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DataGridViewColumn Class

Definition

Represents a column in a DataGridView control.

C#
[System.ComponentModel.TypeConverter(typeof(System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewColumnConverter))]
public class DataGridViewColumn : System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewBand, IDisposable, System.ComponentModel.IComponent
Inheritance
Derived
Attributes
Implements

Examples

The following code example creates a Windows Form with a DataGridView and a set of buttons. Each button label describes an operation related to a DataGridViewColumn property, such as swapping the first and last column (using the DisplayIndex property) or changing the text of a column header (using the HeaderText property). Clicking a button changes the associated property of the DataGridViewColumn.

C#
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System;
using System.Drawing;

public class DataGridViewColumnDemo : Form
{
    #region "set up form"
    public DataGridViewColumnDemo()
    {
        InitializeComponent();

        AddButton(Button1, "Reset",
            new EventHandler(ResetToDisorder));
        AddButton(Button2, "Change Column 3 Header",
            new EventHandler(ChangeColumn3Header));
        AddButton(Button3, "Change Meatloaf Recipe",
            new EventHandler(ChangeMeatloafRecipe));
        AddAdditionalButtons();

        InitializeDataGridView();
    }

    DataGridView dataGridView;
    Button Button1 = new Button();
    Button Button2 = new Button();
    Button Button3 = new Button();
    Button Button4 = new Button();
    Button Button5 = new Button();
    Button Button6 = new Button();
    Button Button7 = new Button();
    Button Button8 = new Button();
    Button Button9 = new Button();
    Button Button10 = new Button();
    FlowLayoutPanel FlowLayoutPanel1 = new FlowLayoutPanel();

    private void InitializeComponent()
    {
        FlowLayoutPanel1.Location = new Point(454, 0);
        FlowLayoutPanel1.AutoSize = true;
        FlowLayoutPanel1.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.TopDown;
        FlowLayoutPanel1.Name = "flowlayoutpanel";
        ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(614, 360);
        Controls.Add(this.FlowLayoutPanel1);
        Text = this.GetType().Name;
        AutoSize = true;
    }
    #endregion

    #region "set up DataGridView"

    private string thirdColumnHeader = "Main Ingredients";
    private string boringMeatloaf = "ground beef";
    private string boringMeatloafRanking = "*";
    private bool boringRecipe;
    private bool shortMode;

    private void InitializeDataGridView()
    {
        dataGridView = new System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView();
        Controls.Add(dataGridView);
        dataGridView.Size = new Size(300, 200);

        // Create an unbound DataGridView by declaring a
        // column count.
        dataGridView.ColumnCount = 4;
        AdjustDataGridViewSizing();

        // Set the column header style.
        DataGridViewCellStyle columnHeaderStyle =
            new DataGridViewCellStyle();
        columnHeaderStyle.BackColor = Color.Aqua;
        columnHeaderStyle.Font =
            new Font("Verdana", 10, FontStyle.Bold);
        dataGridView.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle =
            columnHeaderStyle;

        // Set the column header names.
        dataGridView.Columns[0].Name = "Recipe";
        dataGridView.Columns[1].Name = "Category";
        dataGridView.Columns[2].Name = thirdColumnHeader;
        dataGridView.Columns[3].Name = "Rating";

        PostColumnCreation();

        // Populate the rows.
        string[] row1 = new string[]{"Meatloaf", 
                                        "Main Dish", boringMeatloaf, boringMeatloafRanking};
        string[] row2 = new string[]{"Key Lime Pie", 
                                        "Dessert", "lime juice, evaporated milk", "****"};
        string[] row3 = new string[]{"Orange-Salsa Pork Chops", 
                                        "Main Dish", "pork chops, salsa, orange juice", "****"};
        string[] row4 = new string[]{"Black Bean and Rice Salad", 
                                        "Salad", "black beans, brown rice", "****"};
        string[] row5 = new string[]{"Chocolate Cheesecake", 
                                        "Dessert", "cream cheese", "***"};
        string[] row6 = new string[]{"Black Bean Dip", "Appetizer",
                                        "black beans, sour cream", "***"};
        object[] rows = new object[] { row1, row2, row3, row4, row5, row6 };

        foreach (string[] rowArray in rows)
        {
            dataGridView.Rows.Add(rowArray);
        }

        shortMode = false;
        boringRecipe = true;
    }

    private void AddButton(Button button, string buttonLabel,
        EventHandler handler)
    {
        FlowLayoutPanel1.Controls.Add(button);
        button.TabIndex = FlowLayoutPanel1.Controls.Count;
        button.Text = buttonLabel;
        button.AutoSize = true;
        button.Click += handler;
    }

