Multiple Cell Selection

• Jun 28, 2019
• 4 minutes to read

In this mode, an end-user can select contiguous blocks of cells and individual cells within different data rows by clicking them, while holding the SHIFT or CTRL key down. It is enabled if the DataControlBase.SelectionMode property is set to MultiSelectMode.Cell and the DataViewBase.NavigationStyle property is set to GridViewNavigationStyle.Cell.

The methods which can be used to select/unselect cells:

Method	Description
TableView.SelectCell	Selects the specified cell.
TableView.SelectCells	Selects multiple cells.
TableView.UnselectCell	Unselects the specified cell.
TableView.UnselectCells	Unselects multiple cells.

For information on how to obtain selected cells, see Obtaining Selected Rows and Cells.

Selection Availability

You can dynamically control selection availability and prevent end-users from selecting or unselecting particular cells.

Handle the TableView.CanSelectCell (TreeListView.CanSelectCell) or TableView.CanUnselectCell (TreeListView.CanUnselectCell) event to dynamically allow or prevent any cell selection.

Example: How to Change the Appearance of Selected Cells

You should implement your own CellStyle. In this CellStyle, implement style triggers for the SelectionState property. Four values can be assigned to this property: None, Focused, Selected, FocusedAndSelected.

Tip

GitHub Example: How to change selected cells’ appearance when GridControl’s multi-cell selection is enabled

Window.xaml

<Window x:Class="DXGrid_ChangeRowAppearance.Window1" 
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
        xmlns:dxg="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/grid" 
        Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="505"
        xmlns:dxgt="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/grid/themekeys">
    <Window.Resources>
        <Style x:Key="SelectionStateCellStyle" TargetType="dxg:LightweightCellEditor" 
               BasedOn="{StaticResource ResourceKey={dxgt:GridRowThemeKey ResourceKey=LightweightCellStyle}}">
            <Style.Triggers>
                <Trigger Property="SelectionState" Value="Selected">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Red"/>
                </Trigger>
                <Trigger Property="SelectionState" Value="Focused">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Green"/>
                    <Setter Property="TextBlock.Foreground" Value="Pink"/>
                </Trigger>
                <Trigger Property="SelectionState" Value="FocusedAndSelected">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Gray"/>
                    <Setter Property="TextBlock.Foreground" Value="Black"/>
                </Trigger>
            </Style.Triggers>
        </Style>
        <Style x:Key="FocusedRowStyle" TargetType="dxg:RowControl">
            <Style.Triggers>
                <Trigger Property="dxg:GridViewBase.IsFocusedRow" Value="True">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Gray" />
                    <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="White" />
                </Trigger>
            </Style.Triggers>
        </Style>
    </Window.Resources>
    <Grid>
        <dxg:GridControl x:Name="grid" AutoGenerateColumns="AddNew" SelectionMode="Cell">
            <dxg:GridControl.View>
                <dxg:TableView AutoWidth="True" 
                               CellStyle="{StaticResource SelectionStateCellStyle}" 
                               ShowGroupPanel="False" AllowGrouping="False" 
                               UseLightweightTemplates="All">
                </dxg:TableView>
            </dxg:GridControl.View>
        </dxg:GridControl>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Window.xaml.cs

using System.Windows;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace DXGrid_ChangeRowAppearance {
    public partial class Window1 : Window {
        public Window1() {
            InitializeComponent();
            grid.ItemsSource = Products.GetData();
        }
        public class Products {
            public static List<Product> GetData() {
                List<Product> data = new List<Product>();
               data.Add(new Product() { ProductName = "Chai", 
                    UnitPrice = 18, UnitsOnOrder = 10 });
                data.Add(new Product() { ProductName = "Ipoh Coffee",
                    UnitPrice = 36.8, UnitsOnOrder = 12 });
                data.Add(new Product() { ProductName = "Outback Lager",
                    UnitPrice = 12, UnitsOnOrder = 25 });
                data.Add(new Product() { ProductName = "Boston Crab Meat",
                    UnitPrice = 18.4, UnitsOnOrder = 18 });
                data.Add(new Product() { ProductName = "Konbu",
                    UnitPrice = 6, UnitsOnOrder = 24 });
                return data;
            }
        }
        public class Product {
            public string ProductName { get; set; }
            public double UnitPrice { get; set; }
            public int UnitsOnOrder { get; set; }
        }
    }
}

Window.xaml.vb

Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Collections.Generic

Namespace DXGrid_ChangeRowAppearance
    Partial Public Class Window1
        Inherits Window
        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
            grid.ItemsSource = Products.GetData()
        End Sub
        Public Class Products
            Public Shared Function GetData() As List(Of Product)
                Dim data As New List(Of Product)()
               data.Add(New Product() With {.ProductName = "Chai", .UnitPrice = 18, .UnitsOnOrder = 10})
                data.Add(New Product() With {.ProductName = "Ipoh Coffee", .UnitPrice = 36.8, .UnitsOnOrder = 12})
                data.Add(New Product() With {.ProductName = "Outback Lager", .UnitPrice = 12, .UnitsOnOrder = 25})
                data.Add(New Product() With {.ProductName = "Boston Crab Meat", .UnitPrice = 18.4, .UnitsOnOrder = 18})
                data.Add(New Product() With {.ProductName = "Konbu", .UnitPrice = 6, .UnitsOnOrder = 24})
                Return data
            End Function
        End Class
        Public Class Product
            Private privateProductName As String
            Public Property ProductName() As String
                Get
                    Return privateProductName
                End Get
                Set(ByVal value As String)
                    privateProductName = value
                End Set
            End Property
            Private privateUnitPrice As Double
            Public Property UnitPrice() As Double
                Get
                    Return privateUnitPrice
                End Get
                Set(ByVal value As Double)
                    privateUnitPrice = value
                End Set
            End Property
            Private privateUnitsOnOrder As Integer
            Public Property UnitsOnOrder() As Integer
                Get
                    Return privateUnitsOnOrder
                End Get
                Set(ByVal value As Integer)
                    privateUnitsOnOrder = value
                End Set
            End Property
        End Class
    End Class
End Namespace

Highlight Cells On Hover

Set the TableView.HighlightItemOnHover/TreeListView.HighlightItemOnHover property to true to enable highlighting cells when hovering:

Xaml

<dxg:GridControl SelectionMode="Cell">
    <dxg:GridControl.View>
        <dxg:TableView HighlightItemOnHover="True" />
    </dxg:GridControl.View>
    <!-- ... --->
</dxg:GridControl>

Limitations

Bands do not support multiple cell selection.