Clipboard Support in Windows Forms Grid Control

22 Jan 202422 minutes to read

All the clipboard operations such as cut, copy and paste are supported in GridControl. The GridModelCutPaste class manages the cut, copy and paste operations of the GridControl. This class can be accessed from a grid with the Model.CutPaste property. It will provide the list of properties and methods for performing the clipboard operation.

Copy

The selected range of cells or data can be copied to the Clipboard by using the Copy method. The keyboard keys Ctrl + C combination is used to perform the Copy operation.

//Copy the selection to the Clipboard.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.Copy();
'Copy the selection to the Clipboard.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.Copy()

The CanCopy method checks whether there are selected ranges of cells that can be copied to clipboard or if the current cell’s contents can be copied. The return type of this method is Boolean. If it returns true, it indicates that the selected range of cells or the current cell’s contents can be copied to the clipboard. If it is false, it indicates that the selected range of cells or the current cell’s contents cannot be copied to the clipboard.

Copying the range of cells to the clipboard

The range of cells can be programmatically copied to the clipboard by using the CopyRange method.

GridRangeInfo range = GridRangeInfo.Cells(3, 3, 4, 4);

//Copy the range of cells to the Clipboard.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.CopyRange(range);
Dim range As GridRangeInfo = GridRangeInfo.Cells(3, 3, 4, 4)

'Copy the range of cells to the Clipboard.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.CopyRange(range)

Copying the formatted text of the cell

The formatted text of a cell or a range of cells can be copied to the clipboard by using the CopyTextToClipboard method.

GridCurrentCell cc = this.gridControl1.CurrentCell;
GridRangeInfoList rangeList = new GridRangeInfoList();
rangeList.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cells(3, 3, 4, 4));
rangeList.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cell(cc.RowIndex, cc.ColIndex));

//Copies the formatted text of a specified range of cells to clipboard.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.CopyTextToClipboard(rangeList);
Dim cc As GridCurrentCell = Me.gridControl1.CurrentCell
Dim rangeList As New GridRangeInfoList()
rangeList.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cells(3, 3, 4, 4))
rangeList.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cell(cc.RowIndex, cc.ColIndex))

'Copies the formatted text of a specified range of cells to clipboard.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.CopyTextToClipboard(rangeList)

Copying the cells with styles to the clipboard

The style information of a specified range of cells can be copied to the clipboard by using the CopyCellsToClipboard method.

GridRangeInfoList list = new GridRangeInfoList();
list.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cell(2, 2));
this.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CopyCellsToClipboard(list, true);
Dim list As New GridRangeInfoList()
list.Add(GridRangeInfo.Cell(2, 2))
Me.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CopyCellsToClipboard(list, True)

The copy operation can be restricted by handling the ClipboardCopy event. This event will raise when the Copy method is called.

this.gridControl1.ClipboardCopy += gridControl1_ClipboardCopy;
void gridControl1_ClipboardCopy(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{
    //To restrict the Clipboard copy.
    e.Handled = true;           
}
Private Me.gridControl1.ClipboardCopy += AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardCopy
Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardCopy(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
	'To restrict the Clipboard copy.
	e.Handled = True
End Sub

Paste

The Paste method is used to insert the entire content of the clipboard to the selected range of cells. The Ctrl+V keyboard combination is used to perform the paste operation.

//Paste the contents of the clipboard to the specific selected range.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.Paste();
'Paste the contents of the clipboard to the specific selected range.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.Paste()

The pasting operation can be notified by the ClipboardPaste event. It will be triggered while pasting the clipboard contents. This event can be used to restrict the clipboard paste operation.

this.gridControl1.ClipboardPaste += gridControl1_ClipboardPaste;
void gridControl1_ClipboardPaste(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{
//To restrict the paste operation.
    e.Handled = true;
}
Private Me.gridControl1.ClipboardPaste += AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardPaste
Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardPaste(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
'To restrict the paste operation.
	e.Handled = True
End Sub

NOTE

ClipboardPasted - This event is to be handled after a paste operation.

