How to: Format Data in the Windows Forms DataGridView Control

.NET Framework 4.5

Other Versions

• Visual Studio 2010
• Visual Studio 2008
• .NET Framework 3.0
• Visual Studio 2005
• .NET Framework 3.5
• .NET Framework 2.0

1 out of 3 rated this helpful - Rate this topic

The following procedures demonstrate basic formatting of cell values using the DefaultCellStyle property of a DataGridView control and of specific columns in a control. For information about advanced data formatting, see How to: Customize Data Formatting in the Windows Forms DataGridView Control.

To format currency and date values

• Set the Format property of a DataGridViewCellStyle. The following code example sets the format for specific columns using the DefaultCellStyle property of the columns. Values in the UnitPrice column appear in the current culture-specific currency format, with negative values surrounded by parentheses. Values in the ShipDate column appear in the current culture-specific short date format. For more information about Format values, see Formatting Types.
  
  C#

  VB

  Copy

  this.dataGridView1.Columns["UnitPrice"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "c";
  this.dataGridView1.Columns["ShipDate"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "d";
  

To customize the display of null database values

• Set the NullValue property of a DataGridViewCellStyle. The following code example uses the DataGridViewDefaultCellStyle property to display "no entry" in all cells containing values equal to DBNullValue.
  
  C#

  VB

  Copy

  this.dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.NullValue = "no entry";
  

To enable wordwrap in text-based cells

• Set the WrapMode property of a DataGridViewCellStyle to one of the DataGridViewTriState enumeration values. The following code example uses the DataGridViewDefaultCellStyle property to set the wrap mode for the entire control.
  
  C#

  VB

  Copy

  this.dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.WrapMode =
      DataGridViewTriState.True;
  

To specify the text alignment of DataGridView cells

• Set the Alignment property of a DataGridViewCellStyle to one of the DataGridViewContentAlignment enumeration values. The following code example sets the alignment for a specific column using the DefaultCellStyle property of the column.
  
  C#

  VB

  Copy

  this.dataGridView1.Columns["CustomerName"].DefaultCellStyle
      .Alignment = DataGridViewContentAlignment.MiddleRight;
  

Example

---

C#

VB

Copy

private void SetFormatting()
{
    this.dataGridView1.Columns["UnitPrice"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "c";
    this.dataGridView1.Columns["ShipDate"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "d";
    this.dataGridView1.Columns["CustomerName"].DefaultCellStyle
        .Alignment = DataGridViewContentAlignment.MiddleRight;
    this.dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.NullValue = "no entry";
    this.dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.WrapMode =
        DataGridViewTriState.True;
}

Compiling the Code

---

These examples require:

• A DataGridView control named dataGridView1 that contains a column named UnitPrice, a column named ShipDate, and a column named CustomerName.
• References to the System, System.Drawing, and System.Windows.Forms assemblies.