Applying Data Annotations

• May 07, 2024
• 2 minutes to read

Overview

The GridControl supports multiple Data Annotation Attributes that are used for customizing data classes, to specify how data is displayed from a data source, define validation rules, and set relationships between data classes.

View Example: Apply Data Annotations

To use data annotation attributes, reference the System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations assembly. To use additional attributes for setting masks, reference the DevExpress.Mvvm.v24.1 assembly.

Note

Non-string IEnumerable properties are not automatically populated. To generate editors for such properties, use the [Display(AutoGenerateField = true)] data annotation attribute.

Smart Columns Generation

Set the DataControlBase.EnableSmartColumnsGeneration property to true to enable the Smart Columns Generation.

Below is a list of the Smart Columns Generation features.

Data Field	Generated Column’s Settings
Numeric (nullable numeric) data type	TextEditSettings  TextEditSettings.MaskType = MaskType.Numeric;
Boolean (nullable Boolean) data type	CheckEditSettings
Decimal	TextEditSettings  TextEditSettings.MaskType = MaskType.Simple;  TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘C’;  TextEditSettings.MaskPlaceHolder= ‘’;
Enum data type	ComboBoxEditSettings  LookUpEditSettingsBase.ItemsSource = new EnumItemsSource;
DateTime (nullable DateTime) data type or [DataType(DataType.Date)] attribute	DateEditSettings
Numeric data type and [DataType(DataType.PhoneNumber)] or [PhoneAttribute] attribute	TextEditSettings  TextEditSettings.MaskType = MaskType.Simple;  TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘[phone]’;  TextEditSettings.MaskUseAsDisplayFormat= true;
DateTime data type and [DataType(DataType.DateTime)] attribute	DateEditSettings  TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘g’;  TextEditSettings.MaskUseAsDisplayFormat= true;
DateTime data type and [DataType(DataType.Time)] attribute	DateEditSettings  TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘t’;  TextEditSettings.MaskUseAsDisplayFormat= true;
DateOnly data type	TextEditSettings TextEditSettings.MaskType = MaskType.DateOnly; TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘d’; TextEditSettings.MaskUseAsDisplayFormat= true;
TimeOnly data type	TextEditSettings TextEditSettings.MaskType = MaskType.TimeOnly; TextEditSettings.Mask = ‘t’; TextEditSettings.MaskUseAsDisplayFormat= true;
String data type and [DataType(DataType.MultilineText)] attribute	MemoEditSettings
String data type and [DataType(DataType.Password)] attribute	PasswordBoxEditSettings
[Url] attribute or [DataType(DataType.Url)]	HyperlinkEditSettings
[DataType(DataType.ImageUrl)]	PopupImageEditSettings
[ReadOnly(true)] attribute	ColumnBase.ReadOnly = true;
[Editable(false)] attribute	ColumnBase.AllowEditing = false;
[Display(Order<0)] attribute or [HiddenAttribute] attribute	BaseColumn.Visible = false;
[Display(Description=DESCRIPTION)] attribute	BaseColumn.HeaderToolTip = ‘DESCRIPTION’;
[Display(ShortName=NAME)] attribute or [Display(Name=NAME)] attribute	BaseColumn.Header = ‘NAME’;
[Display(GroupName = “GROUPNAME”)] attribute	The column is placed into the GridControlBand.Columns collection of the band which BaseColumn.Name property is set to ‘GROUPNAME’.

In addition, the following attributes allow you to specify the editor’s mask settings: DateTimeMaskAttribute, NumericMaskAttribute, RegExMaskAttribute, RegularMaskAttribute, and SimpleMaskAttribute.