Clipboard flags

When the number of rows/columns copied is greater than the number of rows/columns count of the grid, then the grid will automatically add the additional columns/rows according to the copied content. To avoid the unwanted rows/columns to be appended to the GridControl, set the ClipboardFlags as follows,

// To Do not append additional rows/columns while pasting .
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags |= GridDragDropFlags.NoAppendRows | GridDragDropFlags.NoAppendCols;
' To Do not append additional rows/columns while pasting.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags = Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags Or GridDragDropFlags.NoAppendRows Or GridDragDropFlags.NoAppendCols

Copy or Paste only cell Text in GridControl

When the Copy/Paste is done with in the GridControl, it copies the style of the selected range of cells and pastes it to the targeted cells. This can be restricted to copy only the text of the grid cells by setting the ClipboardFlags as of follows,

//Copy only the text of the cell without the styles.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags &= ~GridDragDropFlags.Styles;
'Copy only the text of the cell without the styles.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags = Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags And Not GridDragDropFlags.Styles

Fill Paste

This technique is used to fill the clipboard content to the selected range of cells. It can be done by using the ClipboardPaste event.

this.gridControl1.ClipboardPaste += gridControl1_ClipboardPaste;

void gridControl1_ClipboardPaste(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{
    DataObject data = (DataObject)Clipboard.GetDataObject();
    string[] rows = null;
    int numberOfRows = 0;
    int numberOfCols = 0;

//Get the size of the paste.

    if (data.GetDataPresent(DataFormats.Text))
    {
        string s = (string)data.GetData(DataFormats.Text);
        rows = s.Split(new char[] { '\n' });
        numberOfRows = rows.GetLength(0);

        if (numberOfRows > 0 && rows[numberOfRows - 1].Length == 0)
            numberOfRows--; //remove extra empty row if present

        if (numberOfRows > 0)
        {
            string[] cols = rows[0].Split(new char[] { '\t' });
            numberOfCols = cols.GetLength(0);
        }
    }

//Paste one to many.

    if (numberOfRows == 1 && numberOfCols == 1 && !this.gridControl1.Selections.Ranges.ActiveRange.IsEmpty)
    {
        this.gridControl1.ChangeCells(this.gridControl1.Selections.Ranges.ActiveRange,
        rows[0]);
        e.Handled = true;
        e.Result = true;
    }
}
Private Me.gridControl1.ClipboardPaste += AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardPaste

Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardPaste(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
	Dim data As DataObject = CType(Clipboard.GetDataObject(), DataObject)
	Dim rows() As String = Nothing
	Dim numberOfRows As Integer = 0
	Dim numberOfCols As Integer = 0

'Get the size of the paste.

	If data.GetDataPresent(DataFormats.Text) Then
		Dim s As String = CStr(data.GetData(DataFormats.Text))
		rows = s.Split(New Char() { ControlChars.Lf })
		numberOfRows = rows.GetLength(0)

		If numberOfRows > 0 AndAlso rows(numberOfRows - 1).Length = 0 Then
			numberOfRows -= 1 'remove extra empty row if present
		End If

		If numberOfRows > 0 Then
			Dim cols() As String = rows(0).Split(New Char() { ControlChars.Tab })
			numberOfCols = cols.GetLength(0)
		End If
	End If
'Paste one to many.

	If numberOfRows = 1 AndAlso numberOfCols = 1 AndAlso (Not Me.gridControl1.Selections.Ranges.ActiveRange.IsEmpty) Then
		Me.gridControl1.ChangeCells(Me.gridControl1.Selections.Ranges.ActiveRange, rows(0))
		e.Handled = True
		e.Result = True
	End If
End Sub

CopyPaste_img1

Cut

The Ctrl+X keyboard combination is used to cut the data from the grid. It is used to remove the selected data from the source and add it to the Clipboard.

