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How to: Customize the GridControl's Data-Aware Export Output

  • 12 minutes to read

This example demonstrates how to customize the GridControl’s data-aware export output.

In this example, the grid’s data is exported to XLSX format using the GridControl.ExportToXlsx method with a parameter (an XlsxExportOptionsEx object) that regulates export settings and behavior. This parameter provides events that allow you to add a header and footer to the export output, to customize cells, add rows, etc. Note that you can perform similar customizations when exporting to other formats.

Export Methods Options Class
BaseView.ExportToCsv CsvExportOptionsEx
BaseView.ExportToXls XlsExportOptionsEx
BaseView.ExportToXlsx XlsxExportOptionsEx

To add a header displaying custom information to the generated MS Excel document, the XlsxExportOptionsEx.CustomizeSheetHeader event is handled. In the event handler, the AddRow, InsertImage and MergeCells methods of the event’s ExportContext parameter are used to add rows with the company name and contact information, insert the company logo and merge specific cells. Cell formatting is specified using objects of the XlFormattingObject class.

The XlsxExportOptionsEx.CustomizeCell event is used to replace values in the Discontinued column with special symbols. The ColumnName event parameter allows recognizing the desired column. The Value parameter is utilized to substitute certain cell values. The Handled parameter is set to true to apply the changes made.

The XlsxExportOptionsEx.AfterAddRow event handler merges cells in rows that correspond to the grid’s group rows using the ExportContext.MergeCells method. For group rows, the DataSourceRowIndex event parameter returns negative values. The current row in the export output is specified by the DocumentRow parameter.

To add a footer to the export document, the XlsxExportOptionsEx.CustomizeSheetFooter event is handled. In this event handler, two new rows are added to the output document by calling the AddRow method, and their formatting is specified using objects of the XlFormattingObject class.

The XlsxExportOptionsEx.CustomizeSheetSettings event is handled to specify export settings. The ExportContext.SetFixedHeader event method is used to anchor the output document’s header to the top, and to set the fixed header height. The ExportContext.SetFixedHeader method is called to add the AutoFilter button to the document’s cells corresponding to the grid column headers.

The following image demonstrates the resulting export output.

GridExportOutputResult

using DevExpress.Export;
using DevExpress.Export.Xl;
using DevExpress.Printing.ExportHelpers;
using DevExpress.XtraEditors;
using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Base;

namespace GridDataAwareExportCustomization{
    public partial class Form1 : XtraForm{

        readonly string tblGrid = "Products";
        const string tblLookUp = "Categories";

        public Form1(){
            InitializeComponent();
            InitNWindData();
            gridView1.ExpandAllGroups();
        }

        void gridView1_CustomUnboundColumnData(object sender, CustomColumnDataEventArgs e){
            if (e.Column == categoryName)
                if (e.IsGetData)
                    e.Value = nwindDataSet.Categories.FindByCategoryID((int)(gridView1.GetRowCellValue(gridView1.GetRowHandle(e.ListSourceRowIndex), colCategoryID))).CategoryName;
        }

        private void btn_Export_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            // Ensure that the data-aware export mode is enabled.
            ExportSettings.DefaultExportType = ExportType.DataAware;
            // Create a new object defining how a document is exported to the XLSX format.
            var options = new XlsxExportOptionsEx();
            // Specify a name of the sheet in the created XLSX file.
            options.SheetName = "DevAV price";

            // Subscribe to export customization events. 
            options.CustomizeSheetSettings += options_CustomizeSheetSettings;
            options.CustomizeSheetHeader += options_CustomizeSheetHeader;
            options.CustomizeCell += options_CustomizeCell;
            options.CustomizeSheetFooter += options_CustomizeSheetFooter;
            options.AfterAddRow += options_AfterAddRow;

            // Export the grid data to the XLSX format.
            gridControl1.ExportToXlsx("grid-export.xlsx", options);
            // Open the created document.
            Process.Start("grid-export.xlsx");
        }

        #region #AfterAddRowEvent
        void options_AfterAddRow(AfterAddRowEventArgs e) {
            // Merge cells in rows that correspond to the grid's group rows.
            if (e.DataSourceRowIndex < 0) {
                e.ExportContext.MergeCells(new XlCellRange(new XlCellPosition(0, e.DocumentRow-1), new XlCellPosition(5, e.DocumentRow-1)));
            }
        }
        #endregion #AfterAddRowEvent