    private void ResetToDisorder(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
    {
        Controls.Remove(dataGridView);
        dataGridView.Dispose();
        InitializeDataGridView();
    }

    private void ChangeColumn3Header(object sender,
        System.EventArgs e)
    {
        Toggle(ref shortMode);
        if (shortMode)
        { dataGridView.Columns[2].HeaderText = "S"; }
        else
        { dataGridView.Columns[2].HeaderText = thirdColumnHeader; }
    }

    private static void Toggle(ref bool toggleThis)
    {
        toggleThis = !toggleThis;
    }

    private void ChangeMeatloafRecipe(object sender,
        System.EventArgs e)
    {
        Toggle(ref boringRecipe);
        if (boringRecipe)
        {
            SetMeatloaf(boringMeatloaf, boringMeatloafRanking);
        }
        else
        {
            string greatMeatloafRecipe =
                "1 lb. lean ground beef, " +
                "1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup," +
                "1/3 tsp onion powder, " +
                "1 clove of garlic, 1/2 pack onion soup mix " +
                " dash of your favorite BBQ Sauce";
            SetMeatloaf(greatMeatloafRecipe, "***");
        }
    }

    private void SetMeatloaf(string recipe, string rating)
    {
        dataGridView.Rows[0].Cells[2].Value = recipe;
        dataGridView.Rows[0].Cells[3].Value = rating;
    }
    #endregion

    #region "demonstration code"
    private void PostColumnCreation()
    {
        AddContextLabel();
        AddCriteriaLabel();
        CustomizeCellsInThirdColumn();
        AddContextMenu();
        SetDefaultCellInFirstColumn();
        ToolTips();

        dataGridView.CellMouseEnter +=
            dataGridView_CellMouseEnter;
        dataGridView.AutoSizeColumnModeChanged +=
            dataGridView_AutoSizeColumnModeChanged;
    }

    private string criteriaLabel = "Column 3 sizing criteria: ";
    private void AddCriteriaLabel()
    {
        AddLabelToPanelIfNotAlreadyThere(criteriaLabel,
            criteriaLabel +
            dataGridView.Columns[2].AutoSizeMode.ToString() +
            ".");
    }

    private void AddContextLabel()
    {
        string labelName = "label";
        AddLabelToPanelIfNotAlreadyThere(labelName,
            "Use shortcut menu to change cell color.");
    }

    private void AddLabelToPanelIfNotAlreadyThere(
        string labelName, string labelText)
    {
        Label label;
        if (FlowLayoutPanel1.Controls[labelName] == null)
        {
            label = new Label();
            label.AutoSize = true;
            label.Name = labelName;
            label.BackColor = Color.Bisque;
            FlowLayoutPanel1.Controls.Add(label);
        }
        else
        {
            label = (Label)FlowLayoutPanel1.Controls[labelName];
        }
        label.Text = labelText;
    }

    private void CustomizeCellsInThirdColumn()
    {
        int thirdColumn = 2;
        DataGridViewColumn column =
            dataGridView.Columns[thirdColumn];
        DataGridViewCell cell = new DataGridViewTextBoxCell();

        cell.Style.BackColor = Color.Wheat;
        column.CellTemplate = cell;
    }

    ToolStripMenuItem toolStripItem1 = new ToolStripMenuItem();

    private void AddContextMenu()
    {
        toolStripItem1.Text = "Redden";
        toolStripItem1.Click += new EventHandler(toolStripItem1_Click);
        ContextMenuStrip strip = new ContextMenuStrip();
        foreach (DataGridViewColumn column in dataGridView.Columns)
        {

            column.ContextMenuStrip = strip;
            column.ContextMenuStrip.Items.Add(toolStripItem1);
        }
    }

    private DataGridViewCellEventArgs mouseLocation;

    // Change the cell's color.
    private void toolStripItem1_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
    {
        dataGridView.Rows[mouseLocation.RowIndex]
            .Cells[mouseLocation.ColumnIndex].Style.BackColor
            = Color.Red;
    }

