Selection in WPF Spreadsheet (SfSpreadsheet)

23 Jul 20265 minutes to read

This section explains the Selection behavior in the WPF Spreadsheet Editor.

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

By default, selection is enabled in SfSpreadsheet. To disable selection, set the AllowSelection property to false.

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

Accessing the Current Cell

The current cell is exposed through the CurrentCell property of the SelectionController class.

var cell = spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.CurrentCell;

Accessing the Selected Ranges

The selected ranges of the SpreadsheetGrid are exposed through the SelectedRanges property.

var rangeList = spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectedRanges;

NOTE

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

Adding or Clearing the Selection

The active SpreadsheetGrid allows you to add new selection ranges and clear the existing selection programmatically.

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

// Add a selection for a single row.
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Row(4));

// Add a selection for multiple rows.
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Rows(4, 9));

// Add a selection for a single column.
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Col(5));

// Add a selection for multiple columns.
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.AddSelection(GridRangeInfo.Cols(5, 10));

// Clear the current selection.
spreadsheet.ActiveGrid.SelectionController.ClearSelection();

Move Current Cell

Move the current cell to a specified cell in the SpreadsheetGrid using the MoveCurrentCell method.

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

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

Converting GridRangeInfo into IRange

Convert a GridRangeInfo value to its equivalent XlsIO IRangeusing the ConvertGridRangeToExcelRange method of the GridExcelHelper class.

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

TIPS

You can also convert an IRange into its equivalent GridRangeInfo by using the ConvertExcelRangeToGridRange method of GridExcelHelper.

Properties, Methods, and Events

The tables below list the events, properties, and methods associated with selection behavior.

Events

Events Description

CellClick

 Occurs when you click a cell.

CurrentCellActivating

 Occurs when the current cell is about 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 about to change. This event allows you to cancel the selection change.

SelectionChanged

 Occurs after the selection changes.

Selection properties

Properties Description

SelectedRanges

 Gets or sets the collection of selected ranges from the grid.

SelectionBrush

 Gets or sets the brush used to fill the selected area.

SelectionBorderBrush

 Gets or sets the selection border brush.

SelectionBorderThickness

 Gets or sets the thickness of the 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 selection is allowed in the ActiveGrid.

ShowTouchIndicator

 Gets or sets a value indicating whether the touch indicator is shown.

TouchHitTestPrecision

 Gets or sets the distance, of the touch precision point from the touch indicator.

CurrentCell properties

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 a value indicating whether the grid has a CurrentCell.

PreviousRowColumnIndex

 Gets the row and column index of the previous CurrentCell.

Methods

Methods Description

AddSelection

 Adds or extends the selection to the specified range.

ClearSelection

 Clears the selection.

MoveCurrentCell

 Moves the current cell to the specified row and column index.

Key Navigation

The following 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.
Down Arrow Moves one cell down from the current cell.
Left Arrow Moves one cell left from the current cell.
Right Arrow Moves one cell right from the current cell.
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 first cell of the worksheet (A1).
Ctrl+End Moves to the last used cell of the worksheet.
Alt+Page Up Moves one screen to the left in the worksheet.
Alt+Page Down Moves one screen to the right in the worksheet.
Ctrl+Arrow Keys Moves to the first or last contiguous data cell in the arrow direction.
Enter Moves the active current cell one cell down within the selection.
Shift+Enter Moves the active current cell one cell up within the selection.
Tab Moves the active current cell one cell to the right within the selection.
Shift+Tab Moves the active current cell one cell to the left within the selection.
Backspace Begins the edit operation for the active cell.
Ctrl+A Selects the entire worksheet.
Shift+Arrow Keys Extends the selection by one cell in the arrow direction.
Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Keys Extends the selection to the last contiguous data 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 (A1).
Shift+Page Down Extends the selection down one screen in the worksheet.
Shift+Page Up Extends the selection up one screen in the worksheet.

NOTE

You can refer to our WPF Spreadsheet Editor feature tour page for its groundbreaking feature representations. You can also explore our WPF Spreadsheet example to know how to render and configure the spreadsheet.