Sorting in Windows Forms GridGrouping control

10 Oct 202223 minutes to read

GridGroupingControl allows users to sort table data against one or more columns. When sorting is applied, grid will rearrange data to match the current sort criteria.

There are multiple ways to sort table data. A simple one is to click the desired column headers that needs to be sorted. Also sorting can be performed programmatically. Once sorting is applied, the grid will display a sort icon in the respective column headers showing sort direction.

At design time, data can be sorted by accessing SortedColumns property under TableDescriptor section in the property grid of GridGroupingControl. This will open SortColumnDescriptor Collection Editor.

In that Editor, clicking Add button will add existing columns into the collection. Name and SortDirection in the property window of the editor will let user specify their desired field name to sort and the sort order.

Programmatic Sorting

The SortedColumns collection is used to define the sort order for records with groups. Multiple entries can be added with the first entry having precedence while sorting records. The properties and methods in this collection lets users manage elements in the collection.

Sorting can be applied to the grid data by specifying the desired field name to the TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add().

C#

// ‘CustomerID` column will be sorted.
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CustomerID");

VB.NET

' ‘CustomerID` column will be sorted.
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CustomerID")

Removing Sorting

Sorting can be removed for a particular or range of columns by specifying the desired column name in the SortedColumns.Remove method or by specifying the particular column index in the SortedColumns.RemoveAt method.

C#

// Sorting will be removed for the ‘ProductName’ column. 
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Remove("ProductName");

// Sorting will be removed for the column with index 2.
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.RemoveAt(2);

VB.NET

' Sorting will be removed for the ‘ProductName’ column. 
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Remove("ProductName")

' Sorting will be removed for the column with index 2.
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.RemoveAt(2)

Clearing Sorting

To clear the sorting from the GridGroupingControl, SortedColumns.Clear can be used. This will clear all the SortColumnDescriptor from the SortColumnDescriptorCollection.

C#

//Clearing sorted columns
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Clear();

VB.NET

'Clearing sorted columns
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Clear()

Preventing Column from Being Sorted

To disable a column from being sorted, the AllowSort property of the desired column which is to be disabled from sorting can be set to false.

C#

// Disabling `CompanyName` column from being sorted
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.Columns["CompanyName"].AllowSort = false;

VB.NET

' Disabling `CompanyName` column from being sorted
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.Columns("CompanyName").AllowSort = False

Preventing Column from being Sorted using Event

Sorting specified columns can also be controlled by handling TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn event. The event accepts an instance ofGridQueryAllowSortColumnEventArgs as a parameter that contains details of the column being affected. Using this instance, user can check for a particular column and cancel sorting behavior.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn+=new GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventHandler(gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn);

private void gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn(object sender, GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventArgs e)
{

    if(e.Column.GetName() == "CompanyName")
    {
        e.AllowSort=false;
    }
}

VB.NET

AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn, AddressOf gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn

Private Sub gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventArgs)

If e.Column.GetName() = "CompanyName" Then
e.AllowSort=False
End If
End Sub

Disabling Sorting

The sorting functionality of the GridGroupingControl can be disabled by using the TableOptions.AllowSortColumns property.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.TableOptions.AllowSortColumns = false;

VB.NET

Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableOptions.AllowSortColumns = False

Sort Icon Placement

The sort icon will be displayed in the respective column headers which are sorted at Right side by default. The sort icon place can be changed by using the SortIconPlacement property.

The SortIconPlacement has the following options,

• Left - Sort icon will be displayed at left side of the column header.
• Right - Sort icon will be displayed at right side of the column header. This is the default option.
• Top - Sort icon will be displayed at top or above to the column header text.

Sort Icon at Left side

C#

// Setting sort icon at left side
this.gridGroupingControl1.SortIconPlacement = SortIconPlacement.Left;

VB.NET

' Setting sort icon at left side
Me.gridGroupingControl1.SortIconPlacement = SortIconPlacement.Left

Sort Icon at Top

C#

// Setting sort icon at left side
this.gridGroupingControl1.SortIconPlacement = SortIconPlacement.Top;

VB.NET

' Setting sort icon at left side
Me.gridGroupingControl1.SortIconPlacement = SortIconPlacement.Top

Multi Column Sorting

The multiple columns can be sorted by clicking each column with pressing the <kbd>CTRL<kbd> key by default.

