Devexpress components

Skill delphicleancode/delphi-spec-kit/.claude/skills/devexpress-components

An opinionated ecosystem of rules, skills, and steerings to elevate Delphi development to a state-of-the-art level with Artificial Intelligence.

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npx -y skills add delphicleancode/delphi-spec-kit --skill devexpress-components

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Standards for using DevExpress (DEXT) components in Delphi VCL applications

SKILL.md

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DevExpress (DEXT) Components — Skill

Use this skill when developing rich interfaces with DevExpress (DEXT) components for Delphi VCL.

When to Use

When creating advanced grids with TcxGrid
When using TcxDBTreeList for hierarchical structures
When implementing layout managers (TdxLayoutControl)
When customizing skins and themes

Main Components

Component	Usage	Prefix
`TcxGrid`	Advanced grid with grouping, filters, summaries	`grd`
`TcxGridDBTableView`	Data-aware tabular view	`tvw`
`TcxGridDBBandedTableView`	View with grouped bands/columns	`btvw`
`TcxGridDBCardView`	Card view	`cvw`
`TcxDBTreeList`	TreeList data-aware	`trl`
`TdxLayoutControl`	Responsive layout manager	`lyt`
`TdxLayoutGroup`	Grupo dentro de layout	`lgrp`
`TdxLayoutItem`	Item within layout	`litm`
`TcxDBTextEdit`	Edit text data-aware	`edt`
`TcxDBComboBox`	ComboBox data-aware	`cmb`
`TcxDBDateEdit`	Date picker data-aware	`dte`
`TcxDBCurrencyEdit`	Data-aware currency editor	`cur`
`TcxDBCheckBox`	Checkbox data-aware	`chk`
`TcxDBLookupComboBox`	Lookup combo data-aware	`lcb`
`TcxDBMemo`	Memo data-aware	`mmo`
`TdxBarManager`	Toolbar/ribbon	`bar`
`TdxRibbon`	Ribbon UI	`rbn`
`TdxNavBar`	Navigation Bar	`nav`
`TdxSkinController`	Skin controller	`skn`
`TcxPageControl`	Advanced PageControl	`pgc`
`TcxGroupBox`	Styled GroupBox	`grp`

TcxGrid Configuration

//Programmatic column creation
procedure TfrmCustomerList.ConfigureGrid;
var
  LView: TcxGridDBTableView;
begin
  LView := grdCustomers.Views[0] as TcxGridDBTableView;
  LView.DataController.DataSource := dsCustomers;

  //Configure behavior
  LView.OptionsData.Editing := False;        //Read only
  LView.OptionsData.Deleting := False;
  LView.OptionsData.Inserting := False;
  LView.OptionsView.GroupByBox := True;       //Visual grouping
  LView.OptionsView.Footer := True;          //Footer with summaries
  LView.OptionsView.Indicator := True;       //Line indicator
  LView.OptionsCustomize.ColumnFiltering := True;
  LView.OptionsCustomize.ColumnSorting := True;
  LView.OptionsSelection.MultiSelect := True;

  //Configure columns individually
  ConfigureColumn(LView.GetColumnByFieldName('name'), 'Nome', 200);
  ConfigureColumn(LView.GetColumnByFieldName('cpf'), 'CPF', 120);
  ConfigureColumn(LView.GetColumnByFieldName('email'), 'E-mail', 250);
end;

procedure TfrmCustomerList.ConfigureColumn(
  AColumn: TcxGridDBColumn; const ACaption: string; AWidth: Integer);
begin
  if not Assigned(AColumn) then Exit;
  AColumn.Caption := ACaption;
  AColumn.Width := AWidth;
  AColumn.HeaderAlignmentHorz := taCenter;
end;

Summaries in the Grid

//Footer Summary
procedure ConfigureFooterSummary(AView: TcxGridDBTableView);
var
  LSummary: TcxGridDBTableSummaryItem;
begin
  AView.DataController.Summary.FooterSummaryItems.Clear;

