Getting Started with Windows Forms DataGrid (SfDataGrid)

5 Sep 202319 minutes to read

This section provides a quick overview for working with the data grid for WinForms. Walk through the entire process of creating a real world data grid.

To get start quickly with WinForms DataGrid, you can check on this video:

Assembly Deployment

Refer control dependencies section to get the list of assemblies or NuGet package needs to be added as reference to use the SfDataGrid control in any application.

Creating Application with SfDataGrid

In this walk through, users will create WinForms application that contains SfDataGrid control.

Creating the Project

Create new Windows Forms Project in Visual Studio to display SfDataGrid with data objects.

Adding Control via Designer

Windows Forms DataGrid (SfDataGrid) control can be added to the application by dragging it from Toolbox and dropping it in Designer. The required assembly references will be added automatically.

Adding Control in Code

In order to add control manually, do the below steps,

1. Add the required assembly references to the project

2. Create the SfDataGrid control instance and add it to the Form

   C#

   using Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid;
      
   namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
   {
       public partial class Form1 : Form
       {
           public Form1()
           {
               InitializeComponent();
               SfDataGrid sfDataGrid1 = new SfDataGrid();
               sfDataGrid1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(85, 108);
               sfDataGrid1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(240, 150); 
               this.Controls.Add(sfDataGrid1);
           }
       }
   }

   VB.NET

   Imports Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid
      
   Namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
   	Partial Public Class Form1
   		Inherits Form
   		Public Sub New()
   			InitializeComponent()
   			Dim sfDataGrid1 As New SfDataGrid()
   			sfDataGrid1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(85, 108)
   			sfDataGrid1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(240, 150)
   			Me.Controls.Add(sfDataGrid1)
   		End Sub
   	End Class
   End Namespace

Creating Data for Sample Application

SfDataGrid is a data-bound control. So data must be created for application.

1. Create data object class named “OrderInfo” and declare properties as shown below,

   C#

   public class OrderInfo
   {
       int orderID;
       string customerId;
       string country;
       string customerName;
       string shippingCity;
       public int OrderID
       {
           get { return orderID; }
           set { orderID = value; }
       }
       public string CustomerID
       {
           get { return customerId; }
           set { customerId = value; }
       }
       public string CustomerName
       {
           get { return customerName; }
           set { customerName = value; }
       }
       public string Country
       {
           get { return country; }
           set { country = value; }
       }
       public string ShipCity
       {
           get { return shippingCity; }
           set { shippingCity = value; }
       }
       public OrderInfo(int orderId, string customerName, string country, string customerId, string shipCity)
       {
           this.OrderID = orderId;
           this.CustomerName = customerName;
           this.Country = country;
           this.CustomerID = customerId;
           this.ShipCity = shipCity;
       }
   }

   VB.NET

   Public Class OrderInfo
   	Private _orderID As Integer
   	Private _customerId As String
   	Private _country As String
   	Private _customerName As String
   	Private _shippingCity As String
      
   	Public Property OrderID() As Integer
   		Get
   			Return _orderID
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As Integer)
   			_orderID = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Property CustomerID() As String
   		Get
   			Return _customerId
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As String)
   			_customerId = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Property CustomerName() As String
   		Get
   			Return _customerName
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As String)
   			_customerName = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Property Country() As String
   		Get
   			Return _country
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As String)
   			_country = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Property ShipCity() As String
   		Get
   			Return _shippingCity
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As String)
   			_shippingCity = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Sub New(ByVal orderId As Integer, ByVal customerName As String, ByVal country As String, ByVal customerId As String, ByVal shipCity As String)
   		Me.OrderID = orderId
   		Me.CustomerName = customerName
   		Me.Country = country
   		Me.CustomerID = customerId
   		Me.ShipCity = shipCity
   	End Sub
   End Class

2. Create an OrderInfoCollection class with Orders property and Orders property is initialized with several data objects in constructor.

   C#

   public class OrderInfoCollection
   {
       private ObservableCollection<OrderInfo> _orders;
       public ObservableCollection<OrderInfo> Orders
       {
           get { return _orders; }
           set { _orders = value; }
       }
       public OrderInfoCollection()
       {
           _orders = new ObservableCollection<OrderInfo>();
           this.GenerateOrders();
       }
       private void GenerateOrders()
       {
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1001, "Maria Anders", "Germany", "ALFKI", "Berlin"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1002, "Ana Trujilo", "Mexico", "ANATR", "Mexico D.F."));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1003, "Antonio Moreno", "Mexico", "ANTON", "Mexico D.F."));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1004, "Thomas Hardy", "UK", "AROUT", "London"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1005, "Christina Berglund", "Sweden", "BERGS", "Lula"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1006, "Hanna Moos", "Germany", "BLAUS", "Mannheim"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1007, "Frederique Citeaux", "France", "BLONP", "Strasbourg"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1008, "Martin Sommer", "Spain", "BOLID", "Madrid"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1009, "Laurence Lebihan", "France", "BONAP", "Marseille"));
           _orders.Add(new OrderInfo(1010, "Elizabeth Lincoln", "Canada", "BOTTM", "Tsawassen"));
       }
   }

