Microsoft .NET MSChart support for AX6 client

AX2009 allowed developers to create charts and graphs on their AX forms using a third party charting control. This third party control was based on COM technology which is no longer updated by the vendor themselves. Thus, limiting the ability to introduce support for additional languages, get key bug fixes and essential security changes. Therefore, Microsoft are replacing the COM control with Microsoft .NET MSChart for Dynamics AX.

Among others, some of the key benefits of using the MSChart control:

- Moving from older COM Control to new .NET based Chart control.

- Increased security.

- Instead of support for 6 languages, we’ll be adding support for ALL AX languages.

- Users may now save their charts to disk in 7 different file formats.

- Standardize on Microsoft .NET Charting

Microsoft acquires Dundas Visualizations

For many years, Dundas Data Visualization, Inc. has been known for producing industry standard data visualization components. They have also been producing for Microsoft technologies since ever. Microsoft acquired the codebase for these components, back in 2007, in order to deliver data visualization directly within products of Microsoft.

Microsoft also enabled Dundas to continue to sell, enhance, update and support the components for a specified duration as a service to their existing customers which was a part of an agreement that will expire on October 31, 2010.

As Dundas communicated this information directly to their customer base, the purpose of this post is to answer any questions related to the components/capabilities that have been released as part of the Microsoft Product Roadmap and how you can get access to them. Here is a FAQ site on SQL Server Reporting Services Team Blog that describes Frequently Asked Questions regarding Dundas Visualizations being acquired by Microsoft.

As Microsoft continues to acquire industry champs in relevant technologies, along with releasing other connectors and migration tools, this certainly can be computed in that sense as well.