Programmatic Multi Column Sorting

The multiple columns can be sorted by adding the field names into SortedColumns property and optionally specifying sort direction.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CompanyName");
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("ContactName", ListSortDirection.Descending);
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("ContactTitle");

VB.NET

Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CompanyName")
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("ContactName", ListSortDirection.Descending)
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("ContactTitle")

Disabling Multi Column Sorting

To disable the multi column sorting, the TableOptions.AllowMultiColumnSort property can be set to false.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.TableOptions.AllowMultiColumnSort = false;

VB.NET

Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableOptions.AllowMultiColumnSort = False

Sorting Grouped Columns

When grouping is applied, the grid will sort the records based on the values of grouped column by default. The sort icon will be also displayed in the grouped column of GridGroupDropArea.

The grouped column can be sorted by clicking on the grouped column in GridGroupDropArea.

The following events will be raised when sorting the grouped columns in GroupDropArea,

• SortingItemsInGroup - This event will be raised before the records for a group are sorted.
• SortedItemsInGroup - This event will be raised after the records for a group are sorted.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.SortingItemsInGroup += new GroupEventHandler(gridGroupingControl1_SortingItemsInGroup);

this.gridGroupingControl1.SortedItemsInGroup += new GroupEventHandler(gridGroupingControl1_SortedItemsInGroup);

void gridGroupingControl1_SortingItemsInGroup(object sender, GroupEventArgs e)
{

    // To-Do
    e.Cancel = true;
}

void gridGroupingControl1_SortedItemsInGroup(object sender, GroupEventArgs e)
{

    // To-Do
    e.Cancel = true;            
}

VB.NET

AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.SortingItemsInGroup, AddressOf gridGroupingControl1_SortingItemsInGroup

AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.SortedItemsInGroup, AddressOf gridGroupingControl1_SortedItemsInGroup

Private Sub gridGroupingControl1_SortingItemsInGroup(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GroupEventArgs)

	' To-Do
	e.Cancel = True
End Sub

Private Sub gridGroupingControl1_SortedItemsInGroup(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GroupEventArgs)

	' To-Do
	e.Cancel = True
End Sub

The detailed information about events has been discussed in Events section.

Sort by Summary

To sort the records based on the values of the group summaries by creating the own custom comparer to define the sort order or to make use of built-in method that is specially designed to use in this scenario, named SetGroupSummaryOrder.

This SetGroupSummaryOrder method will set up a custom comparer for sorting groups to enable groups to be sorted in a different order.

C#

//Specifies group sort order behavior when adding SortColumnDescriptor to GroupedColumns.
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.GroupedColumns.Clear();
SortColumnDescriptor columnDescriptor = new SortColumnDescriptor("ShipCountry");

//Specifies a summary name and the property (values will be determined using reflection).
columnDescriptor.SetGroupSummarySortOrder(summaryColumn1.GetSummaryDescriptorName(), "Average");
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.GroupedColumns.Add(columnDescriptor);

VB.NET

'Specifies group sort order behavior when adding SortColumnDescriptor to GroupedColumns.
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.GroupedColumns.Clear()
Dim columnDescriptor As New SortColumnDescriptor("ShipCountry")

'Specifies a summary name and the property (values will be determined using reflection).
columnDescriptor.SetGroupSummarySortOrder(summaryColumn1.GetSummaryDescriptorName(), "Average")
Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.GroupedColumns.Add(columnDescriptor)

For more information about Sort by Summary, refer the [Sort by Summary](http://help.syncfusion.com/windowsforms/gridgrouping/summaries#sort-by-summary-in-caption “”) section.

Sort by Display Member

The GridGroupingControl sorts the grid based on Value member of the grid data, by default. The user can also sort grid data by Display members of foreign-key combo boxes by setting up a foreign-key reference relation between related tables.

NOTE

A foreign-key reference relation allows the user to look up values in a related table using an id column in the main table.