   VB.NET

   Public Class OrderInfoCollection
   	Private _orders As ObservableCollection(Of OrderInfo)
   	Public Property Orders() As ObservableCollection(Of OrderInfo)
   		Get
   			Return _orders
   		End Get
   		Set(ByVal value As ObservableCollection(Of OrderInfo))
   			_orders = value
   		End Set
   	End Property
      
   	Public Sub New()
   		_orders = New ObservableCollection(Of OrderInfo)()
   		Me.GenerateOrders()
   	End Sub
      
   	Private Sub GenerateOrders()
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1001, "Maria Anders", "Germany", "ALFKI", "Berlin"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1002, "Ana Trujilo", "Mexico", "ANATR", "Mexico D.F."))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1003, "Antonio Moreno", "Mexico", "ANTON", "Mexico D.F."))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1004, "Thomas Hardy", "UK", "AROUT", "London"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1005, "Christina Berglund", "Sweden", "BERGS", "Lula"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1006, "Hanna Moos", "Germany", "BLAUS", "Mannheim"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1007, "Frederique Citeaux", "France", "BLONP", "Strasbourg"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1008, "Martin Sommer", "Spain", "BOLID", "Madrid"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1009, "Laurence Lebihan", "France", "BONAP", "Marseille"))
   		_orders.Add(New OrderInfo(1010, "Elizabeth Lincoln", "Canada", "BOTTM", "Tsawassen"))
   	End Sub
   End Class

Binding to Data

To bind the SfDataGrid to data, set the SfDataGrid.DataSource property to an IEnumerable implementation. Each row in SfDataGrid is bound to an object in data source and each column in SfDataGrid bound to a property in data object.

C#

OrderInfoCollection orderInfoCollection = new OrderInfoCollection();
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders;

VB.NET

Dim orderInfoCollection As New OrderInfoCollection()
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders

Now, run the application, the below output will occur.

Defining Columns

By default, the SfDataGrid control generates the columns automatically when value assigned to SfDataGrid.DataSource property. The type of the column generated depends on the type of data in the column and the attribute of the property the column bound with.
The following table lists the column types and its constraints for auto column generation.

Generated Column Type	Data Type / Attribute
GridTextColumn	Property of type String and any other type apart from below specified cases.
GridNumericColumn	Property of type Int, Double, Float, Decimal.
GridDateTimeColumn	Property of type DateTime.
GridImageColumn	Property of type Byte[]
GridHyperLinkColumn	Property of type Uri
GridCheckBoxColumn	Property of type Bool.

When columns are auto-generated, the SfDataGrid.AutoGeneratingColumn event can be handled to customize or cancel the columns before they are added to the SfDataGrid.
The automatic column generation can be prevented by setting SfDataGrid.AutoGenerateColumns property is false, The columns to be displayed should be defined as below,

C#

sfDataGrid1.AutoGenerateColumns = false;
sfDataGrid1.Columns.Add(new GridTextColumn() { MappingName = "OrderID" });
sfDataGrid1.Columns.Add(new GridTextColumn() { MappingName = "CustomerID" });

VB.NET

sfDataGrid1.AutoGenerateColumns = False
sfDataGrid1.Columns.Add(New GridTextColumn() With {.MappingName = "OrderID"})
sfDataGrid1.Columns.Add(New GridTextColumn() With {.MappingName = "CustomerID"})

Below is the list of column types provided in SfDataGrid.

Column Type	Comments
GridTextColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts textual content in its cells.
GridNumericColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts SfNumericTextBox controls in its cells which is used to format and display Numeric values.
GridDataTimeColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts SfDateTimeEdit controls in its cells which is used to display and format DateTime values.
GridImageColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts Image in its cells.
GridHyperLinkColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts Hyperlink in its cells
GridCheckBoxColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts CheckBox in its cells.
GridComboBoxColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts ComboBox in its cells.
GridButtonColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts Button in its cells.
GridUnboundColumn	Represents SfDataGrid column that hosts textual content which are not actually bound with data object of row.

Selection

By default, the entire row is selected when a user clicks a cell in a SfDataGrid. The SfDataGrid.SelectionMode property can be set to specify whether a user can select single row, or multiple rows. The information about the rows that are selected can be retrieved using SfDataGrid.SelectedItem and SfDataGrid.SelectedItems properties.

