Selection in UWP Spreadsheet (SfSpreadsheet)

23 Jul 20265 minutes to read

This section explains the Selection behavior in SfSpreadsheet.

The SfSpreadsheet control provides support for selection in grid by using mouse, keyboard and touch interactions.

By default, Selection behavior is enabled in SfSpreadsheet, but if you want to disable the selection in SfSpreadsheet, then set the AllowSelection Property to false.

void spreadsheet_WorkbookLoaded(object sender, WorkbookLoadedEventArgs args)
{
    spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.AllowSelection = false;
}

Accessing the Current cell

SfSpreadsheet allows the user to access the active cell by using the CurrentCell property of the SelectionController Class.

var cell = spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.CurrentCell;

Accessing the Selected ranges

SfSpreadsheet allows the user to access the selected ranges from the SpreadsheetGrid using the SelectedRanges property of SpreadsheetGrid.

var rangeList = spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectedRanges;

NOTE

To get the active range in the selected ranges list, use ActiveRange property of GridRangeInfoList class.

Adding or Clearing the Selection

SfSpreadsheet allows the user to add and clear the selection in the Active SpreadsheetGrid for the given range.

//To Add the Selection for range,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Cells(4,6,5,8));

//To Add the Selection for particular row,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Row(4));

//To Add the Selection for multiple rows,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Rows(4,9));

//To Add the Selection for particular column,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Col(5));

//To Add the Selection for multiple columns,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Cols(5,10));

//To Clear the Selection,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.ClearSelection();

Move Current Cell

SfSpreadsheet allows the user to move the current cell to the mentioned cell in SpreadsheetGrid.

//Moves current cell to the mentioned row and column index,
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.CurrentCell.MoveCurrentCell(5, 5);

//For moving the current cell to a different sheet,
spreadsheet.SetActiveSheet("Sheet2");
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.CurrentCell.MoveCurrentCell(6, 5);

Converting GridRangeInfo into IRange

SfSpreadsheet allows the user to convert the GridRangeInfo into the equivalent IRange by using the ConvertGridRangeToExcelRange method of the GridExcelHelper class.

var excelRange = GridExcelHelper.ConvertGridRangeToExcelRange(GridRangeInfo.Cell(4, 5), spreadsheet.ActiveGrid);

TIPS

Users can also convert the IRange into equivalent GridRangeInfo by using the ConvertExcelRangeToGridRange method of the GridExcelHelper class.

Properties, Methods and Events

Below table lists the events associated with selection behavior,

Events Description
CellClick Occurs when you click on the cell.
CurrentCellActivating Occurs when the current cell is going to be activated. This event allows you to cancel the current cell activation.
CurrentCellActivated Occurs after the current cell is activated.
SelectionChanging Occurs when the selection is going to be changed. This event allows to cancel the selection change.
SelectionChanged Occurs after the selection is changed.

Below table lists the properties associated with selection,

Properties Description
SelectedRanges Gets or sets the collection of selected ranges from grid.
SelectionBrush Gets or sets the selected area brush.
SelectionBorderBrush Gets or sets the selection border brush.
SelectionBorderThickness Gets or sets the thickness of selection border.
SelectionController Gets the Selection Controller which provides the selection of content when the user drags the pressed mouse to an edge of the control.
AllowSelection Gets or sets a value indicating whether to allow the selection in the ActiveGrid or not.
ShowTouchIndicator Determines whether the touch indicator will be shown or not.
TouchHitTestPrecision Gets or sets the distance of touch precision point from touch indicator.

Below table lists the properties associated with CurrentCell of SpreadsheetGrid,

Properties Description
CellRowColumnIndex Gets the row and column index of the CurrentCell.
RowIndex Gets the row index of the CurrentCell.
ColumnIndex Gets the column index of the CurrentCell.
Range Gets the range of the CurrentCell.
HasCurrentCell Gets the value indicating whether the Grid has CurrentCell or not.
PreviousRowColumnIndex Gets or sets the row and column index of old CurrentCell.

Below table lists the methods associated with selection,

Methods Description
AddSelection Adds or extends the Selection to the mentioned range.
ClearSelection Clears the Selection.
MoveCurrentCell Moves the Current cell to the mentioned row and column index.

Key Navigation

Below table lists the key combinations associated with selection,

Key Combination Description
HOME Moves to the first cell of the current row.
END Moves to the last cell of the current row.
Up Arrow Moves one cell up from the current cell in the worksheet.
Down Arrow Moves one cell down from the current cell in the worksheet.
Left Arrow Moves one cell left from the current cell in the worksheet.
Right Arrow Moves one cell right from the current cell in the worksheet.
PAGE UP Moves to the first visible cell of the current column.
PAGE DOWN Moves to the last visible cell of the current column.
CTRL+HOME Moves to the beginning cell of a worksheet.
CTRL+END Moves to the last cell of a worksheet.
ALT+PAGE UP Moves one screen to the left in a worksheet.
ALT+PAGE DOWN Moves one screen to the right in a worksheet.
CTRL+ARROW KEYS Moves to the first/last cell of the current cell based on Arrow directions .
ENTER Moves the active current cell to one cell down in the selection.
SHIFT+ENTER Moves the active current cell to one cell up in the selection.
TAB Moves the active current cell in one cell to the right of the selection.
SHIFT+TAB Moves the active current cell in one cell to the left of the selection.
BACKSPACE Clears the content of the active cell and begins edit mode when the cell is empty.
CTRL+A Selects the entire worksheet.
SHIFT+ARROW KEYS Extends the selection by one cell in the direction of the arrow key.
CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW KEYS Extend the selection to the last cell in a row or column.
SHIFT+HOME Extends the selection to the first column from the active cell.
CTRL+SHIFT+HOME Extends the selection from the active cell to the first cell of the worksheet.
SHIFT+PAGE DOWN Extends the selection down in a worksheet.
SHIFT+PAGE UP Extends the selection up in a worksheet.