Grid View for ASP.NET Web Forms - How to create columns and bind the control to different data sources at runtime

This example demonstrates how to create columns and bind the ASPxGridView to different data sources at runtime. Select items in the ASPxRadioButtonList control to switch between SQL data sources.

Bind grid to a data source at runtime

The grid does not have columns in design mode. All columns are added to the grid at runtime according to columns of the bound data source. If the data source has the insert, update, or delete command, the grid displays the command column.

Note that the grid's EnableViewState property is set to false to avoid exceptions when binding the grid to a data source.

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Example Code

WebSite/Default.aspx

ASPx
<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="_Default" %>

<%@ Register Assembly="DevExpress.Web.v15.1, Version=15.1.15.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b88d1754d700e49a"
    Namespace="DevExpress.Web" TagPrefix="dx" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
    <title>How to bind ASPxGridView with manually created columns to different data sources
        at runtime. The grid is created in design mode.</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <table>
            <tr>
                <td valign="top">
                    <dx:ASPxGridView ID="grid" runat="server" ClientInstanceName="grid" OnCustomCallback="grid_CustomCallback"
                        OnDataBinding="grid_DataBinding" EnableViewState="false" AutoGenerateColumns="False" OnRowDeleting="grid_RowDeleting" OnRowInserting="grid_RowInserting" OnRowUpdating="grid_RowUpdating">
                    </dx:ASPxGridView>
                </td>
                <td valign="top">
                    <dx:ASPxRadioButtonList ID="rblDatasources" runat="server">
                        <ClientSideEvents SelectedIndexChanged="function(s, e) { grid.PerformCallback(s.GetSelectedIndex()); }" />
                        <Items>
                            <dx:ListEditItem Selected="True" Text="Products" />
                            <dx:ListEditItem Text="Categories" />
                            <dx:ListEditItem Text="Shippers" />
                        </Items>
                    </dx:ASPxRadioButtonList>
                </td>
            </tr>
        </table>        
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsProducts" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" DeleteCommand="DELETE FROM [Products] WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID"
            InsertCommand="INSERT INTO [Products] ([ProductName], [QuantityPerUnit], [UnitPrice]) VALUES (@ProductName, @QuantityPerUnit, @UnitPrice)"
            SelectCommand="SELECT [ProductID], [ProductName], [QuantityPerUnit], [UnitPrice] FROM [Products]"
            UpdateCommand="UPDATE [Products] SET [ProductName] = @ProductName, [QuantityPerUnit] = @QuantityPerUnit, [UnitPrice] = @UnitPrice WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID">
            <DeleteParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductID" Type="Int32" />
            </DeleteParameters>
            <InsertParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="QuantityPerUnit" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="UnitPrice" Type="Decimal" />
            </InsertParameters>
            <UpdateParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="QuantityPerUnit" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="UnitPrice" Type="Decimal" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductID" Type="Int32" />
            </UpdateParameters>
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsCategories" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" DeleteCommand="DELETE FROM [Categories] WHERE [CategoryID] = @CategoryID"
            InsertCommand="INSERT INTO [Categories] ([CategoryName], [Description]) VALUES (@CategoryName, @Description)"
            SelectCommand="SELECT [CategoryID], [CategoryName], [Description] FROM [Categories]"
            UpdateCommand="UPDATE [Categories] SET [CategoryName] = @CategoryName, [Description] = @Description WHERE [CategoryID] = @CategoryID">
            <DeleteParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryID" Type="Int32" />
            </DeleteParameters>
            <InsertParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="Description" Type="String" />
            </InsertParameters>
            <UpdateParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="Description" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryID" Type="Int32" />
            </UpdateParameters>
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsShippers" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" SelectCommand="SELECT [ShipperID], [CompanyName], [Phone] FROM [Shippers]">
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

Default.aspx

ASPx
<%@ Page Language="vb" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.vb" Inherits="_Default" %>