  LSummary := AView.DataController.Summary.FooterSummaryItems.Add
    as TcxGridDBTableSummaryItem;
  LSummary.FieldName := 'value';
  LSummary.Kind := skSum;
  LSummary.Format := 'Total: R$ #,##0.00';
  LSummary.Column := AView.GetColumnByFieldName('value');

  LSummary := AView.DataController.Summary.FooterSummaryItems.Add
    as TcxGridDBTableSummaryItem;
  LSummary.FieldName := 'id';
  LSummary.Kind := skCount;
  LSummary.Format := 'Registros: %d';
  LSummary.Column := AView.GetColumnByFieldName('name');
end;

TdxLayoutControl (Responsive Layout)

//Form organization with LayoutControl
//Advantages: responsive, automatically repositions, consistent look

procedure TfrmCustomerEdit.ConfigureLayout;
begin
  lytMain.BeginUpdate;
  try
    //Personal data group
    lgrpPersonal.Caption := 'Dados Pessoais';
    lgrpPersonal.LayoutDirection := ldHorizontal;

    //Address group
    lgrpAddress.Caption := 'Endereço';
    lgrpAddress.LayoutDirection := ldHorizontal;

    //Configure items
    litmName.Control := edtName;
    litmName.CaptionOptions.Text := 'Nome:';
    litmName.CaptionOptions.Width := 80;
  finally
    lytMain.EndUpdate;
  end;
end;

Skinning / Themes

//Apply skin globally
uses
  dxSkinsCore,
  dxSkinOffice2019Colorful;  //Specific skin

procedure TfrmMain.ApplySkin;
begin
  //Via SkinController (recommended)
  sknController.NativeStyle := False;
  sknController.SkinName := 'Office2019Colorful';

  //OR programmatically
  cxLookAndFeelController.NativeStyle := False;
  cxLookAndFeelController.SkinName := 'Office2019Colorful';
end;

//Skins populares: 'Office2019Colorful', 'WXI', 'Metropolis',
//'MetropolisDark', 'TheBezier', 'Fluent', 'Office2019DarkGray'

Filters in the Grid

//Programmatic filter
procedure TfrmCustomerList.ApplyFilter(const AField, AValue: string);
var
  LView: TcxGridDBTableView;
begin
  LView := grdCustomers.Views[0] as TcxGridDBTableView;
  LView.DataController.Filter.Root.Clear;
  LView.DataController.Filter.Root.AddItem(
    LView.GetColumnByFieldName(AField),
    foLike,
    '%' + AValue + '%',
    AValue
  );
  LView.DataController.Filter.Active := True;
end;

//Clean filter
procedure TfrmCustomerList.ClearFilter;
begin
  (grdCustomers.Views[0] as TcxGridDBTableView)
    .DataController.Filter.Root.Clear;
end;

Grid Export

uses
  cxGridExportLink;

//Export to Excel
procedure TfrmCustomerList.ExportToExcel;
begin
  cxGridExportLink.ExportGridToXLSX(
    'customers.xlsx',
    grdCustomers,
    False,   // AExpand
    True,    //AUseNativeFormat
    True     //AShowProgress
  );
end;

//Export to PDF
procedure TfrmCustomerList.ExportToPDF;
begin
  cxGridExportLink.ExportGridToPDF(
    'customers.pdf',
    grdCustomers
  );
end;

DEXT Conventions

Appearance	Convention
Prefixes	Follow the table above (`grd`, `tvw`, `lyt`, etc.)
Skins	Use `TdxSkinController` in the main form
Layout	Prefer `TdxLayoutControl` to manual positioning
Grid	Configure at `FormCreate`, never at design-time for dynamic columns
Filters	Use `DataController.Filter` — do not filter via SQL when possible
Summaries	Configure `FooterSummaryItems` instead of calculating manually
Exports	Use `cxGridExportLink` — do not redeploy export

Checklist for DEXT Projects

TdxSkinController configured in the main form?
Grids configured with OptionsData (read-only when appropriate)?
Footer summaries configured with BR formats (R$ #,##0.00)?
TdxLayoutControl used for editing forms?
Grid columns with Caption, Width and Alignment?
Filters using DataController.Filter (not SQL)?
Export via cxGridExportLink?
Component prefixes following the standard table?