In this topic:

• Introduction

• Column Fields

• Binding to Data

• Data Operations

• Customizing the User Interface

• Events

• Accessibility

• Declarative Syntax

Introduction

The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control is used to display the values of a data source in a table. Each column represents a field, while each row represents a record. The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control supports the following features:

• Binding to data source controls, such as System.Web.UI.WebControls.SqlDataSource.

• Built-in sort capabilities.

• Built-in update and delete capabilities.

• Built-in paging capabilities.

• Built-in row selection capabilities.

• Programmatic access to the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView object model to dynamically set properties, handle events, and so on.

• Multiple key fields.

• Multiple data fields for the hyperlink columns.

• Customizable appearance through themes and styles.

• To learn about the other data-bound controls that are available in ASP.NET, see ASP.NET Data-Bound Web Server Controls Overview.

Column Fields

Each column in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control is represented by a System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataControlField object. By default, the GridView.AutoGenerateColumns property is set to true, which creates an System.Web.UI.WebControls.AutoGeneratedField object for each field in the data source. Each field is then rendered as a column in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control in the order that each field appears in the data source.

You can also manually control which column fields appear in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control by setting the GridView.AutoGenerateColumns property to false and then defining your own column field collection. Different column field types determine the behavior of the columns in the control. The following table lists the different column field types that can be used.

To define a column field collection declaratively, first add opening and closing <Columns> tags between the opening and closing tags of the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control. Next, list the column fields that you want to include between the opening and closing <Columns> tags. The columns specified are added to the GridView.Columns collection in the order listed. The GridView.Columns collection stores all the column fields in the control and enables you to programmatically manage the column fields in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control.

Explicitly declared column fields can be displayed in combination with automatically generated column fields. When both are used, explicitly declared column fields are rendered first, followed by the automatically generated column fields.

Binding to Data

The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control can be bound to a data source control (such as the System.Web.UI.WebControls.SqlDataSource control or System.Web.UI.WebControls.ObjectDataSource control) or to any data source collection that implements the IEnumerable interface, such as System.Data.DataView, ArrayList, List`1, or other collection types. Use one of the following methods to bind the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control to the appropriate data source type:

• To bind to a data source control, set the DataBoundControl.DataSourceID property of the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control to the System.Web.UI.Control.ID value of the data source control. The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control automatically binds to the specified data source control and can take advantage of the data source control's capabilities to perform sorting, updating, deleting, and paging. This is the preferred method to bind to data.

• To bind to a data source that implements the IEnumerable interface, programmatically set the BaseDataBoundControl.DataSource property of the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control to the data source and then call the BaseDataBoundControl.DataBind method. When using this method, the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control does not provide built-in sort, update, delete, and paging functionality. You need to provide this functionality by using the appropriate event.

For more information about data binding, see Accessing Data with ASP.NET.

Data Operations

The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control provides many built-in capabilities that allow the user to sort, update, delete, select, and page through items in the control. When the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control is bound to a data source control, the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control can take advantage of the data source control's capabilities and provide automatic sort, update, and delete functionality.

Sorting allows the user to sort the items in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control with respect to a specific column by clicking on the column's header. To enable sorting, set the GridView.AllowSorting property to true.

The automatic updating, deleting, and selection functionalities are enabled when a button in a System.Web.UI.WebControls.ButtonField or System.Web.UI.WebControls.TemplateField column field, with a command name of "Edit", "Delete", and "Select", respectively, is clicked. The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control can automatically add a System.Web.UI.WebControls.CommandField column field with an Edit, Delete, or Select button if the GridView.AutoGenerateEditButton, GridView.AutoGenerateDeleteButton, or GridView.AutoGenerateSelectButton property is set to true, respectively.

Instead of displaying all the records in the data source at the same time, the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control can automatically break the records up into pages. To enable paging, set the GridView.AllowPaging property to true.

Customizing the User Interface

You can customize the appearance of the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control by setting the style properties for the different parts of the control. The following table lists the different style properties.

You can also show or hide different parts of the control. The following table lists the properties that control which parts are shown or hidden.

Events

The System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control provides several events that you can program against. This enables you to run a custom routine whenever an event occurs. The following table lists the events that are supported by the System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView control.

Accessibility

For information about how to configure this control so that it generates markup that conforms to accessibility standards, see Accessibility in Visual Studio 2010 and ASP.NET 4 and ASP.NET Controls and Accessibility.

Declarative Syntax

<asp:GridView
    AccessKey="string"
    AllowPaging="True|