        #region #CustomizeCellEvent
        // Specify the value alignment for Discontinued field.
        XlCellAlignment aligmentForDiscontinuedColumn = new XlCellAlignment() {
            HorizontalAlignment = XlHorizontalAlignment.Center,
            VerticalAlignment = XlVerticalAlignment.Center
        };

        void options_CustomizeCell(CustomizeCellEventArgs e){
            // Substitute Boolean values within the Discontinued column by special symbols.
            if(e.ColumnFieldName == "Discontinued"){
                if(e.Value is bool){
                    e.Handled = true;
                    e.Formatting.Alignment = aligmentForDiscontinuedColumn;
                    e.Value = ((bool) e.Value) ? "☑" : "☐";
                }
            }
        }
        #endregion #CustomizeCellEvent

        #region #CustomizeSheetHeaderEvent
        delegate void AddCells(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell, XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell);

        Dictionary<int, AddCells> methods = CreateMethodSet();

        static Dictionary<int, AddCells> CreateMethodSet(){
            var dictionary = new Dictionary<int, AddCells>();
            dictionary.Add(9, AddAddressRow);
            dictionary.Add(10, AddAddressLocationCityRow);
            dictionary.Add(11, AddPhoneRow);
            dictionary.Add(12, AddFaxRow);
            dictionary.Add(13, AddEmailRow);
            return dictionary;
        }
        void options_CustomizeSheetHeader(ContextEventArgs e){
            // Specify cell formatting. 
            var formatFirstCell = CreateXlFormattingObject(true, 24);
            var formatSecondCell = CreateXlFormattingObject(true, 18);
            // Add new rows displaying custom information. 
            for(var i = 0; i < 15; i++){
                AddCells addCellMethod;
                if(methods.TryGetValue(i, out addCellMethod))
                    addCellMethod(e, formatFirstCell, formatSecondCell);
                else e.ExportContext.AddRow();
            }
            // Merge specific cells.
            MergeCells(e);
            // Add an image to the top of the document.
            var file = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream("GridDataAwareExportCustomization.Resources.1.jpg");
            if(file != null){
                var imageToHeader = new Bitmap(Image.FromStream(file));
                var imageToHeaderRange = new XlCellRange(new XlCellPosition(0, 0), new XlCellPosition(5, 7));
                e.ExportContext.MergeCells(imageToHeaderRange);
                e.ExportContext.InsertImage(imageToHeader, imageToHeaderRange);
            }
            e.ExportContext.MergeCells(new XlCellRange(new XlCellPosition(0, 8), new XlCellPosition(5, 8)));           
        }

        static void AddEmailRow(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell,
            XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell){
            var emailCellName = CreateCell("Email :", formatFirstCell);
            var emailCellLocation = CreateCell("corpsales@devav.com", formatSecondCell);
            emailCellLocation.Hyperlink = "corpsales@devav.com";
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ emailCellName, null, emailCellLocation });
        }
        static void AddFaxRow(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell,
            XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell){
            var faxCellName = CreateCell("Fax :", formatFirstCell);
            var faxCellLocation = CreateCell("+ 1 (213) 555-1824", formatSecondCell);
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ faxCellName, null, faxCellLocation });
        }
        static void AddPhoneRow(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell,
            XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell){
            var phoneCellName = CreateCell("Phone :", formatFirstCell);
            var phoneCellLocation = CreateCell("+ 1 (213) 555-2828", formatSecondCell);
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ phoneCellName, null, phoneCellLocation });
        }
        static void AddAddressLocationCityRow(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell,
            XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell){
            var AddressLocationCityCell = CreateCell("Los Angeles CA 90731 USA", formatSecondCell);
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ null, null, AddressLocationCityCell });
        }
        static void AddAddressRow(ContextEventArgs e, XlFormattingObject formatFirstCell,
            XlFormattingObject formatSecondCell){
            var AddressCellName = CreateCell("Address: ", formatFirstCell);
            var AddresssCellLocation = CreateCell("807 West Paseo Del Mar", formatSecondCell);
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ AddressCellName, null, AddresssCellLocation });
        }

