether or not the dashboard's parent group is deleted when you remove the last dashboard in this group. 

The DeleteDashboard Action is active when there are dashboards that can be deleted and the EnableCreation property of the Options | Dashboards node is set to true in the Application Model.

Previously, it was only possible to manage these user-defined dashboards via the Model Editor or in code. So, I hope you will now be able to enable this feature for your clients without the fear of being overloaded with support calls about removing unwanted stuff.

You can find more information on this XAF feature in the online docs here:

eXpressApp Framework > Task-Based Help > How to: Display Several Views Side-by-Side
eXpressApp Framework > DevExpress.ExpressApp > DashboardView

Embedding custom controls and forms is easy in XAF

Just wanted to remind you of the subject, because of a recent conversation with a customer about the new DevExpress XtraDashboard product:
http://www.devexpress.com/issue=Q449507

I suggest you take another look at the How to show custom forms and controls in XAF (Example) that shows how to implement it yourself.
Of course, XAF provides a ton of other extensibility points and customization approaches. It is easy to use them once you understand the XAF UI construction principles.