Column's Filter Dropdown

• Feb 27, 2025
• 3 minutes to read

Filter dropdowns allow users to apply filter criteria to columns in the GridView and its descendants, and to card fields in the CardView and LayoutView.

Excel-style Menus

The default filter menu type in v17.1 and higher.

Contains the following tabs:

Values

Users can select from cell values displayed in the Data Grid or enter specific values.

Filters

Gives a wider pool of filter options. For example, in a date column, the user can select only records that correspond to the previous week.

Selection options depend on the type of data in the grid column.

Classic Menus

Displays regular drop-down lists or checked lists for all data types except for DateTime columns. The display mode of DateTime values depends on the OptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode property value.

Customize Menus

Common Settings

The following settings get or set the display mode of drop-down menus at different levels:

Property	Level
WindowsFormsSettings.ColumnFilterPopupMode	The entire application.
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupMode	A specific View.
OptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode	A specific column.

The following API members apply to both Excel-style and Classic menus:

API	Description
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupMaxRecordsCount	Gets or sets the maximum number of records that are scanned to populate column filter dropdowns with unique filter values.
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ShowAllTableValuesInCheckedFilterPopup	Gets or sets whether checked filter drop-down lists display unique values from all data source records or only from records that meet the current filter criteria.
ColumnView.ShowFilterPopup	Displays a filter drop-down menu for the specified column.

Excel-style-related Settings

The following table lists the main settings of Excel-style drop-down menus:

API	Description
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupMode	If your DevExpress installation version is older than v17.1, switch this setting to Excel to enable Excel-style filter drop-down menus.
OptionsColumnFilter.ImmediateUpdatePopupExcelFilter	Gets or sets whether filter conditions immediately apply to data, or only when the filter dropdown is closed.
ColumnView.ShowFilterPopupExcel	Handle this event to customize Excel-style filters.

See the following help topics for more information and examples:

• Customize Filter Drop-down Menus
• Customize Masks and Formatting of Filter Editors

Classic-style Drop-Down Menu Settings

The following table lists the main settings of classic drop-down menus:

API	Description
WindowsFormsSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode	An alternative property that allows you to enable classic filter drop-down menus. To enable classic filter menus, set this property to v16.
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.ColumnFilterPopupRowCount	Gets or sets the maximum number of items that regular drop-down menus can display simultaneously.
ColumnViewOptionsFilter.AllowColumnMRUFilterList	If this property is enabled, regular drop-down lists remember values most recently selected by users. These values are shown before the default Custom item.
OptionsColumnFilter.ShowBlanksFilterItems	Gets or sets whether the (Blanks) and (Non Blanks) items are available within filter drop-down menus.

Use the following API to configure checked lists in classic drop-down menus (except for calendar menus):

API	Description
OptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode	Set the property to CheckedList to enable checked lists in a column’s filter menu.
ColumnView.ShowFilterPopupCheckedListBox	This event allows you to modify items within the checked list filter menu, including the standard Select All item.

Use the following API to configure calendar drop-down menus:

API	Description
OptionsColumnFilter.FilterPopupMode	Set this property to Date, DateSmart, or DateAlt to choose the required calendar-based drop-down menu.
OptionsColumnFilter.ImmediateUpdatePopupDateFilterOnCheck	If this setting is enabled, filters are applied right after users toggle calendar-based menu check boxes.
OptionsColumnFilter.ImmediateUpdatePopupDateFilterOnDateChange	If this setting is enabled, a filter is applied right after a user selects a date (or a date range) within a calendar-based menu.
OptionsColumnFilter.ShowEmptyDateFilter	Gets or sets whether drop-down menus display the Show Empty filter item. Users can check this item to view records that have no values in the corresponding DateTime column.

See the following help topic for more information and examples: Customize Filter Drop-down Menus.