<%@ Register Assembly="DevExpress.Web.v15.1, Version=15.1.15.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b88d1754d700e49a"
    Namespace="DevExpress.Web" TagPrefix="dx" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
    <title>How to bind ASPxGridView with manually created columns to different data sources
        at runtime. The grid is created in design mode.</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <table>
            <tr>
                <td valign="top">
                    <dx:ASPxGridView ID="grid" runat="server" ClientInstanceName="grid" OnCustomCallback="grid_CustomCallback"
                        OnDataBinding="grid_DataBinding" EnableViewState="false" AutoGenerateColumns="False" OnRowDeleting="grid_RowDeleting" OnRowInserting="grid_RowInserting" OnRowUpdating="grid_RowUpdating">
                    </dx:ASPxGridView>
                </td>
                <td valign="top">
                    <dx:ASPxRadioButtonList ID="rblDatasources" runat="server">
                        <ClientSideEvents SelectedIndexChanged="function(s, e) { grid.PerformCallback(s.GetSelectedIndex()); }" />
                        <Items>
                            <dx:ListEditItem Selected="True" Text="Products" />
                            <dx:ListEditItem Text="Categories" />
                            <dx:ListEditItem Text="Shippers" />
                        </Items>
                    </dx:ASPxRadioButtonList>
                </td>
            </tr>
        </table>        
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsProducts" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" DeleteCommand="DELETE FROM [Products] WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID"
            InsertCommand="INSERT INTO [Products] ([ProductName], [QuantityPerUnit], [UnitPrice]) VALUES (@ProductName, @QuantityPerUnit, @UnitPrice)"
            SelectCommand="SELECT [ProductID], [ProductName], [QuantityPerUnit], [UnitPrice] FROM [Products]"
            UpdateCommand="UPDATE [Products] SET [ProductName] = @ProductName, [QuantityPerUnit] = @QuantityPerUnit, [UnitPrice] = @UnitPrice WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID">
            <DeleteParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductID" Type="Int32" />
            </DeleteParameters>
            <InsertParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="QuantityPerUnit" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="UnitPrice" Type="Decimal" />
            </InsertParameters>
            <UpdateParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="QuantityPerUnit" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="UnitPrice" Type="Decimal" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="ProductID" Type="Int32" />
            </UpdateParameters>
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsCategories" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" DeleteCommand="DELETE FROM [Categories] WHERE [CategoryID] = @CategoryID"
            InsertCommand="INSERT INTO [Categories] ([CategoryName], [Description]) VALUES (@CategoryName, @Description)"
            SelectCommand="SELECT [CategoryID], [CategoryName], [Description] FROM [Categories]"
            UpdateCommand="UPDATE [Categories] SET [CategoryName] = @CategoryName, [Description] = @Description WHERE [CategoryID] = @CategoryID">
            <DeleteParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryID" Type="Int32" />
            </DeleteParameters>
            <InsertParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="Description" Type="String" />
            </InsertParameters>
            <UpdateParameters>
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryName" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="Description" Type="String" />
                <asp:Parameter Name="CategoryID" Type="Int32" />
            </UpdateParameters>
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
        <asp:SqlDataSource ID="dsShippers" runat="server" ConnectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True"
            ProviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" SelectCommand="SELECT [ShipperID], [CompanyName], [Phone] FROM [Shippers]">
        </asp:SqlDataSource>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

WebSite/Default.aspx.cs

C#
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Collections;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using DevExpress.Web;

public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    enum DataSourceType {
        Products,
        Categories,
        Shippers
    }

    protected void Page_Init(object sender, EventArgs e) {
        if (!this.IsPostBack)
            Session.Clear();

        grid.DataBind();
    }
    protected void grid_DataBinding(object sender, EventArgs e) {
        (sender as ASPxGridView).DataSource = GetDataSource();
        AddColumns();
    }
    protected void grid_CustomCallback(object sender, ASPxGridViewCustomCallbackEventArgs e) {
        Session["selectedDataSource"] = Int32.Parse(e.Parameters);

        grid.Columns.Clear();
        grid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;
        grid.DataBind();
    }
    private SqlDataSource GetDataSource() {
        object o = Session["selectedDataSource"];
        DataSourceType dsType = DataSourceType.Products;
        if (o != null)
            dsType = (DataSourceType)o;

        switch (dsType) {
            case DataSourceType.Categories:
                return dsCategories;
            case DataSourceType.Shippers:
                return dsShippers;
            default:
                return dsProducts;
        }
    }
    private void AddColumns() {
        grid.Columns.Clear();
        DataView dw = (DataView)GetDataSource().Select(DataSourceSelectArguments.Empty);
        foreach (DataColumn c in dw.Table.Columns)
            AddTextColumn(c.ColumnName);

        grid.KeyFieldName = dw.Table.Columns[0].ColumnName;
        grid.Columns[0].Visible = false;
        AddCommandColumn();
    }

