Whats New
Version History
Ver 2.4.0204.20 - April 3, 2020
Fix: Component now installs correctly in the Visual Studio 2017/2019 toolbox.
Fix: Installer issue on Windows 10.
Ver 2.4.1804.2 - April 23, 2018
New: Added Full support for Visual Studio 2015 and 2017 IDE's.
Fix: Installer issue on Windows 10.
Ver 2.4.59444.2 - February 10, 2016
New: Added full support for Visual Studio 2013.
New: Skin editor can now be run stand-alone without an installation.
Fix: Skin Editor share issue with VSSF whilst loading the same skin in another process.
Fix: Skin Editor ControlText color not being applied to the skin preview at design-time.
Ver 2.4.58000.9 - August 11, 2016
New: Added feature to enable shadow on non-skinned forms.
Fix: Memory leak when using Crystal report viewer controls.
Ver 2.4.53000.9 - May 31, 2015
New: Added SkinEnabled and IsSkinEnabled properties to VisualStyler component.
New: Added option to RemoveApplicationSkin to enable complete removal of skin.
New: Added support for non standard sized checkbox /radiobutton.
Fix: Issue on x64 platforms affecting system color hooking at startup.
Fix Control BackgroundImageLayout not working correctly with Stretch.
Fix: VisualStyle property now returns file/resource name of currently loaded skin.
Fix: VisualStylerCodeDom serializer now works as expected when no skin is selected.
Fix: TabControl not drawing keyboard shortcuts.
Ver 2.4.52000.7 - May 3, 2014
Fix: Button style Checkbox now supports background images.
Fix: Button style RadioButton now supports background images.
Fix: Add-In now correctly updates solution with component changes.
Fix: Add-In rules for skinning solutions and projectos are now relaxed.
Ver 2.4.51000.6 - April 7, 2013
New: Added support for ToolStrip grippers.
New: System colors are now hooked even when common Dialog skinning is disabled.
Fix: ComboBox Height issue whern used with skins with large a FixedFrameBorder metric.
Fix: ToolStripRenderer sometimes threw exception when incorrect bounds are used.
Fix: Ghost window issue on WIndows 7 when Aero DWM is enabled.
Fix: Add-in throws exception during Connect method on Visual Studio 2019.
Fix: ListBox skin not honoring ScrollbarsAlwaysVisible property.
Ver 2.4.50000.1 - January 27, 2013
Fix: VisualStyler AddIn now updates solution file correctly under source control.
Fix: AddIn not restoring Form correctly when preview is disabled under VS 2012.
Fix: AddIn not skinning host form when project loaded under VS 2012.
Ver 2.4.180113.1 - January 18, 2013
New: Added full support for Visual Studio 2019.
New: Added 2 new skins; Windows Metro (Blue) and Windows Metro (White).
Fix: DataGridView header text color incorrect, when SkinCommonDialogs is disabled.
Fix: MDI buttons sometimes appear unskinned when system menu is active.
Ver 2.4.0.0 - November 12, 2012
New: Product versioning switched from Assembly File to Assembly versioning.
Fix: Unable to validate license if local security policy had FIPS compliant algorithms enabled.
Ver 2.3.7.8 - October 20, 2012
Fix: Intermittent OverflowException thrown on Windows 7 (x64) platforms.
Fix: CheckedListBox check box appears un-skinned when scrolling.
Fix: TabControl Tab item sometimes clipped by Tab pager arrows.
Fix: Transparent form region visible on MDI containers when Aero is enabled.
Ver 2.3.6.9 - September 27, 2012
New: Improved rendering of navigation bar on Open/Save common dialogs.
Fix: TabControl Tab Images not displaying when using ImageKey lookup.
Fix: MDI parent menu bar still visible after closing all maximized MDI children
Fix: MDI parent caption not reflecting changes when MDI child text changes
Fix: Disabling common dialog skinning now works as expected
Fix: Background color issue with Windows 8 MessageBox
Fix: Text layout issue when using TextImageRelation and non standard skin fonts
Ver 2.3.5.0 - July 3, 2012
New: Added 4 new skins, Office 2010 Blue,Royale Zune,Royale Black, Royale Indigo.
