How do I bind a WPF DataGrid to a variable number of columns?

Generic_Error_40944 0
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My WPF application generates sets of data which may have a different number of columns each time. Included in the output is a description of each column that will be used to apply formatting. A simplified version of the output might be something like:

class Data
{
    IList<ColumnDescription> ColumnDescriptions { get; set; }
    string[][] Rows { get; set; }
}

This class is set as the DataContext on a WPF DataGrid but I actually create the columns programmatically:

for (int i = 0; i < data.ColumnDescriptions.Count; i++)
{
    dataGrid.Columns.Add(new DataGridTextColumn
    {
        Header = data.ColumnDescriptions[i].Name,
        Binding = new Binding(string.Format("[{0}]", i))
    });
}

Is there any way to replace this code with data bindings in the XAML file instead?

data-binding datagrid xaml wpf c#
8 Answers

I've continued my research and have not found any reasonable way to do this. The Columns property on the DataGrid isn't something I can bind against, in fact it's read only.

Bryan suggested something might be done with AutoGenerateColumns so I had a look. It uses simple .Net reflection to look at the properties of the objects in ItemsSource and generates a column for each one. Perhaps I could generate a type on the fly with a property for each column but this is getting way off track.

Since this problem is so easily sovled in code I will stick with a simple extension method I call whenever the data context is updated with new columns:

public static void GenerateColumns(this DataGrid dataGrid, IEnumerable<ColumnSchema> columns)
{
    dataGrid.Columns.Clear();

    int index = 0;
    foreach (var column in columns)
    {
        dataGrid.Columns.Add(new DataGridTextColumn
        {
            Header = column.Name,
            Binding = new Binding(string.Format("[{0}]", index++))
        });
    }
}

// E.g. myGrid.GenerateColumns(schema);
Generic_Error_409440
user_1388030

You might be able to do this with AutoGenerateColumns and a DataTemplate. I'm not positive if it would work without a lot of work, you would have to play around with it. Honestly if you have a working solution already I wouldn't make the change just yet unless there's a big reason. The DataGrid control is getting very good but it still needs some work (and I have a lot of learning left to do) to be able to do dynamic tasks like this easily.

user_211860

There is a sample of the way I do programmatically:

public partial class UserControlWithComboBoxColumnDataGrid : UserControl
{
    private Dictionary<int, string> _Dictionary;
    private ObservableCollection<MyItem> _MyItems;
    public UserControlWithComboBoxColumnDataGrid() {
      _Dictionary = new Dictionary<int, string>();
      _Dictionary.Add(1,"A");
      _Dictionary.Add(2,"B");
      _MyItems = new ObservableCollection<MyItem>();
      dataGridMyItems.AutoGeneratingColumn += DataGridMyItems_AutoGeneratingColumn;
      dataGridMyItems.ItemsSource = _MyItems;

    }
private void DataGridMyItems_AutoGeneratingColumn(object sender, DataGridAutoGeneratingColumnEventArgs e)
        {
            var desc = e.PropertyDescriptor as PropertyDescriptor;
            var att = desc.Attributes[typeof(ColumnNameAttribute)] as ColumnNameAttribute;
            if (att != null)
            {
                if (att.Name == "My Combobox Item") {
                    var comboBoxColumn =  new DataGridComboBoxColumn {
                        DisplayMemberPath = "Value",
                        SelectedValuePath = "Key",
                        ItemsSource = _ApprovalTypes,
                        SelectedValueBinding =  new Binding( "Bazinga"),   
                    };
                    e.Column = comboBoxColumn;
                }

            }
        }

}
public class MyItem {
    public string Name{get;set;}
    [ColumnName("My Combobox Item")]
    public int Bazinga {get;set;}
}

  public class ColumnNameAttribute : Attribute
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public ColumnNameAttribute(string name) { Name = name; }
}
user_53242420
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