Attention: As pointed out by users (thanks shallotx & Octothorpe!) the March 2009 release that was posted on Thursday evening was missing the DatePicker InEnabled=False fix. We've deleted the old release and replaced it with this one, which contains new binaries. See this Discussion thread for more information.

The WPF Toolkit is a collection of WPF features and components that are being made available outside of the normal .NET Framework ship cycle. The WPF Toolkit not only allows users to get new functionality more quickly, but allows an efficient means for giving feedback to the product team. Many of the features will be released with full source code as well. Over time, some of these features may be moved into the .NET Framework, based on readiness and customer feedback.

This is the March 2009 Release of the WPF Toolkit. The WPF Toolkit March 2009 Release includes:

• Fixes for top priority issues and frequent pain points, including:
  • DataGridColumn * width designer crash issue
  • Un-clickable popups in DataGrid RowDetails
  • DatePicker crash when setting IsEnabled to False
  • DatePicker SelectedDate binding is not TwoWay by default
  • And many more!
• The same components as the January 2009 release, including:
  • V1 of the WPF DataGrid
  • V1 of the DatePicker/Calendar
  • Preview of VisualStateManager (VSM)

Note: If after installing the March Update you encounter issues with the Toolkit controls in the Visual Studio Toolbox, please right-click on the Toolbox and select “Reset Toolbox.”

You may also be interested in the following resources:

• Tips & Tricks for using the WPF Toolkit components
• WPF Ribbon Preview download
• Links to Documentation including walkthroughs and hands on labs

Please note: The WPF Toolkit is dependent on .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. You must install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 in order to use any features in the Toolkit.

Instructions for using the WPF Toolkit Preview binaries:

1. Install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
2. If you have a previous version of WPF Toolkit installed, uninstall it through the Remove Programs dialog on the Control Panel (look for "WPF Toolkit October 2008 (Version 3.5.31016.1)" or "WPF Toolkit January 2009 (Version 3.5.40128.1)")
3. Download the WPFToolkit_Binaries or WPFToolkit_BinariesAndSource
4. Run the WPFToolkit.msi to install the WPFToolkit.dll and WPF Toolkit design time binaries to your Program Files folder
5. Reference the binaries in your project:
   1. Reference WPFToolkit.dll in your project
   2. Add a using statement ("using Microsoft.Windows.Controls;") to the top of .cs files
   3. Add a new xmlns (for example, xmlns:toolkit="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wpf/2008/toolkit") to the top of XAML files
      1. Remember to use the namespace prefix (in the above example, <toolkit: ...>) in the body of your XAML