    // Deal with hovering over a cell.
    private void dataGridView_CellMouseEnter(object sender,
        DataGridViewCellEventArgs location)
    {
        mouseLocation = location;
    }

    private void SetDefaultCellInFirstColumn()
    {
        DataGridViewColumn firstColumn = dataGridView.Columns[0];
        DataGridViewCellStyle cellStyle =
            new DataGridViewCellStyle();
        cellStyle.BackColor = Color.Thistle;

        firstColumn.DefaultCellStyle = cellStyle;
    }

    private void ToolTips()
    {
        DataGridViewColumn firstColumn = dataGridView.Columns[0];
        DataGridViewColumn thirdColumn = dataGridView.Columns[2];
        firstColumn.ToolTipText =
            "This column uses a default cell.";
        thirdColumn.ToolTipText =
            "This column uses a template cell." +
            " Style changes to one cell apply to all cells.";
    }

    private void AddAdditionalButtons()
    {
        AddButton(Button4, "Set Minimum Width of Column Two",
            new EventHandler(Button4_Click));
        AddButton(Button5, "Set Width of Column One",
            new EventHandler(Button5_Click));
        AddButton(Button6, "Autosize Third Column",
            new EventHandler(Button6_Click));
        AddButton(Button7, "Add Thick Vertical Edge",
            new EventHandler(Button7_Click));
        AddButton(Button8, "Style and Number Columns",
            new EventHandler(Button8_Click));
        AddButton(Button9, "Change Column Header Text",
            new EventHandler(Button9_Click));
        AddButton(Button10, "Swap First and Last Columns",
            new EventHandler(Button10_Click));
    }

    private void AdjustDataGridViewSizing()
    {
        dataGridView.ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode = 
            DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize;
    }

    //Set the minimum width.
    private void Button4_Click(object sender,
        System.EventArgs e)
    {
        DataGridViewColumn column = dataGridView.Columns[1];
        column.MinimumWidth = 40;
    }

    // Set the width.
    private void Button5_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
    {
        DataGridViewColumn column = dataGridView.Columns[0];
        column.Width = 60;
    }

    // AutoSize the third column.
    private void Button6_Click(object sender,
        System.EventArgs e)
    {
        DataGridViewColumn column = dataGridView.Columns[2];
        column.AutoSizeMode = DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnMode.DisplayedCells;
    }

    // Set the vertical edge.
    private void Button7_Click(object sender,
        System.EventArgs e)
    {
        int thirdColumn = 2;
        DataGridViewColumn column =
            dataGridView.Columns[thirdColumn];
        column.DividerWidth = 10;
    }

    // Style and number columns.
    private void Button8_Click(object sender,
        EventArgs args)
    {
        DataGridViewCellStyle style = new DataGridViewCellStyle();
        style.Alignment =
            DataGridViewContentAlignment.MiddleCenter;
        style.ForeColor = Color.IndianRed;
        style.BackColor = Color.Ivory;

        foreach (DataGridViewColumn column in dataGridView.Columns)
        {
            column.HeaderCell.Value = column.Index.ToString();
            column.HeaderCell.Style = style;
        }
    }

    // Change the text in the column header.
    private void Button9_Click(object sender,
        EventArgs args)
    {
        foreach (DataGridViewColumn column in dataGridView.Columns)
        {

            column.HeaderText = String.Concat("Column ",
                column.Index.ToString());
        }
    }

    // Swap the last column with the first.
    private void Button10_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
    {
        DataGridViewColumnCollection columnCollection = dataGridView.Columns;

        DataGridViewColumn firstVisibleColumn =
            columnCollection.GetFirstColumn(DataGridViewElementStates.Visible);
        DataGridViewColumn lastVisibleColumn =
            columnCollection.GetLastColumn(
                DataGridViewElementStates.Visible, DataGridViewElementStates.None);

        int firstColumn_sIndex = firstVisibleColumn.DisplayIndex;
        firstVisibleColumn.DisplayIndex = lastVisibleColumn.DisplayIndex;
        lastVisibleColumn.DisplayIndex = firstColumn_sIndex;
    }

    // Updated the criteria label.
    private void dataGridView_AutoSizeColumnModeChanged(object sender,
        DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnModeEventArgs args)
    {
        args.Column.DataGridView.Parent.
            Controls["flowlayoutpanel"].Controls[criteriaLabel].
            Text = criteriaLabel
            + args.Column.AutoSizeMode.ToString();
    }
    #endregion

    [STAThreadAttribute()]
    public static void Main()
    {
        Application.Run(new DataGridViewColumnDemo());
    }
}

Remarks

The DataGridViewColumn class represents a logical column in a DataGridView control. You can retrieve columns through the Columns collection of the control.

Unlike a DataGridViewRow, which contains the actual collection of cells in a DataGridView, DataGridViewColumn is used mainly to adjust the appearance and behavior of the column user interface (UI), such as column width and cell style. For more information about cell styles, see Cell Styles in the Windows Forms DataGridView Control.

