Step 4: Enable Search Panel

• Mar 30, 2023
• 2 minutes to read

You should enable data operations after binding the GridControl to a virtual source.

In this step, we describe how to enable the search panel.

Note

The Issues Service is used as an example of a data source in this tutorial.

Enable Search Panel

1. Display the search panel by setting the DataViewBase.ShowSearchPanelMode property to Always:

   XAML

   <dxg:TableView ShowSearchPanelMode="Always" />
   

2. Convert a text entered in the search panel to a CriteriaOperator to allow the virtual source to apply a filter:

   • Handle the DataViewBase.SearchStringToFilterCriteria event.
   • Obtain a search string by using the SearchStringToFilterCriteriaEventArgs.SearchString property, parse it and assign the result to the SearchStringToFilterCriteriaEventArgs.Filter property.

   • Set the SearchStringToFilterCriteriaEventArgs.ApplyToColumnsFilter property to true to make the Tags column’s drop-down filter detect changes in the search panel.

     The ApplyToColumnsFilter property affects the filter behavior. The GridControl removes all applied filters if a user changes the search string.

   XAML

   <dxg:TableView ShowSearchPanelMode="Always" SearchStringToFilterCriteria="OnSearchStringToFilterCriteria" />
   

   C#

   void OnSearchStringToFilterCriteria(object sender, SearchStringToFilterCriteriaEventArgs e) {
       if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(e.SearchString))
           e.Filter = new BinaryOperator("Tags", e.SearchString.Trim().ToLower(), BinaryOperatorType.Equal);
       e.ApplyToColumnsFilter = true;
   }
   

3. (Skip this step if you set the ApplyToColumnsFilter property to false.) You can now use the drop-down filter and search panel to filter by tags. If you use the drop-down filter to apply a filter, the search panel’s text is not updated. You need to make the search panel detect changes in the drop-down filter:

   • Handle the DataControlBase.FilterGroupSortChanging event. The GridControl raises this event when filters and search criteria are changed.
   • Obtain the Tags column’s filter using the FilterGroupSortChangingEventArgs.SplitColumnFilters property, parse it and assign the result to the FilterGroupSortChangingEventArgs.SearchString property.
   XAML

   <dxg:GridControl x:Name="grid" FilterGroupSortChanging="OnFilterGroupSortChanging" />
   

   C#

   void OnFilterGroupSortChanging(object sender, FilterGroupSortChangingEventArgs e) {
       e.SplitColumnFilters.TryGetValue("Tags", out CriteriaOperator tagsFilter);
       e.SearchString = tagsFilter.Match(binary : (propertyName, value, type) => {
           if(propertyName != "Tags" || type != BinaryOperatorType.Equal)
               throw new InvalidOperationException();
           return (string)value;
       });
   }
   

   As a result, the drop-down filter and the search panel are synchronized.

Continue or Review

• To go to the next tutorial step, see Step 5: Consider Sort and Filter Restrictions.
• To return to the previous tutorial step, see Step 3: Enable Filtering.