// Cuts and copies the contents of selected cells to clipboard. 
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.Cut();
' Cuts and copies the contents of selected cells to clipboard.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.Cut()

Cutting a range of cells into the clipboard

A range of cells can be programmatically cut to the clipboard by using the CutRange method.

GridRangeInfo range = GridRangeInfo.Cells(2, 2, 4, 4);

//Cuts and copies the contents of a specified range of cells to clipboard.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.CutRange(range, false);
Dim range As GridRangeInfo = GridRangeInfo.Cells(2, 2, 4, 4)

'Cuts and copies the contents of a specified range of cells to clipboard.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.CutRange(range, False)

CopyPaste_img2

NOTE

If the cell have integer data type, it will became null during the cut operation. The integer data type does not accept the null values therefore it will throws the “InvalidOperationException was unhandled, Rollback without BeginTrans” exception. This exception can be avoided by setting the nullable data type to the cells. For example, The int data type is need to be changed to int?.
https://support.syncfusion.com/kb/article/4811/how-to-resolve-an-exception-in-cut-operation-on-the-number-datatype-such-as-integer-cells

Disabling Cut, Copy, and Paste

The Clipboard Cut, Copy and Paste operations of the grid can be disabled by setting the ClipboardFlags value as GridDragDropFlags.Disabled.

//Completely turns off the Clipboard cut, copy, or paste.
this.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags = GridDragDropFlags.Disabled;
'Completely turns off the Clipboard cut, copy, or paste.
Me.gridControl1.CutPaste.ClipboardFlags = GridDragDropFlags.Disabled

Prevent Cut or Copy or Paste operations using Events

To get the clipboard operations can be performed or not for the given range of cells, use the CanCut, CanCopy and CanPaste methods.

//Get the content can be copied to the Clipboard or not.
bool allowCopy = this.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanCopy();

//Get the content can be cut to the Clipboard or not.
bool allowCut = this.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanCut();

// Get the content can be pasted to the Clipboard or not.
bool allowPaste = this.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanPaste();
'Get the content can be copied to the Clipboard or not.
Dim allowCopy As Boolean = Me.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanCopy()

'Get the content can be cut to the Clipboard or not.
Dim allowCut As Boolean = Me.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanCut()

' Get the content can be pasted to the Clipboard or not.
Dim allowPaste As Boolean = Me.gridControl1.Model.CutPaste.CanPaste()

To cancel the cut, copy and paste operation of the grid, handle the ClipboardCanPaste, ClipboardCanCopy and ClipboardCanCut events and set the e.Result as false.

//Clipboard Events
this.gridControl1.ClipboardCanPaste += gridControl1_ClipboardCanPaste;
this.gridControl1.ClipboardCanCopy +=gridControl1_ClipboardCanCopy;
this.gridControl1.ClipboardCanCut += gridControl1_ClipboardCanCut;

void gridControl1_ClipboardCanCut(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{         
//Disables the cut to the clipboard.
    e.Handled = true;
    e.Result = false;
}

void gridControl1_ClipboardCanPaste(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{

//Cancel the pasting of clipboard content to grid.
    e.Handled = true;
    e.Result = false;
}

void gridControl1_ClipboardCanCopy(object sender, GridCutPasteEventArgs e)
{
//Disables the copy to the clipboard.
    e.Handled = true;
    e.Result = false;
}
'Clipboard Events
AddHandler gridControl1.ClipboardCanPaste, AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardCanPaste
AddHandler gridControl1.ClipboardCanCopy, AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardCanCopy
AddHandler gridControl1.ClipboardCanCut, AddressOf gridControl1_ClipboardCanCut

Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardCanCut(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
'Disables the cut to the clipboard.
	e.Handled = True
	e.Result = False
End Sub

Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardCanPaste(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
' Cancel the pasting of clipboard content to grid.
	e.Handled = True
	e.Result = False
End Sub

Private Sub gridControl1_ClipboardCanCopy(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCutPasteEventArgs)
'disables the copy to the clipboard.
	e.Handled = True
	e.Result = False
End Sub

Events

GridControl has provide various events to manage the clipboard content while performing cut, paste and copy operations. This section explains on how to customize the clipboard operations using events.