        // Create a new cell with a specified value and format settings.
        static CellObject CreateCell(object value, XlFormattingObject formatCell){
            return new CellObject{ Value = value, Formatting = formatCell };
        }

        // Merge specific cells.
        static void MergeCells(ContextEventArgs e){
            MergeCells(e, 2, 9, 5, 9);
            MergeCells(e, 0, 9, 1, 10);
            MergeCells(e, 2, 10, 5, 10);
            MergeCells(e, 0, 11, 1, 11);
            MergeCells(e, 2, 11, 5, 11);
            MergeCells(e, 0, 12, 1, 12);
            MergeCells(e, 2, 12, 5, 12);
            MergeCells(e, 0, 13, 1, 13);
            MergeCells(e, 2, 13, 5, 13);
            MergeCells(e, 0, 14, 5, 14);
        }
        static void MergeCells(ContextEventArgs e, int left, int top, int right, int bottom){
            e.ExportContext.MergeCells(new XlCellRange(new XlCellPosition(left, top), new XlCellPosition(right, bottom)));
        }

        // Specify a cell's alignment and font settings. 
        static XlFormattingObject CreateXlFormattingObject(bool bold, double size){
            var cellFormat = new XlFormattingObject{
                Font = new XlCellFont{
                    Bold = bold,
                    Size = size
                },
                Alignment = new XlCellAlignment{
                    RelativeIndent = 10,
                    HorizontalAlignment = XlHorizontalAlignment.Center,
                    VerticalAlignment = XlVerticalAlignment.Center
                }
            };
            return cellFormat;
        }
        #endregion #CustomizeSheetHeaderEvent

        #region #CustomizeSheetFooterEvent
        void options_CustomizeSheetFooter(ContextEventArgs e){
            // Add an empty row to the document's footer.
            e.ExportContext.AddRow();

            // Create a new row.
            var firstRow = new CellObject();
            // Specify row values.
            firstRow.Value = @"The report is generated from the NorthWind database.";
            // Specify the cell content alignment and font settings.
            var rowFormatting = CreateXlFormattingObject(true, 18);
            rowFormatting.Alignment.HorizontalAlignment = XlHorizontalAlignment.Left;
            firstRow.Formatting = rowFormatting;
            // Add the created row to the output document. 
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ firstRow });

            // Create one more row.
            var secondRow = new CellObject();
            // Specify the row value. 
            secondRow.Value = @"The addresses and phone numbers are fictitious.";
            // Change the row's font settings.
            rowFormatting.Font.Size = 14;
            rowFormatting.Font.Bold = false;
            rowFormatting.Font.Italic = true;  
            secondRow.Formatting = rowFormatting;
            // Add this row to the output document.
            e.ExportContext.AddRow(new[]{ secondRow });
        }
        #endregion #CustomizeSheetFooterEvent

        #region #CustomizeSheetSettingsEvent
        void options_CustomizeSheetSettings(CustomizeSheetEventArgs e) {
            // Anchor the output document's header to the top and set its fixed height. 
            const int lastHeaderRowIndex = 15;
            e.ExportContext.SetFixedHeader(lastHeaderRowIndex);
            // Add the AutoFilter button to the document's cells corresponding to the grid column headers.
            e.ExportContext.AddAutoFilter(new XlCellRange(new XlCellPosition(0, lastHeaderRowIndex), new XlCellPosition(5, 100)));
        }
        #endregion #CustomizeSheetSettingsEvent

        void InitMDBData(string connectionString){
            var oleDBAdapter1 = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * FROM " + tblGrid, connectionString);
            var oleDBAdapter2 = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * FROM " + tblLookUp, connectionString);
            oleDBAdapter1.Fill(nwindDataSet.Products);
            oleDBAdapter2.Fill(nwindDataSet.Categories);
        }

        void InitNWindData(){
            var dbFileName = string.Empty;
            dbFileName = DevExpress.Utils.FilesHelper.FindingFileName(Application.StartupPath, "nwind.mdb");
            if(dbFileName != string.Empty){
                InitMDBData("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" + dbFileName);
            }
        }

        void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e){
            gridView1.BestFitColumns(true);
        }

    }
}