The following code example illustrates the usage of foreign-key relation:

1. Save the location of the mainTable.Customer column, it can be swapped after foreign table reference has been set.

   C#

   //Remember the location of lookup col so it can be swapped out later
   GridTableDescriptor td = this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor;
   td.VisibleColumns.LoadDefault();
   int lookUpIndex = td.VisibleColumns.IndexOf("Customer");

   VB.NET

   'Remember the location of lookup col so it can be swapped out later
   Dim td As GridTableDescriptor = Me.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor
   td.VisibleColumns.LoadDefault()
   Dim lookUpIndex As Integer = td.VisibleColumns.IndexOf("Customer")

2. Add foreign table to the Engine’s source list.

   C#

   this.gridGroupingControl1.Engine.SourceListSet.Add(ForeignTableName, ForeignTable.DefaultView);

   VB.NET

   Me.gridGroupingControl1.Engine.SourceListSet.Add(ForeignTableName, ForeignTable.DefaultView)

3. Create and setup RelationKind.ForeignKeyReference relation.

   C#

   //Set up relation descriptor that defines mapping between main table and foreign table
   GridRelationDescriptor rd = new GridRelationDescriptor();
   rd.Name = "CustomerColDisplay"; //Just some unique name
   rd.RelationKind = RelationKind.ForeignKeyReference; //Foreign key look up
   rd.ChildTableName = lookUpDataTable.TableName;  // SourceListSet name for lookup

   VB.NET

   'Set up relation descriptor that defines mapping between main table and foreign table
   Dim rd As New GridRelationDescriptor()
   rd.Name = "CustomerColDisplay" 'Just some unique name
   rd.RelationKind = RelationKind.ForeignKeyReference 'Foreign key look up
   rd.ChildTableName = lookUpDataTable.TableName ' SourceListSet name for lookup

4. Set any optional properties on the relation.

   C#

   //Displays column.     
   rd.ChildTableDescriptor.VisibleColumns.Add("CustomerName");
      
   //Sorts it for dropdown display.
   rd.ChildTableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CustomerName");

   VB.NET

   'Displays column.    
   rd.ChildTableDescriptor.VisibleColumns.Add("CustomerName")
      
   'Sorts it for dropdown display. 
   rd.ChildTableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Add("CustomerName")

5. Add relation descriptor to MainTableDescriptor.

   C#

   //Add relation descriptor to MainTableDescriptor
   td.Relations.Add(rd);

   VB.NET

   'Add relation descriptor to MainTableDescriptor
   td.Relations.Add(rd)

6. Replace mainTable.Customer with foreignTable.CustomerName

   C#

   string foreignCustomerColInMainTable = rd.Name + "_" + "CustomerName"; 
   td.VisibleColumns.Insert(CustomerColIndex, foreignCustomerColInMainTable);

   VB.NET

   Dim foreignCustomerColInMainTable As String = rd.Name & "_" & "CustomerName"
   td.VisibleColumns.Insert(CustomerColIndex, foreignCustomerColInMainTable)

Sample Location

<Installation Location>\Syncfusion\EssentialStudio[Version_ Number]\Windows\Grid.Grouping.Windows\Samples\Sorting\Sort By Display Member Demo

Events

The followings events will be raised when the column is sorted in the GridGroupingControl.

• SortedColumns.Changing - This event will be raised before the collection is modified.
• SortedColumns.Changed - This event will be raised after the collection was modified.
• TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn - This event will be raised when the user hovers the mouse over a column header or clicks on it.

NOTE

The detailed information about the Events of GridGroupingControl has been discussed in Events section.

C#

this.gridGroupingControl1.TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn += new Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Grid.Grouping.GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventHandler(gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn);
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Changed += new Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventHandler(SortedColumns_Changed);
this.gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Changing += new Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventHandler(SortedColumns_Changing);

private void gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn(object sender, Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Grid.Grouping.GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventArgs e)
 {

   if (e.Column.GetName() == "CompanyName")
   {

	   //To-Do
   }
 }

 private void SortedColumns_Changing(object sender, Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
 {

   if (e.Action == Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedType.Add)
   {

	   // To-Do
   }
 }

 private void SortedColumns_Changed(object sender, Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
 {

   if (e.Action == Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedType.Add)
   {

