Tip 1 – Populating a DataGridView

 
In this short snippet, we will populate a DataGridView using the LoadData() method. This
method uses the SqlDataAdapter to populate a DataSet. The table ‘Orders’ in the DataSet is
then bound to the BindingSource component which gives us the flexibility to choose/modify
the data location.

C#

public partial class Form1 : Form

    {
        private SqlDataAdapter da;
        private SqlConnection conn;
        BindingSource bsource = new BindingSource();
        DataSet ds = null;
        string sql;
 
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }
 
        private void btnLoad_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            LoadData();
        }
 
        private void LoadData()
        {
string connectionString = "Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=Northwind;" +
"Integrated Security=SSPI;";
            conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
sql = "SELECT OrderID, CustomerID, EmployeeID, OrderDate, Freight," +
"ShipName, ShipCountry FROM Orders";
 
            da = new SqlDataAdapter(sql, conn);
            conn.Open();
            ds = new DataSet();
            SqlCommandBuilder commandBuilder = new
SqlCommandBuilder(da);          
            da.Fill(ds, "Orders");
            bsource.DataSource = ds.Tables["Orders"];
            dgv.DataSource = bsource;          
        }

    }

VB.NET

Public Partial Class Form1

      Inherits Form
            Private da As SqlDataAdapter
            Private conn As SqlConnection
            Private bsource As BindingSource = New BindingSource()
            Private ds As DataSet = Nothing
            Private sql As String
 
            Public Sub New()
                  InitializeComponent()
            End Sub
 
Private Sub btnLoad_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
                  LoadData()
            End Sub
 
            Private Sub LoadData()
Dim connectionString As String = "Data Source=localhost;Initial
Catalog=Northwind;" & "Integrated Security=SSPI;"
                  conn = New SqlConnection(connectionString)
sql = "SELECT OrderID, CustomerID, EmployeeID, OrderDate, Freight," &
"ShipName, ShipCountry FROM Orders"
 
                  da = New SqlDataAdapter(sql, conn)
                  conn.Open()
                  ds = New DataSet()
Dim commandBuilder As SqlCommandBuilder = New SqlCommandBuilder(da)
                  da.Fill(ds, "Orders")
                  bsource.DataSource = ds.Tables("Orders")
                  dgv.DataSource = bsource
            End Sub
End Class
 

Tip 2 – Update the data in the DataGridView and save changes in the
database
 
After editing the data in the cells, if you would like to update the changes permanently in
the database, use the following code:

C#

        private void btnUpdate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            DataTable dt = ds.Tables["Orders"];
           this.dgv.BindingContext[dt].EndCurrentEdit();
            this.da.Update(dt);
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnUpdate_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  Dim dt As DataTable = ds.Tables("Orders")
                  Me.dgv.BindingContext(dt).EndCurrentEdit()
                  Me.da.Update(dt)
      End Sub
Tip 3 – Display a confirmation box before deleting a row in the
DataGridView
 
Handle the UserDeletingRow event to display a confirmation box to the user. If the user
confirms the deletion, delete the row. If the user clicks cancel, set e.cancel = true which
cancels the row deletion.

C#

private void dgv_UserDeletingRow(object sender, DataGridViewRowCancelEventArgs

e)
        {
            if (!e.Row.IsNewRow)
            {
                DialogResult res = MessageBox.Show("Are you sure you want to
delete this row?", "Delete confirmation",
                         MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question);
                if (res == DialogResult.No)
                    e.Cancel = true;
            }
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub dgv_UserDeletingRow(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As

DataGridViewRowCancelEventArgs)
                  If (Not e.Row.IsNewRow) Then
                        Dim res As DialogResult = MessageBox.Show("Are you
sure you want to delete this row?", "Delete confirmation",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question)
                        If res = DialogResult.No Then
                              e.Cancel = True
                        End If
                  End If
End Sub

Tip 4 – How to autoresize column width in the DataGridView

 
The snippet shown below, first auto-resizes the columns to fit its content. Then the
AutoSizeColumnsMode is set to the ‘DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnsMode.AllCells’
enumeration value which automatically adjust the widths of the columns when the data
changes.

