Features in Essential Grid for ASP.NET

Data Binding

The GridGrouping control provides out-of-the-box data-binding support to all the popular data sources as mentioned in the following list:

ADO.NET Entity Model
LINQ to SQL
IEnumerable and IQueryable collections
IList and IBindingList collections
XML DataSource

Grid Bound to an ADO.NET DataSet

AJAX Mode

The GridGrouping control comes with built-in AJAX support. By turning on the Enable Callback command, the grid operates in AJAX mode. Sorting, grouping, resizing, and other commands will then operate through AJAX callbacks instead of postbacks.

Grid contents can be refreshed via callbacks without the need for AJAX frameworks.However, if you want to update the grid along with other controls, then the grid must be hosted inside the ASP.NET Update Panel or ASP.NET AJAX Update Panel.

Select Filter Option to Raise Callback Request

Before Callback Results—Combo Box Disabled

Filtered Data after Callback Results—Combo Box Enabled

Data Relations

The GridGrouping control supports both the master-detail relation (1:n relation) and the foreign key reference relation (n:1) in all data sources. In the case of the master-detail relationship, related records are displayed in a nested hierarchical grid under the parent records. In the case of the foreign key reference relation type, a child record is looked up in the related collection and displayed along with the parent grid’s column. The GridGrouping control also supports self-relations in a table.

GridGrouping Control Showing Hierarchical Data

GridGrouping Control Showing Self-Relational Table

Grouping

The GridGrouping control supports multilevel user-interactive column grouping in both flat grids and nested heirarchy grids.

Grouped Grid

The GridGrouping control also offers a pass-through grouping mode to enhance grouping performance. It is a great way to limit the amount of data being retrieved from a data source. The grid's default setting pulls all the records from the underlying data source to enable effective grouping and summarizing. However, you can override this behavior using pass-through grouping and retrieve only the required records from the data source. Typically, these are the records required to display the current page. With this mode, a grid can easily bind to millions of records.

Pass-through Grouping

Sorting

The GridGrouping control supports both single and multi-column sorting. You can also plug in a custom IComparer object if you want to provide your own sorting logic.

Grid Sorted by Contact Name and City

Filtering

A subset of records that satisfies user-defined criteria can be extracted and displayed using filters. Filters can be applied across multiple columns at once. The GridGrouping control provides excellent UI options for run-time filtering, including an Excel-like filter dialog and a filter bar combo box. It also exhibits a dynamic filtering mechanism by applying the filter as characters are typed in the filter box.

Grid with Filter Bar

Custom Filter Condition Dialog Box

Filtering Using Filter Bar

Paging

Essential Grid supports built-in paging and includes a pager bar that can be used to navigate to a specific page. It also supports custom paging that allows you to specify your own queries to get paged records from a database.

Pager Bar in GridGrouping Control

Summaries

The GridGrouping control can calculate and display summary values of records in a fixed row at the bottom of the grid, or in the group caption bars if the records are grouped. It provides various built-in summary options as mentioned in the following list, and can also be expanded to support any user-defined custom summaries.

Int32Aggregate, DoubleAggregate (Count, Min, Max, Sum)
StringAggregate (MaxLength, Count)
Count
DistinctCount (Count, Values array)
Vector (Values)
DoubleVector (statistical methods: Median, Min, Max, 25% Quartile, 75% Quartile)

Double Aggregate Summary Function in GridGrouping Control

GridGrouping Control with Caption Summaries

Expression Columns

Expression fields allow columns with formula expressions, which take into account the value of another field as an operand and perform arithmetic and relational operations on it, to be included in a grid. The grouping engine comes with its own extensible formula engine for this purpose. Expression fields can be used in records just like a regular field. Users can calculate summaries, group, sort, or create filters based on expression fields.

GridGrouping Control with Expression Fields

Unbound Columns

You can implement one or more unbound columns along with bound data columns in a grid.

Grouping Grid with an Unbound Check Box Column

Templated Columns

A grid's layout can be customized using templates. The different kinds of templates are included in the following list.

Item Template—Used to customize the appearance of items such as headers, the row being edited, forms, and more.
Control Template—Used to customize the appearance of the Row button and the Expand button.
Column Template—Used to customize the appearance of a grid's columns.
Button Template—Used to customize the appearance of buttons in the Button bar.

Using templates, you can customize a grid's display. The grid illustrated in the following image uses an item template to display the values of the "Address", "City", and "Country" columns within the "Address" column.

Grid with a Template Applied to the “Address” Column

Appearance and Formatting

A variety of styling options are available for various sections of the GridGrouping control, such as group, filter, header, footer, summary and nested cells, and different states such as adding new records, alternating records, and indenting groups of cells. These styles can be defined by using either Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) or through Essential Grid's sytle architecture. Essential Grid also supports conditional formatting that applies a predefined style to cells if they satisfy a defined criteria.

Grid Styled Using CSS

Grid with Conditional Formatting Applied

Cell Types

The GridGrouping control provides several cell types including text box, combo box, check box, button, numeric spin box, drop-down list, and editor types like masked edit, double edit, integer edit, percent edit, and date-time edit.

Layouts

A single record in a data table can span over multiple rows in the GridGrouping control. The grid cell contents can also be customized with HTML elements using templates.

Multi-Row Records in GridGrouping Control

Hyperlink Template Used in Column Cells in GridGrouping Control

Data Editing and Validations

The GridGrouping control supports record editing at run time. It offers different editing modes such as in-place editing and editing via forms to make editing more user-friendly. Options to add new records and delete existing records are also available. If its data source can be updated, a grid will automatically save the changes on the underlying data source.

Default Edit Mode

Template Form Edit Mode

Inline Form Edit Mode

Selection Modes

A grid can be operated in list box mode where users can select one or more records by holding down CTRL or ALT and clicking on records they wish to select. Three unique selection types are available for the GridGrouping control in list box mode. They are:

Single Selection—Only one row can be selected at a time.
Multi Simple—Multiple rows can be selected using the mouse.
Multi Extended—Multiple rows can be selected using the CTRL and SHIFT keys.

Multiple Selection Mode

The default setting of the selection mode is "off."

Grid Skins

To provide your application with a rich appearance, the GridGrouping control provides built-in support for numerous color schemes such as Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010, monochrome, olive, blue, orange, and others. The appearance of every grid element such as the grid tables, rows, column headers, and group drop areas are transformed by these color schemes.

Sample Grid Color Schemes

Export Options

You can export the GridGrouping control's contents to a native Excel worksheet (.xls or .xlsx) or a Word document (.doc or .docx) with all its formatting and styles applied. This full-fledged export functionality can also export the GridGrouping control with its nested hierarchy grids, grouped records, and summaries.

Grid Exported to MS Excel

Grid Content Exported to PDF

Print

The GridGrouping control offers comprehensive support to print complete records including groups, summaries, preview rows, and others. Printing can be activated either programatically or by using the Print button in the Navigation bar.

Print Button in Navigation Bar