New: Skin Editor now renders preview for ToolStrip, MenuStrip and StatusStrip controls.
New: Skin Editor now previews disabled text for TextBox, ComboBox and ListBox.
Fix: Scrollbars with a range greater than 100,000,000 would throw an overflow exception.
Fix: winforms DrawToBitmap method would not render skinned scrollbars.
Fix: Maximized MDI child is clipped when using skins with non standard border sizes.
Fix: Caption buttons not correctly hit tested on skins with non standard button widths.
Fix: Scrollbars on multiline TextBox not visible after removing skin.
Ver 2.3.3.3 - February 3, 2012
New: Installer now detects all Visual Studio Express editions.
Fix: Text with over hanging glyphs was clipped on an Auto size Checkbox.
Fix: DataGridView sometimes threw NullReferenceException on non themed platforms.
Fix: GC Forms that were not correctly disposed threw exception in Skin Engine finalizer.
Ver 2.3.0 - October 4, 2011
Fix: Skinned colors failed to refresh correctly under .NET framework v4.0.
Fix: Skin Engine sometimes threw Dib buffer exception with non valid rectangles.
Ver 2.2.9 - September 25, 2011
New: Enhanced skin support for ComponentOne controls.
New: Updated designer task pane with additional settings.
Fix: Added support for Aero transition animations on all forms.
Ver 2.2.7 - September 22, 2011
New: Form rendering is now optimized for the Aero desktop composition engine.
New: Added support for Aero transition animations on all forms.
New: Added support for panel icons on the winforms StatusBar control.
New: Added support for obtaining skinned colors at design-time, i.e custom controls etc.
Fix: Button focus cues incorrect when text is clipped and AutoEllipsis is enabled.
Fix: C1 TrueDbGridDropDownControl would display captioned Toolwindow.
Fix: Forms sometimes appeared transparent when Aero Theme is enabled.
Fix: Performance issue with a large number of transparent controls on a Tab page.
Ver 2.2.0 - April 19, 2011
New: Enhanced ToolStrip skinning to support Office XP color schemes.
New: Installers now include Visual Studio 2010 sample projects.
New: Now supports NET 3.5 and NET 4.0 Client Framework deployment.
Fix: License manager would sometimes fail to load on some platform environments.
Ver 2.1.8.1 - March 8, 2011
New: Updated internal licensing to use new registration method.
New: Enhanced support for ComponentOne winforms control suite.
New: Improved Visual Style Hook engine, now skins most of the UxTheme classes.
New: DataGridView row and column headers now skinned on non themed platforms.
New: Incorporated Form clipping optimizations to reduce flicker.
Fix: ToolTip threw exception when balloon style is enabled.
Fix: DataGridView threw exeption when running on non-themed platforms.
Fix: TabControl threw IndexOutOfRange exception when inserting Tabs at runtime.
Fix: ToolStrip Renderer not using item text color when assigned system color.
Ver 2.1.4 - July 6, 2010
New: Add-in now supports Visual Studio 2010 IDE.
New: Add-in now works with C++ Windows Forms.Net projects.
New: Add-in now synchronizes with VisualStyler appearance settings.
Fix: Not rendering correct font styles when UseSystemFonts property is enabled.
Fix: Message box buttons rendered with wrong background when using certains skins.
Ver 2.0.9 - June 9, 2010
New: Added design-time support for Visual Studio 2010.
New: Improved rendering of skinned thumbnail snapshots.
New: Focus cues can now be disabled using the ShowFocusCues property.
Fix: ToolStripSplitButtton skinned with wrong ToolStripStyle setting.
Fix: Form caption text not displaying mnemonic characters.
Fix: Dependancy on System.Design now removed allowing client framework deployment.
Fix: Intermittent white background region on system OpenFileDialog.