C#

private void btnResize_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            dgv.AutoResizeColumns();
            dgv.AutoSizeColumnsMode =
DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnsMode.AllCells;
 
        }
VB.NET

Private Sub btnResize_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  dgv.AutoResizeColumns()
                  dgv.AutoSizeColumnsMode =
DataGridViewAutoSizeColumnsMode.AllCells
 
End Sub
 

Tip 5 - Select and Highlight an entire row in DataGridView

 
C#

int rowToBeSelected = 3; // third row

if (dgv.Rows.Count >= rowToBeSelected)
{             
       // Since index is zero based, you have to subtract 1
        dgv.Rows[rowToBeSelected - 1].Selected = true;
}

VB.NET

Dim rowToBeSelected As Integer = 3 ' third row

If dgv.Rows.Count >= rowToBeSelected Then
         ' Since index is zero based, you have to subtract 1
            dgv.Rows(rowToBeSelected - 1).Selected = True
End If

Tip 6 - How to scroll programmatically to a row in the DataGridView

 
The DataGridView has a property called FirstDisplayedScrollingRowIndex that can be used in
order to scroll to a row programmatically.

C#

int jumpToRow = 20;

if (dgv.Rows.Count >= jumpToRow && jumpToRow >= 1)
{             
        dgv.FirstDisplayedScrollingRowIndex = jumpToRow;
        dgv.Rows[jumpToRow].Selected = true;
}
 
VB.NET

Dim jumpToRow As Integer = 20

If dgv.Rows.Count >= jumpToRow AndAlso jumpToRow >= 1 Then
            dgv.FirstDisplayedScrollingRowIndex = jumpToRow
            dgv.Rows(jumpToRow).Selected = True
End If
 
Tip 7 - Calculate a column total in the DataGridView and display in a
textbox
 
A common requirement is to calculate the total of a currency field and display it in a
textbox. In the snippet below, we will be calculating the total of the ‘Freight’ field. We will
then display the data in a textbox by formatting the result (observe the ToString("c"))
while displaying the data, which displays the culture-specific currency.

C#

private void btnTotal_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            if(dgv.Rows.Count > 0)
             txtTotal.Text = Total().ToString("c");
        }
 

Tip 8 - Change the Header Names in the DataGridView

 
If the columns being retrieved from the database do not have meaningful names, we always
have the option of changing the header names as shown in this snippet:

C#

private void btnChange_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            dgv.Columns[0].HeaderText = "MyHeader1";
            dgv.Columns[1].HeaderText = "MyHeader2";
        }
 
VB.NET

Private Sub btnChange_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  dgv.Columns(0).HeaderText = "MyHeader1"
                  dgv.Columns(1).HeaderText = "MyHeader2"
End Sub
 

Tip 9 - Change the Color of Cells, Rows and Border in the DataGridView
 
C#

private void btnCellRow_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            // Change ForeColor of each Cell
            this.dgv.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.Coral;
            // Change back color of each row
            this.dgv.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.AliceBlue;
            // Change GridLine Color
            this.dgv.GridColor = Color.Blue;
            // Change Grid Border Style
            this.dgv.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D;
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnCellRow_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  ' Change ForeColor of each Cell
                  Me.dgv.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.Coral
                  ' Change back color of each row
                  Me.dgv.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.AliceBlue
                  ' Change GridLine Color
                  Me.dgv.GridColor = Color.Blue
                  ' Change Grid Border Style
                  Me.dgv.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D
End Sub

Tip 10 - Hide a Column in the DataGridView

 
If you would like to hide a column based on a certain condition, here’s a snippet for that.

