Cell Types

Essential Grid supports several cell types including Header Text, Static, Text Box, Check Box, NumericUpDown, Push Button, and ComboBox. In addition, users may derive additional cell types from our classes.

Static cells refer to those cells that cannot be edited, but can be deleted. Static cells support the inclusion of images.

Any cell in the GridControl can host a Header cell and reciprocate them, providing another cell type.

Essential Grid's powerful cell architecture makes no binding assumptions about a cell type's location. Cell types may be located anywhere in the grid. This aspect makes the customization of cells extremely easy. For example, headers could be made to display ComboBoxes instead of the default Header control, with little effort.

This cell type implements a Check Box similar to the Windows Check Box control.

The Essential Grid Check Box control supports both tri-state and bi-state behavior through an attribute setting. Users control the number of states that the Check Box displays.

This cell type implements a Push Button control that is similar to the Windows Button control.

Attribute settings allow users to specify the button look to be flat, raised or sunken. Code can catch an event to respond to a click on the button.

This cell type can be used to interactively increase and decrease the numeric value of an associated edit control using a spin button.

Cell attribute settings allow users to decide whether the control should wrap on reaching the number limit, or whether it should stop at the limit.

This cell type implements a standard Windows ComboBox interface. It allows the user to make a selection from a list of choices. There are both DropDown and DropDownList style ComboBoxes.

Essential Grid ComboBox cell type supports auto completion and can be bound to datasources.

Color Picker cells facilitate color selection.

The Color Picker cell type provides a very intuitive and standard user interface. It supports the display of web, system and palette colors. Depending on a user's needs, the groups of colors may be turned off and on.

Essential Grid's Month calendar cell type displays a calendar control as a DropDown.

Essential Grid features a very sophisticated DropDown system.

GridControl dropping down a bound control

It can DropDown an instance of itself and share data with the dropped instance.

GridControl dropping down multiple instances of itself

It can also DropDown grids in any mode including listbox mode as shown below.

DropDown Grid in listbox mode

The CurrencyEdit control can be used to modify the grid cells into currency cells. Options for setting the patterns for positive and negative numbers, grouping, decimal separators and more, are available for these grid cells.

Also, option for setting the value to be displayed when the modified cell content matches the null string for a currency cell type is available.

MaskEdit cells can be used to enter formatted text such as phone numbers and IP addresses. The options available facilitates users to input masks to control the type of input valid within a cell. For example, users may employ a MaskEdit cell to facilitate the entry of a formatted Social Security number, a phone number or a three character alpha-code.

Password cells facilitates the usage of passwords without displaying the typed text.

Support for modifying the grid cells to ProgressBar cells is available while using the GridControl. In addition to properties like maximum and minimum, users can also customize the appearance of the ProgressBar with gradient colors and images.

Displays radio buttons in the grid cell.

Users may display and edit RichText in grid cells. The control allows users to optionally DropDown an editable RichText window where it is possible to modify the RichText in the cell.

Users may host almost any Windows Forms Control in a cell.

Grid cells can be modified to UITypeEditor cells.

Animated Windows Vista MonthCalendar control can be drawn in grid cells.

DateTimePicker control can be nested inside the grid cells. The formatting options available for the DateTimePicker Control can be applied to the cell.

The Windows Forms PictureBox control can be nested in the grid cells. Images from files on disk can be loaded and displayed in these cells.

Grid cells can be modified to slider cells. The SliderControl is extended over multiple cells.

You can display XHTML in grid cell while using the GridControl.

Essential Grid was designed with a very extensible architecture and allows creation and full integration of custom cell types. Cells can have cell buttons with images.

Essential Grid has a FormulaCell type that allows users to enter algebraic formulas into a cell, that could extract values from other cells, with the help of a function library. The function library is extensible, enabling the inclusion of custom functions.

ButtonEdit control can be drawn in the GridControl, for any particular cell. All the properties that are available for the ButtonEdit control can be applied to these cells too.

Chart Cell facilitates the inclusion of a chart control in grid cells.

These cells display the grid controls themselves inside the cells within another grid. Below image shows three different grids with covered cells of a larger grid.