C#

sfDataGrid1.SelectionMode = Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid.Enums.GridSelectionMode.Extended;

VB.NET

sfDataGrid1.SelectionMode = Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid.Enums.GridSelectionMode.Extended

The selection operations can be handled with the help of SfDataGrid.SelectionChanging and SfDataGrid.SelectionChanged events of SfDataGrid.

Sorting, Grouping, and Filtering

Sorting

By default, columns in a SfDataGrid can be sorted by clicking the column header. The sorting can be configured by setting SfDataGrid.SortColumnDescriptions property as below,

C#

OrderInfoCollection orderInfoCollection = new OrderInfoCollection();
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders;
sfDataGrid1.SortColumnDescriptions.Add(new SortColumnDescription() { ColumnName = "Country" });

VB.NET

Dim orderInfoCollection As New OrderInfoCollection()
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders
sfDataGrid1.SortColumnDescriptions.Add(New SortColumnDescription() With {.ColumnName = "Country"})

The sorting can be customized by handling the SfDataGrid.SortColumnsChanging and SfDataGrid.SortColumnsChanged events. To cancel the default sort, set the Cancel property to true in SfDataGrid.SortColumnsChanging event.

C#

sfDataGrid1.SortColumnsChanging += sfDataGrid1_SortColumnsChanging;

void sfDataGrid1_SortColumnsChanging(object sender, Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid.Events.SortColumnsChangingEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.AddedItems[0].ColumnName == "CustomerName")
        e.Cancel = true;
}

VB.NET

AddHandler sfDataGrid1.SortColumnsChanging, AddressOf sfDataGrid1_SortColumnsChanging

Private Sub sfDataGrid1_SortColumnsChanging(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As Syncfusion.WinForms.DataGrid.Events.SortColumnsChangingEventArgs)
	If e.AddedItems(0).ColumnName = "CustomerName" Then
		e.Cancel = True
	End If
End Sub

Grouping

Grouping can be enabled by setting SfDataGrid.ShowGroupDropArea property, where group can be dragged by dragging the column header and dropping it in theGroupDropArea over the column headers. The grouping can be configured by setting SfDataGrid.GroupColumnDescriptions property as below,

C#

OrderInfoCollection orderInfoCollection = new OrderInfoCollection();
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders;
sfDataGrid1.GroupColumnDescriptions.Add(new GroupColumnDescription() { ColumnName = "CustomerName" });

VB.NET

Dim orderInfoCollection As New OrderInfoCollection()
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders
sfDataGrid1.GroupColumnDescriptions.Add(New GroupColumnDescription() With {.ColumnName = "CustomerName"})

Filtering

Filtering can be enabled by setting SfDataGrid.AllowFiltering property to true, where advanced filter UI can be opened by clicking the Filter icon in column header and filter the SfDataGrid. The filtering operations ca be customized by handling SfDataGrid.FilterChanging and SfDataGrid.FilterChanged events.

C#

OrderInfoCollection orderInfoCollection = new OrderInfoCollection();
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders;
sfDataGrid1.AllowFiltering = true;

VB.NET

Dim orderInfoCollection As New OrderInfoCollection()
sfDataGrid1.DataSource = orderInfoCollection.Orders
sfDataGrid1.AllowFiltering = True

Editing

Editing can be enabled by setting SfDataGrid.AllowEditing property to true. Set SfDataGrid.AllowDeleting property to specify whether user can delete rows by pressing Delete key.
Set SfDataGrid.AddNewRowPosition property to enable additional row either Top or Bottom of SfDataGrid, where user can enter new items into the blank row. Adding new row adds an item to the SfDataGrid.DataSource.
The editing operations can be customized by handling SfDataGrid.CurrentCellBeginEdit and SfDataGrid.CurrentCellEndEdit events.

Handling events

You cannot handle the Key and Mouse events of the SfDataGrid when raising them, because the TableControl is hosted in the SfDataGrid. So, raise the events for SfDataGrid.TableControl.

C#

//KeyDown Event for TableControl
sfDataGrid.TableControl.KeyDown += OnKeyDown;

void OnKeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
{
    //Do your customization here
}


//MouseDown Event for TableControl
sfDataGrid.TableControl.MouseDown += OnMouseDown;

void OnMouseDown(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
    //Do your customization here
}

VB.NET

'KeyDown Event for TableControl
AddHandler sfDataGrid.TableControl.KeyDown, AddressOf OnKeyDown

Private Sub OnKeyDown(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As KeyEventArgs)
	'Do your customization here
End Sub

'MouseDown Event for TableControl
AddHandler sfDataGrid.TableControl.MouseDown, AddressOf OnMouseDown

Private Sub OnMouseDown(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As MouseEventArgs)
	'Do your customization here
End Sub

NOTE

You can also explore our WinForms DataGrid example that shows how to render the DataGrid in Windows Forms.