C#

private void btnHide_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            this.dgv.Columns["EmployeeID"].Visible = false;
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnHide_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  Me.dgv.Columns("EmployeeID").Visible = False
End Sub
 

Tip 11 - Handle SelectedIndexChanged of a ComboBox in the DataGridView

 
To handle the SelectedIndexChanged event of a DataGridViewComboBox, you need to use
the DataGridView.EditingControlShowing event as shown below. You can then retrieve the
selected index or the selected text of the combobox.

C#

private void dataGridView1_EditingControlShowing(object sender,

DataGridViewEditingControlShowingEventArgs e)
        {
            ComboBox editingComboBox = (ComboBox)e.Control;
            if(editingComboBox != null)
                editingComboBox.SelectedIndexChanged += new
System.EventHandler(this.editingComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged);
        }
private void editingComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender,
System.EventArgs e)
        {
            ComboBox comboBox1 = (ComboBox)sender;
            // Display index
            MessageBox.Show(comboBox1.SelectedIndex.ToString());
            // Display value
            MessageBox.Show(comboBox1.Text);

        }

VB.NET

Private Sub dataGridView1_EditingControlShowing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal

e As DataGridViewEditingControlShowingEventArgs)
                  Dim editingComboBox As ComboBox = CType(e.Control, ComboBox)
                  If Not editingComboBox Is Nothing Then
                        AddHandler editingComboBox.SelectedIndexChanged,
AddressOf editingComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged
                  End If
End Sub
 
Private Sub editingComboBox_SelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal
e As System.EventArgs)
                  Dim comboBox1 As ComboBox = CType(sender, ComboBox)
                  ' Display index
                  MessageBox.Show(comboBox1.SelectedIndex.ToString())
                  ' Display value
                  MessageBox.Show(comboBox1.Text)
End Sub

Tip 12 - Change Color of Alternate Rows in the DataGridView

 
C#

private void btnAlternate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            this.dgv.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.White;
            this.dgv.AlternatingRowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor =
Color.Aquamarine;
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnAlternate_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  Me.dgv.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.White
                  Me.dgv.AlternatingRowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor =
Color.Aquamarine
End Sub
 

Tip 13 - Formatting Data in the DataGridView

 
The DataGridView exposes properties that enable you to format data such as displaying a
currency column in the culture specific currency or displaying nulls in a desired format and
so on.

C#

private void btnFormat_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
            // display currency in culture-specific currency for
            this.dgv.Columns["Freight"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "c";
            // display nulls as 'NA'
            this.dgv.DefaultCellStyle.NullValue = "NA";
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnFormat_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                  ' display currency in culture-specific currency for
                  Me.dgv.Columns("Freight").DefaultCellStyle.Format = "c"
                  ' display nulls as 'NA'
                  Me.dgv.DefaultCellStyle.NullValue = "NA"
End Sub
 

Tip 14 – Change the order of columns in the DataGridView

 
In order to change the order of columns, just set the DisplayIndex property of the
DataGridView to the desired value. Remember that the index is zero based.

C#

private void btnReorder_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {
             dgv.Columns["CustomerID"].DisplayIndex = 5;
             dgv.Columns["OrderID"].DisplayIndex = 3;
             dgv.Columns["EmployeeID"].DisplayIndex = 1;
             dgv.Columns["OrderDate"].DisplayIndex = 2;
             dgv.Columns["Freight"].DisplayIndex = 6;
             dgv.Columns["ShipCountry"].DisplayIndex = 0;
             dgv.Columns["ShipName"].DisplayIndex = 4;
        }

VB.NET

Private Sub btnReorder_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

                   dgv.Columns("CustomerID").DisplayIndex = 5
                   dgv.Columns("OrderID").DisplayIndex = 3
                   dgv.Columns("EmployeeID").DisplayIndex = 1
                   dgv.Columns("OrderDate").DisplayIndex = 2
                   dgv.Columns("Freight").DisplayIndex = 6
                   dgv.Columns("ShipCountry").DisplayIndex = 0
                   dgv.Columns("ShipName").DisplayIndex = 4
End Sub
 
I hope this article was useful and I thank you for viewing it.