# TX Text Control Supports .NET 8 in Windows Forms and WPF Applications > At the .NET Conf 2023, Microsoft officially announced .NET 8, which is the next long term support (LTS) release after .NET 6. We are thrilled to announce that our Windows Forms and WPF products now fully support the latest version of .NET. - **Author:** Bjoern Meyer - **Published:** 2024-01-17 - **Modified:** 2025-11-16 - **Description:** At the .NET Conf 2023, Microsoft officially announced .NET 8, which is the next long term support (LTS) release after .NET 6. We are thrilled to announce that our Windows Forms and WPF products now fully support the latest version of .NET. - **6 min read** (1075 words) - **Tags:** - Windows Forms - WPF - .NET 8 - **Web URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/01/17/tx-text-control-supports-net-8-in-windows-forms-and-wpf-applications/ - **LLMs URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/01/17/tx-text-control-supports-net-8-in-windows-forms-and-wpf-applications/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/01/17/tx-text-control-supports-net-8-in-windows-forms-and-wpf-applications/llms-full.txt --- We are thrilled to announce that our Windows Forms and WPF products now fully support the latest version of .NET. At the , Microsoft officially announced .NET 8. At the [.NET Conf 2023](https://www.dotnetconf.net/), Microsoft made the official announcement of .NET 8. This new version is the LTS successor to .NET 6 and comes with 3 years of free support and patches. ![.NET 8 release schedule](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/release-schedule.svg ".NET 8 release schedule") All update notes and especially the performance improvements can be found in a very detailed blog post by Stephen Toub. [Performance Improvements in .NET 8](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/performance-improvements-in-net-8/) TX Text Control .NET 32.0 SP2 (Windows Forms and WPF) supports .NET 8 applications and we have tested our libraries with early versions and the final release version. ### Memory and Performance Improvements To see how the memory footprint and performance improved, we created a simple *Windows Forms App* to test the new version. #### Creating the Project 1. Open Visual Studio 2022 and create a new project. Select *C#* or *Visual Basic* from the *Languages* drop-down list, *Windows* from the *Platform list* and *Desktop* as the *Project Type.* Find the project template *Windows Forms App* and confirm with *Next*. ![Windows Forms](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/visual_studio1.webp "Windows Forms") 2. Specify a project name confirm with *Next*. 3. Select your preferred *Framework* version such as *.NET 8 (Long-term support)* and confirm with *Create*. ### Adding the Control 1. Select the project in the *Solution Explorer* and click *Project -> Manage NuGet Packages...* from the main menu. 2. Select *Text Control Offline Packages* as the *Package source* and click *Browse*. 3. Select **TXTextControl.TextControl.WinForms.SDK** and click *Install*. ![Windows Forms](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/visual_studio2.webp "Windows Forms") 4. In the *Solution Explorer*, open the form *Form1* and find the **TX Text Control 32.0** tab in the *Toolbox*. ![Windows Forms](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/visual_studio3.webp "Windows Forms") 5. Select the icon *TextControl* and draw it onto the opened form. > **.NET 8 Compatible Licensing** > > You will notice a new file created by the NuGet package called *txtextcontrol.winforms.license*. The licensing mechanism has been updated to be independent of .NET and existing licensing mechanisms. Version 32.0 SP2 no longer uses the .NET license compiler (lc.exe), so entries in the licenses.licx file are no longer required. > > ![Windows Forms](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/license.webp "Windows Forms") ### Additional Functionality 1. Select *Form1.cs* in the *Solution Explorer* and choose *Designer* from the *View* main menu. 2. Find the *Button* in the toolbox and draw it onto the form. ![Windows Forms](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/license2.webp "Windows Forms") 3. Double-click the button to create the *Click* event handler. Add the following code to the *Click* event handler: ``` private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { textControl1.Load("App_Data/invoice.tx", TXTextControl.StreamType.InternalUnicodeFormat); var jsonData = System.IO.File.ReadAllText("App_Data/data.json"); using (var mailMerge = new MailMerge { TextComponent = textControl1 }) { mailMerge.MergeJsonData(jsonData, true); } } ``` 4. Create a folder named *App\_Data* in the root of your project. Copy the files contained in [this ZIP](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/files.zip) file into this folder. #### Executing the Application When the button is clicked, the MailMerge class is used to merge the JSON data into a template, which is then returned to the editor. The Visual Studio *Diagnostic Tools* are used to monitor memory usage and document merge time. These values will be compared to the same application that is running with .NET 6. Start the application by pressing *F5* and click the inserted button. The document is loaded and the merge process is started. The following screenshots shows the memory usage and the merge time: #### .NET 8 In .NET 8, the maximum amount of memory that the application will use is 41 MB or process memory. The *ServerGarbageCollection* option is set to false for this demo. More information on the differences is available here: [Workstation and server garbage collection](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/garbage-collection/workstation-server-gc). The time it takes to load the template, merge the JSON data, and export the document, resulting in a 25-page document, is approximately 2.5 seconds. ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/visualstudio3.webp "Memory usage and merge time") #### .NET 6 The same application running with .NET 6 uses 43 MB of process memory. The average time to create the document using the same template and data is approximately 3.1 seconds. ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/visualstudio4.webp "Memory usage and merge time") #### Conclusion The memory saved is not significant, but the merge performance has been increased by 20%. ### Full Toolbox and Designer Support Thanks to the NuGet packages, the TX Text Control components such as the TextControl, StatusBar and Ribbon are automatically available in the toolbox after installing the NuGet package. The advantage of this mechanism is that only the toolbox items needed for the current project are available. After creating a *TextControl* on a form, you have full access to the designer functionality to add more components such as the ribbon bar, ruler bars and to connect and arrange controls automatically. ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/designer.webp "Memory usage and merge time") #### Deployment When deploying the application, TX Text Control 32.0 SP2 fully supports the Publish functionality of Visual Studio. For example, in the following screenshot the application is published to a folder. ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/deploy.webp "Memory usage and merge time") After selecting the folder, you can choose the *Target runtime* and the *Deployment mode*: ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/deploy2.webp "Memory usage and merge time") When the application is published, all required files (including TX Text Control binary filters) are automatically copied to the correct location: ![Memory usage and merge time](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2024/01/17/a/assets/deploy3.webp "Memory usage and merge time") #### Conclusion TX Text Control 32.0 SP2 fully supports the new deployment mechanism of .NET 8 and Visual Studio 2022. The NuGet packages provide support for the Visual Studio toolbox and designer. In addition, the new licensing mechanism fully supports .NET 8 applications. --- ## About Bjoern Meyer As CEO, Bjoern is the visionary behind our strategic direction and business development, bridging the gap between our customers and engineering teams. His deep passion for coding and web technologies drives the creation of innovative products. If you're at a tech conference, be sure to stop by our booth - you'll most likely meet Bjoern in person. With an advanced graduate degree (Dipl. Inf.) in Computer Science, specializing in AI, from the University of Bremen, Bjoern brings significant expertise to his role. In his spare time, Bjoern enjoys running, paragliding, mountain biking, and playing the piano. - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernmeyer/) - [X](https://x.com/txbjoern) - [GitHub](https://github.com/bjoerntx) --- ## Related Posts - [TX Text Control 34.0 SP4 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2026/05/20/tx-text-control-34-0-sp4-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [TXTextControl.Markdown.Core 34.1.0-beta: Work with Full Documents, Selection, and SubTextParts](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2026/04/14/txtextcontrol-markdown-core-34-1-0-beta-work-with-full-documents-selection-and-subtextparts/llms.txt) - [TX Spell .NET 11.0 SP1 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2026/04/08/tx-spell-net-11-0-sp1-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 34.0 SP2 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2026/02/18/tx-text-control-34-0-sp2-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 34.0 SP1 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/12/03/tx-text-control-34-0-sp1-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [Introducing TX Text Control 34.0: Your Next Leap in Document Processing](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/11/10/introducing-tx-text-control-34-0-your-next-leap-in-document-processing/llms.txt) - [Sneak Peek: TX Text Control 34.0 Coming November 2025](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/10/02/sneak-peek-tx-text-control-34-0-coming-november-2025/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 33.0 SP3 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/08/14/tx-text-control-33-0-sp3-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 33.0 SP2 is Now Available: What's New in the Latest Version](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/06/18/tx-text-control-33-0-sp2-is-now-available/llms.txt) - [Document Lifecycle Optimization: Leveraging TX Text Control's Internal Format](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/05/16/document-lifecycle-optimization-leveraging-tx-text-controls-internal-format/llms.txt) - [Expert Implementation Services for Legacy System Modernization](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/05/07/expert-implementation-services-for-legacy-system-modernization/llms.txt) - [Service Pack Releases: What's New in TX Text Control 33.0 SP1 and 32.0 SP5](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/05/07/service-pack-releases-whats-new-in-tx-text-control-33-0-sp1-and-32-0-sp5/llms.txt) - [Top 5 Real-World Applications for TX Text Control Document Processing Libraries](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/04/01/top-5-real-world-applications-for-tx-text-control-document-processing-libraries/llms.txt) - [DWX Developer Week Moves to Mannheim - And Text Control Is on Board!](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/03/19/dwx-developer-week-moves-to-mannheim-and-tx-text-control-is-on-board/llms.txt) - [The Wait is Over: TX Text Control for Linux is Officially Here](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2025/03/12/the-wait-is-over-tx-text-control-for-linux-is-officially-here/llms.txt) - [Full .NET 9 Support in Text Control .NET Components for ASP.NET Core, Windows Forms, and WPF](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/11/11/full-net-9-support-in-text-control-net-components-for-asp-net-core-windows-forms-and-wpf/llms.txt) - [Toggle Field Codes in TX Text Control](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/11/07/toggle-field-codes-in-tx-text-control/llms.txt) - [Applying and Updating Formatting Styles from Master Templates (DOTX) in DOCX Documents](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/10/10/applying-and-updating-formatting-styles-from-master-templates-dotx-in-docx-documents/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 32.0 Service Pack 4 Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/09/02/tx-text-control-32-0-service-pack-4-released/llms.txt) - [Reliably Detect Property Changes in Objects Using Serialization](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/07/23/reliably-detect-property-changes-in-objects-using-serialization/llms.txt) - [Service Pack 3: MailMerge Supports SVG Images](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/04/29/service-pack-3-mailmerge-supports-svg-images/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 32.0 Service Pack 3 Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/04/29/tx-text-control-32-0-service-pack-3-released/llms.txt) - [Electronic Invoicing will Become Mandatory in Germany in 2025](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/04/10/electronic-invoicing-will-become-mandatory-in-germany-in-2025/llms.txt) - [Inserting MergeBlocks with the DataSourceManager and Applying Table Styles in C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/04/09/inserting-mergeblocks-with-the-datasourcemanager-and-applying-table-styles-in-csharp/llms.txt) - [Getting Started: Creating a .NET 8 Windows Forms Ribbon Application with Sidebar Support](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/02/28/getting-started-creating-a-net-8-windows-forms-ribbon-application-with-sidebar-support/llms.txt)