    private void AddTextColumn(string fieldName) {
        GridViewDataTextColumn c = new GridViewDataTextColumn();
        c.FieldName = fieldName;
        grid.Columns.Add(c);
    }

    private void AddCommandColumn() {
        SqlDataSource ds = (SqlDataSource)grid.DataSource;
        bool showColumn = !(String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.UpdateCommand) && String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.InsertCommand) &&
            String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.DeleteCommand));

        if (showColumn) {
            GridViewCommandColumn c = new GridViewCommandColumn();
            grid.Columns.Add(c);
            c.ShowEditButton = !String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.UpdateCommand);
            c.ShowNewButton = !String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.InsertCommand);
            c.ShowDeleteButton = !String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.DeleteCommand);
            c.ShowCancelButton = true;
            c.ShowUpdateButton = true;
        }
    }
    protected void grid_RowInserting(object sender, DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataInsertingEventArgs e) {
        throw new NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode");
    }
    protected void grid_RowDeleting(object sender, DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataDeletingEventArgs e) {
        throw new NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode");
    }
    protected void grid_RowUpdating(object sender, DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataUpdatingEventArgs e) {
        throw new NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode");
    }
}

Default.aspx.vb

Visual Basic
Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic
Imports System
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Web
Imports System.Web.Security
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts
Imports System.Web.UI.HtmlControls
Imports DevExpress.Web

Partial Public Class _Default
    Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
    Private Enum DataSourceType
        Products
        Categories
        Shippers
    End Enum

    Protected Sub Page_Init(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        If (Not Me.IsPostBack) Then
            Session.Clear()
        End If

        grid.DataBind()
    End Sub
    Protected Sub grid_DataBinding(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        TryCast(sender, ASPxGridView).DataSource = GetDataSource()
        AddColumns()
    End Sub
    Protected Sub grid_CustomCallback(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ASPxGridViewCustomCallbackEventArgs)
        Session("selectedDataSource") = Int32.Parse(e.Parameters)

        grid.Columns.Clear()
        grid.AutoGenerateColumns = False
        grid.DataBind()
    End Sub
    Private Function GetDataSource() As SqlDataSource
        Dim o As Object = Session("selectedDataSource")
        Dim dsType As DataSourceType = DataSourceType.Products
        If o IsNot Nothing Then
            dsType = CType(o, DataSourceType)
        End If

        Select Case dsType
            Case DataSourceType.Categories
                Return dsCategories
            Case DataSourceType.Shippers
                Return dsShippers
            Case Else
                Return dsProducts
        End Select
    End Function
    Private Sub AddColumns()
        grid.Columns.Clear()
        Dim dw As DataView = CType(GetDataSource().Select(DataSourceSelectArguments.Empty), DataView)
        For Each c As DataColumn In dw.Table.Columns
            AddTextColumn(c.ColumnName)
        Next c

        grid.KeyFieldName = dw.Table.Columns(0).ColumnName
        grid.Columns(0).Visible = False
        AddCommandColumn()
    End Sub

    Private Sub AddTextColumn(ByVal fieldName As String)
        Dim c As New GridViewDataTextColumn()
        c.FieldName = fieldName
        grid.Columns.Add(c)
    End Sub

    Private Sub AddCommandColumn()
        Dim ds As SqlDataSource = CType(grid.DataSource, SqlDataSource)
        Dim showColumn As Boolean = Not(String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.UpdateCommand) AndAlso String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.InsertCommand) AndAlso String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.DeleteCommand))

        If showColumn Then
            Dim c As New GridViewCommandColumn()
            grid.Columns.Add(c)
            c.ShowEditButton = Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.UpdateCommand)
            c.ShowNewButton = Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.InsertCommand)
            c.ShowDeleteButton = Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(ds.DeleteCommand)
            c.ShowCancelButton = True
            c.ShowUpdateButton = True
        End If
    End Sub
    Protected Sub grid_RowInserting(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataInsertingEventArgs)
        Throw New NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode")
    End Sub
    Protected Sub grid_RowDeleting(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataDeletingEventArgs)
        Throw New NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode")
    End Sub
    Protected Sub grid_RowUpdating(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DevExpress.Web.Data.ASPxDataUpdatingEventArgs)
        Throw New NotImplementedException("Operation is not allowed in demonstration mode")
    End Sub
End Class

DevExpress Support Team

last modified 3 years ago

Modified: February 10, 2022 7:33 AM

Platform: ASP.NET Web Forms

Product: ASPxGridView

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