Validating the cell value while Pasting

The cell value can be validated at the time of pasting by using the PasteCellText event. When the content is invalid, set e.Cancel to true.

this.gridControl1.Model.PasteCellText += new GridPasteCellTextEventHandler(Model_PasteCellText);

void Model_PasteCellText(object sender, GridPasteCellTextEventArgs e)
{

    if (e.ColIndex == 2)
    {

        foreach (char c in e.Text)
        {

            if (!Char.IsDigit(c))
            {
                MessageBox.Show("The Column will only allow the digits");
                e.Cancel = true;
                break;
            }
        }
    }
}
AddHandler gridControl1.Model.PasteCellText, AddressOf Model_PasteCellText

Private Sub Model_PasteCellText(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridPasteCellTextEventArgs)

	If e.ColIndex = 2 Then

		For Each c As Char In e.Text

			If Not Char.IsDigit(c) Then
				MessageBox.Show("The Column will only allow the digits")
				e.Cancel = True
				Exit For
			End If
		Next c
	End If
End Sub

Preventing Paste for a particular Cell

The pasting operation can be prevented for particular cells by handling the PasteCellText event. This event will fire when the cell is not in edit mode at the time of pasting. This can be achieved by setting the ActivateCurrentCellBehavior property to DoubleClickOnCell.

this.gridControl1.PasteCellText += new GridPasteCellTextEventHandler(gridControl1_PasteCellText);

void gridControl1_PasteCellText(object sender, GridPasteCellTextEventArgs e)
{

//Prevent pasting the clipboard data in row. 

    if (e.RowIndex == 3)
        e.Cancel = true;
}
Private Me.gridControl1.PasteCellText += New GridPasteCellTextEventHandler(AddressOf gridControl1_PasteCellText)

Private Sub gridControl1_PasteCellText(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridPasteCellTextEventArgs)

'Prevent pasting the clipboard data in row. 

	If e.RowIndex = 3 Then
		e.Cancel = True
	End If
End Sub

Handling the clipboard Paste using Keyboard shortcut

The pasting using keys Ctrl+V can be handled by CurrentCellControlKeyMessage event. Using this event, the pasting can be restricted even though the cell is in edit mode.

this.gridControl1.CurrentCellControlKeyMessage += new GridCurrentCellControlKeyMessageEventHandler(gridControl1_CurrentCellControlKeyMessage);

void gridControl1_CurrentCellControlKeyMessage(object sender, GridCurrentCellControlKeyMessageEventArgs e)
{
    Keys keyCode = (Keys)((int)e.Msg.WParam) & Keys.KeyCode;

//Condition for Ctr+V keys.

    if ((Control.ModifierKeys & Keys.Control) != 0 && keyCode == Keys.V)
    {
        GridCurrentCell cc = this.gridControl1.CurrentCell;

//Set the row 3 as prevent from  paste.

    if (cc.RowIndex == 3)
            e.Handled = true;
        e.Result = true;
    }
}
AddHandler gridControl1.CurrentCellControlKeyMessage, AddressOf gridControl1_CurrentCellControlKeyMessage

Private Sub gridControl1_CurrentCellControlKeyMessage(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridCurrentCellControlKeyMessageEventArgs)
	Dim keyCode As Keys = CType(CInt(Fix(e.Msg.WParam)), Keys) And Keys.KeyCode

'Condition for Ctr+V keys.

	If (Control.ModifierKeys And Keys.Control) <> 0 AndAlso keyCode = Keys.V Then
		Dim cc As GridCurrentCell = Me.gridControl1.CurrentCell

		'set the row 3 as prevent from  paste

		If cc.RowIndex = 3 Then
			e.Handled = True
		End If
		e.Result = True
	End If
End Sub