.NET and .NET Framework
Which framework does a WPF application with TX Text Control .NET for WPF 34.0 target? Either a current .NET, version 8 or higher, or the .NET Framework 4.x. The two are set up differently: a .NET project gets the controls from a NuGet package, a .NET Framework project references the assemblies of the setup. Below are the supported versions and how the two differ in files, licensing and the XAML Designer, followed by a recommendation for new applications.
Supported Versions
| Framework | Versions | TX Text Control files |
|---|---|---|
| .NET | .NET 8, .NET 9 and .NET 10 | The NuGet package TXTextControl.TextControl.WPF.SDK |
| .NET Framework | 4.0, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8 | The assemblies the setup installs in its Assembly folder |
.NET 8 or Higher
TXTextControl.TextControl.WPF.SDK 34.0.5 targets net8.0, and its description says that it contains the files for developing a .NET 8.0 or higher WPF application. The newer .NET versions were tested by Text Control:
- .NET 8 has been supported in WPF applications since version 32.0 with Service Pack 2.
- .NET 9 is listed as a supported version in the requirements documentation of TX Text Control .NET for WPF.
- .NET 10 was supported by version 34.0 on the day of its release. Text Control tested WPF applications, the NuGet packages and the Visual Studio tooling in Visual Studio 2026, and existing code runs on .NET 10 without changes.
.NET 8 and .NET 10 are Long Term Support releases, and .NET 9 is a Standard Term Support release. Microsoft's .NET support policy says how long each one receives updates.
The package has required .NET 8 or higher since version 33.0. The 32.0 package targeted .NET 5, and from Service Pack 2 .NET 6, so an application that still runs on .NET 6 or .NET 7 moves to .NET 8 or higher together with the update to version 34.0.
You create a .NET project with the Visual Studio template WPF Application. Its target framework carries the suffix -windows, because WPF runs on Windows only. After you install the package, the project file looks like this:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
<TargetFramework>net8.0-windows</TargetFramework>
<UseWPF>true</UseWPF>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="TXTextControl.TextControl.WPF.SDK" Version="34.0.5" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
For .NET 10, the target framework is net10.0-windows. Create Your First WPF Application builds such a project step by step.
.NET Framework
The requirements documentation names the .NET Framework 4.0, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8. You create a .NET Framework project with the template WPF App (.NET Framework), and the tutorial for it selects the .NET Framework 4.8. The project uses no NuGet package: when you add the first control from the toolbox, Visual Studio adds a reference to the assembly TXTextControl.WPF of the installation. See Create a .NET Framework Application.
What Differs Between the Two
| .NET 8 or higher | .NET Framework | |
|---|---|---|
| Project template | WPF Application | WPF App (.NET Framework) |
| Project file | SDK-style project file with <UseWPF>true</UseWPF> | Classic project file |
| TX Text Control files | NuGet package TXTextControl.TextControl.WPF.SDK | Assemblies in the Assembly folder of the installation, with the native libraries in Assembly\bin and Assembly\bin64 |
| Toolbox items | Registered by the package for WPF projects | Provided by the setup |
| License | The package adds the file txtextcontrol.wpf.license to the project as an embedded resource. No licenses.licx file is needed. | The license compiler embeds the license from the entries in licenses.licx. |
| Publishing | The Visual Studio Publish command, with a target runtime such as win-x64, copies the files | You deploy the assemblies and the native libraries yourself |
- Licensing. Since version 32.0 with Service Pack 2, .NET projects no longer use licenses.licx and the license compiler; .NET Framework projects still do. A library that holds the license names itself with
EntryAssemblyin both. See Development Licenses and Application Licensing. - The XAML Designer. Version 30.0 already ran on .NET 5 and .NET 6, but without toolbox and designer support. Version 31.0 added both, together with the NuGet packages. See Visual Studio Toolbox and XAML Designer.
- Deployment. Publishing .NET Applications and Deploying .NET Framework Applications list the files each kind of project ships.
Which One to Choose
Start a new application on .NET: Text Control recommends .NET 10 as the basis for a new development cycle. The .NET Framework remains an option for an existing application that can't move yet. Migrating from .NET Framework to .NET shows how to replace the assembly references with the package when the time comes.