	  // To-Do
   }
 }

VB.NET

AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn, AddressOf gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn
AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Changed, AddressOf SortedColumns_Changed
AddHandler gridGroupingControl1.TableDescriptor.SortedColumns.Changing, AddressOf SortedColumns_Changing

Private Sub gridGroupingControl1_TableControlQueryAllowSortColumn(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Grid.Grouping.GridQueryAllowSortColumnEventArgs)

   If e.Column.GetName() = "CompanyName" Then

	   'To-Do
   End If
End Sub

Private Sub SortedColumns_Changing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventArgs)

   If e.Action = Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedType.Add Then

	   ' To-Do
   End If
 End Sub

Private Sub SortedColumns_Changed(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedEventArgs)

   If e.Action = Syncfusion.Collections.ListPropertyChangedType.Add Then

	  ' To-Do
   End If
 End Sub

Custom Sorting

The custom sorting can be done by creating own custom comparer using the IComparer interface and creating the custom comparer in the Compare method.

The below example shows the Description column is sorted and empty cells in that column will be placed at bottom. The remaining value cells will be sorted at top.

C#

//Form()

//Set the sort direction
sortColumnDescriptor.SortDirection = System.ComponentModel.ListSortDirection.Ascending;

//Handles the empty cells at bottom
sortColumnDescriptor.Comparer = new CustomSortComparer(true);

// Custom Sorting Comparer

public class CustomSortComparer : IComparer
{
  private bool isAscending = true;

  public CustomSortComparer(bool isAscendingSortDirection)
  {
	isAscending = isAscendingSortDirection;
  }

  public int Compare(object x, object y)
  {

	if (isAscending)
	{

	   if (x == null && y == null)
	   {
		return 0;
	   }

	   if (((string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString())) && (string.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()))) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString()))
	   {
		  return 1;
	   }

	   else if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()))
	   {
		  return -1;
	   }

	   else
	   {
		  return ((IComparable)(x.ToString())).CompareTo(y.ToString());
	   }
	}

	else
	{

	  if (x == null && y == null)
	  {
		 return 0;
	  }

	  if ((string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString())) && (string.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString())))
	  {
		 return 0;
	  }

	  else if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString()))
	  {
		 return -1;
	  }

	  else if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()))
	  {
		 return 1;
	  }

	  else
	  {
		 return ((IComparable)(x.ToString())).CompareTo(y.ToString());
	  }
	}
  }

   private long CustomParser(object s)
   {

	 if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(s.ToString()))
	 {
		return If(isAscending, int.MaxValue, int.MinValue);
	 }

	 else
	 {
		return 0;
	 }
   }
}

VB.NET

'Form()

'Set the sort direction
sortColumnDescriptor.SortDirection = System.ComponentModel.ListSortDirection.Ascending

'Handles the empty cells at bottom
sortColumnDescriptor.Comparer = New CustomSortComparer(True)

' Custom Sorting Comparer

public class CustomSortComparer : IComparer

  private Boolean isAscending = True

  public CustomSortComparer(Boolean isAscendingSortDirection)
	isAscending = isAscendingSortDirection

  public Integer Compare(Object x, Object y)

	If isAscending Then

	   If x Is Nothing AndAlso y Is Nothing Then
		Return 0
	   End If

	   If ((String.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString())) AndAlso (String.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()))) OrElse String.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString()) Then
		  Return 1

	   ElseIf String.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()) Then
		  Return -1

	   Else
		  Return (CType(x.ToString(), IComparable)).CompareTo(y.ToString())
	   End If

	Else

	  If x Is Nothing AndAlso y Is Nothing Then
		 Return 0
	  End If

	  If (String.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString())) AndAlso (String.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString())) Then
		 Return 0

	  ElseIf String.IsNullOrEmpty(x.ToString()) Then
		 Return -1

	  ElseIf String.IsNullOrEmpty(y.ToString()) Then
		 Return 1

	  Else
		 Return (CType(x.ToString(), IComparable)).CompareTo(y.ToString())
	  End If
	End If

   private Long CustomParser(Object s)

	 If String.IsNullOrEmpty(s.ToString()) Then
		Return If(isAscending, Integer.MaxValue, Integer.MinValue)

	 Else
		Return 0
	 End If