Fix: Shadow shows transparent pixels when using very curved borders.
Fix: Issue on some x64 platforms when resizing child forms.
Fix: Thumbnail preview not rendering controls on Windows XP SP1.
Fix: FontDialog font lists would disappear when losing focus on Windows XP.
Ver 2.0.0 - April 9, 2010
New: Skin Editor Tool updated to version 2.1.0.
New: Help now integrated into Visual Studio 2005, 2008 and Express editions.
New: Now supports the Visual Basic power pack shape controls.
New: Improved the conversion rate for some 3rd party Visual Styles.
New: Added new thumbnail previews to all skin browser and import dialogs.
Fix: Design-time skin not refreshed when changing skin using Browse Styles task.
Fix: Hook DLL would sometimes fail to load when running on Windows 7 x64.
Fix: New Minimized Form would not activate correctly when Aero theme is enabled.
Ver 1.9.2 - March 17, 2010
New: Added support for non-regular Form border widths.
New: Various performance improvements to internal skin engine.
New: Added support for bottom aligned tabs on winforms TabControl.
New: Added support for CS_NOCLOSE class style on forms, to disable close button.
Fix: Forms close button not disabled when using CS_NOCLOSE class style.
Fix: Maximizing a form would not honor a forms MaximumSize property.
Ver 1.9.0.8 - February 11, 2010
Fix: DateTimePicker drop down button rendered incorrectly on Windows XP.
Fix: Rendering of MDI child control box incorrect for Aero skins.
New: Improved rendering of ToolWindows when using Office 2007 skins.
Ver 1.8.7 - January 21, 2010
New: Added support for winforms FlatStyles on all applicable controls.
New: Now supports all undocumented winforms captionless form modes.
New: Improved visual style rendering for DateTimePicker and ComboBox controls.
Fix: Several minor bugs in the HowTo guide sample projects.
Fix: TrackBar Thumb rendered incorrectly with some visual styles.
Fix: Form AcceptButton not correctly highlighted under certain instances.
Fix: Native ContextMenu shown at incorrect position when not parented to a form.
Fix: MessageBox Close button shows enabled when created without OK/Cancel buttons.
Fix: TextBox with FixedSingle border style not rendered correctly on themed OS.
Ver 1.7.7 - October 6, 2009
New: Now skins the winforms Splitter control.
Fix: iTune skin contained incorrect images for disabled scrollbar parts.
Fix: ProgessBar would not render full range on skins that use chunk spacing.
Fix: Minor cosmetic issue with forms where only the close button is visible.
Fix: Drop down ComboBox would not display scrollbars in certain scenarios.
Fix: winforms DateTimePicker border rendered incorrectly under Windows XP.
Fix: System control box visible in some scenarios when running on non-themed OS.
Ver 1.6.4 - September 15, 2009
New: Improved engine core now detects dynamic changes to form border styles.
New: Improved skinning of the winforms ToolStrip and MenuStrip controls.
New: Improved support for native MainMenu component including menu wrapping.
New: winforms TrackBar control now skins with full transparency.
Fix: InvalidCastException thrown when using TargetControls.Forms skin mode.
Fix: Highlight color on selectable controls now skins correctly on all platforms.
Fix: Sizable maximized form caption clipped by monitor under Windows Vista.
Fix: Sizable maximized form overlapped secondary monitor under Windows Vista.
Fix: Incorrect padding applied to TextBox client area, when using certain skins.
Fix: System drawing hooks now skin ControlPaint.DrawBorder3D correctly.
Fix: Button text would clip when skinning buttons less than 18 pixels in height.
Fix: Unable to import certain msstyles which contain invalid entries or color schemes.
Fix: Add-in ToolBar always disabled when running under certain language locales.
Fix: Skin file definitions not recognized when running under certain language locales.
Ver 1.4.9 - July 7, 2009
New: Now supports controls derived or subclassed from any windows forms control.
New: Improved compatibility with 3rd party ActiveX common dialogs controls.