Types that derive from DataGridViewColumn typically initialize the CellTemplate property to a new instance of a related type derived from the DataGridViewCell class. Any column properties that relate to the appearance or behavior of individual cells are wrappers for the corresponding properties of the template cell. Changing one of these properties on the column automatically changes the value on the cell template and on all cells in the column. To override the specified value for individual cells, set the cell values after you set the column value.

Notes to Inheritors

When you derive from DataGridViewColumn and add new properties to the derived class, be sure to override the Clone() method to copy the new properties during cloning operations. You should also call the base class's Clone() method so that the properties of the base class are copied to the new cell.

Constructors

DataGridViewColumn()

Initializes a new instance of the DataGridViewColumn class to the default state.

DataGridViewColumn(DataGridViewCell)

Initializes a new instance of the DataGridViewColumn class using an existing DataGridViewCell as a template.

Properties

AutoSizeMode

Gets or sets the mode by which the column automatically adjusts its width.

CellTemplate

Gets or sets the template used to create new cells.

CellType

Gets the run-time type of the cell template.

ContextMenuStrip

Gets or sets the shortcut menu for the column.

DataGridView

Gets the DataGridView control associated with this element.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
DataPropertyName

Gets or sets the name of the data source property or database column to which the DataGridViewColumn is bound.

DefaultCellStyle

Gets or sets the column's default cell style.

DefaultHeaderCellType

Gets or sets the run-time type of the default header cell.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
Displayed

Gets a value indicating whether the band is currently displayed onscreen.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
DisplayIndex

Gets or sets the display order of the column relative to the currently displayed columns.

DividerWidth

Gets or sets the width, in pixels, of the column divider.

FillWeight

Gets or sets a value that represents the width of the column when it is in fill mode relative to the widths of other fill-mode columns in the control.

Frozen

Gets or sets a value indicating whether a column will move when a user scrolls the DataGridView control horizontally.

HasDefaultCellStyle

Gets a value indicating whether the DefaultCellStyle property has been set.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
HeaderCell

Gets or sets the DataGridViewColumnHeaderCell that represents the column header.

HeaderCellCore

Gets or sets the header cell of the DataGridViewBand.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
HeaderText

Gets or sets the caption text on the column's header cell.

Index

Gets the relative position of the band within the DataGridView control.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
InheritedAutoSizeMode

Gets the sizing mode in effect for the column.

InheritedStyle

Gets the cell style currently applied to the column.

IsDataBound

Gets a value indicating whether the column is bound to a data source.

IsRow

Gets a value indicating whether the band represents a row.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
MinimumWidth

Gets or sets the minimum width, in pixels, of the column.

Name

Gets or sets the name of the column.

ReadOnly

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the user can edit the column's cells.

Resizable

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the column is resizable.

Selected

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the band is in a selected user interface (UI) state.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
Site

Gets or sets the site of the column.

SortMode

Gets or sets the sort mode for the column.

State

Gets the user interface (UI) state of the element.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
Tag

Gets or sets the object that contains data to associate with the band.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
ToolTipText

Gets or sets the text used for ToolTips.

ValueType

Gets or sets the data type of the values in the column's cells.

Visible

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the column is visible.

Width

Gets or sets the current width of the column.

Methods

Clone()

Creates an exact copy of this band.

Dispose()

Releases all resources used by the DataGridViewBand.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
Dispose(Boolean)

Releases the unmanaged resources used by the DataGridViewBand and optionally releases the managed resources.

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

(Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

(Inherited from Object)
GetPreferredWidth(DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnMode, Boolean)

Calculates the ideal width of the column based on the specified criteria.

GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
OnDataGridViewChanged()

Called when the band is associated with a different DataGridView.

(Inherited from DataGridViewBand)
RaiseCellClick(DataGridViewCellEventArgs)

Raises the CellClick event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
RaiseCellContentClick(DataGridViewCellEventArgs)

Raises the CellContentClick event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
RaiseCellContentDoubleClick(DataGridViewCellEventArgs)

Raises the CellContentDoubleClick event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
RaiseCellValueChanged(DataGridViewCellEventArgs)

Raises the CellValueChanged event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
RaiseDataError(DataGridViewDataErrorEventArgs)

Raises the DataError event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
RaiseMouseWheel(MouseEventArgs)

Raises the MouseWheel event.

(Inherited from DataGridViewElement)
ToString()

Gets a string that describes the column.

Events

Disposed

Occurs when the DataGridViewColumn is disposed.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also