Accessing and Identifying Columns

• May 22, 2020
• 2 minutes to read

Identifying Columns

The table below lists properties and XAML attributes that allow you to identify grid columns.

Identifiers	Description
x:Name	Uniquely identifies a column, so that it can be accessed from code-behind or general code. XAML <dxg:GridColumn x:Name="colProduct" FieldName="ProductName"/>
ColumnBase.FieldName	Specifies the name of a data source field to which a column is bound. Note that a grid can display multiple columns bound to the same data field.
GridViewBase.FocusedColumn	Returns the focused column.

Accessing Columns

If a column is created at design time, you can specify its unique name using the x:Name attribute. In this instance, a column can be accessed by its name from code-behind:

XAML

<dxg:GridControl.Columns>
    <dxg:GridColumn x:Name="colProduct" FieldName="ProductName"/>
    <dxg:GridColumn x:Name="colUnitPrice" FieldName="UnitPrice"/>
</dxg:GridControl.Columns>

C#

colUnitPrice.AllowMoving = DevExpress.Utils.DefaultBoolean.False;

Since columns are contained within the grid's GridControl.Columns collection, individual columns can be accessed by the field name or using indexed notation.

XAML

<dxg:GridControl.Columns>
    <dxg:GridColumn FieldName="ProductName"/>
    <dxg:GridColumn FieldName="UnitPrice"/>
</dxg:GridControl.Columns>

C#

GridColumn colProduct = grid.Columns["ProductName"];
GridColumn colPrice = grid.Columns[1];

VB.NET

Dim colProduct As GridColumn = grid.Columns("ProductName")
Dim colPrice As GridColumn = grid.Columns(1)

A focused column can be accessed using the GridViewBase.FocusedColumn property.

To access only visible columns (whose BaseColumn.Visible property is set to true), use a view's GridViewBase.VisibleColumns property. This property returns a list containing GridColumn objects that correspond to columns displayed within a view. Individual columns can be accessed using indexed notation.

Hidden columns that are displayed within a Column Chooser are stored within a view's DataViewBase.ColumnChooserColumns read-only collection. Individual columns can be accessed using indexed notation.