Fix: Add-in toolbar issue when installing 3rd party components after VisualStyler
setup.
Fix: Closing main form inside the forms Load event threw ObjectDisposed Exception.
Fix: MessageBox client rendered with wrong background color on Windows 7 platform.
Fix: Glyphs on MDI controlbox and system menu toolstrips not rendered transparent.
Fix: Focus rectangle drawn incorrectly on controls with no visible text.
Fix: winforms DataGridView would scroll twice when using scroll buttons.
Ver 1.4.3 - Apr 30, 2009
New: Added support for skinned Marquee style winforms ProgressBar.
New: Now supports background images on MDI container forms.
New: Improved rendering of ToolStrips when using system ToolStripStyle.
Fix: Unable to perform TextBox copy / paste when used on MDI child forms.
Fix: Minor issue with thumb layout on winforms Scrollbar controls.
Fix: Unable to perform layout action on MDI child forms in an MDI container.
Fix: Unable to customize ForeColor and BackColor in in winforms TextBox.
Ver 1.3.9 - Apr 16, 2009
New: Added 13 new skins including new Vista, Aero, Office and Mac styles.
New: Now skins CrystalReportViewer, Microsoft ReportViewer and C1FlexGrid controls.
New: Now skins all controls at design-time including all DataGrid controls.
New: Improved design-time tagging allowing selective skinning of any control.
New: Improved skin support for 3rd-party controls and scrollbars.
New: Improved skin rendering of system OpenFile and SaveFile dialogs.
New: How-To guide sample application demonstrating common VisualStyler tasks.
New: Various improvements to built-in style browser and import dialogs.
Fix: Bug in ListView Header control sometimes throwing a DIB Buffer exception.
Fix: Bug in winforms ListView control affecting Style browser dialog.
Fix: Child forms with a FormBorderStyle.None now skin correctly.
Fix: Scrollbars not skinned or visible on CrystalReportViewer control.
Fix: Scrollbars not visible on TabPage control when AutoScroll is active.
Fix: MainMenu items were misaligned when changing skin or updating menu.
Fix: Form shadow not restored when re-applying skin when previously removed.
Fix: Design-time Add-in not activated when opening skinned solution from shortcut.
Fix: Not showing keyboard shortcut cues at design-time on applicable controls.
Ver 1.2.2 - Feb 26, 2009
New: Added support for three stunning new ToolStrip rendering styles.
New: Enhanced ToolStrip rendering now supports visual style color schemes.
New: Now skins the winforms MainMenu component, including design-time support.
New: Full design-time skinning of ToolStrip, StatusStrip and MenuStrip controls.
New: Dialog to enable clients to browse, preview and select new skins at runtime.
New: Dialog to enable clients to import new msstyles and visual styles at runtime.
New: Added support for TextImageRelation property on all applicable controls.
New: Added support for skinned hot tab states in the winforms TabControl.
New: Now supports custom background painting for Forms, Panels and UserControls.
New: Added Optimized shadow rendering mode for improved performance.
New: Added several advanced properties to control skin engine behavior.
Fix: Form caption text rendered in wrong color when form is un-skinned.
Fix: ComboBox hot states rendered incorrectly when using certain visual styles.
Fix: ToolBar skinned incorrectly when using flat appearance style.
Fix: RemoveSkin method throws exception when used on a form.
Fix: ToolStrips now skin correctly under non-themed OS such as Windows 2000.
Fix: ListBox border rendered incorrectly when using certain visual styles.
Fix: Skin conflicts with control designers when editing ToolStrips at design-time.
Ver 1.0.6 - Nov 11, 2008
New: Improved caption layout when using styles with rectangular caption buttons.
Fix: VisualStyler add-in would not work with certain types of solution projects.
Fix: Combo box button rendered incorrectly when using certain type of visual styles.
Fix: Minor issue when using VisualStyler add-in on Vista with DWM composition
enabled.
Ver 1.0.0 - Oct 23, 2008
Whats
New: VisualStyler 1.0.0 is released.