Hit Information

• Feb 28, 2024
• 5 minutes to read

This tutorial shows how to use hit information to complete the following tasks:

• display tooltips that indicate which element is under the mouse cursor;
• apply/clear filters on a cell click.

Watch the Video | Read the Walkthrough

To identify a View’s visual element at specific coordinates, call the View’s CalcHitInfo method.

Note

API * GridView.CalcHitInfo

• BandedGridView.CalcHitInfo
• LayoutView.CalcHitInfo
• CardView.CalcHitInfo
• TileView.CalcHitInfo
• WinExplorerView.CalcHitInfo

These methods accept a point measured in grid control client coordinates and return HitInfo objects with information that identifies the test point. Different View types return different HitInfo objects. For example, a GridView returns a GridHitInfo object, a LayoutView returns a LayoutViewHitInfo object, etc.

C#

Point clientPt = gridControl1.PointToClient(Cursor.Position);
GridHitInfo ghi = gridView1.CalcHitInfo(clientPt);
//...

VB.NET

Dim clientPt As Point = gridControl1.PointToClient(Cursor.Position)
Dim ghi As GridHitInfo = gridView1.CalcHitInfo(clientPt)
'...

Test if a point belongs to a particular visual element

To identify whether a point belongs to a certain visual element (for example, column header filter button, row preview region, row/column edge, row cell), read the HitInfo.HitTest enumeration property (for instance, GridHitTest enumerates all visual elements in the GridView class).

C#

if (ghi != null) {
    Text = ghi.HitTest.ToString();
    if(ghi.HitTest == GridHitTest.ColumnFilterButton) {
        //...
    }
}

VB.NET

If ghi Is Not Nothing Then
    Text = ghi.HitTest.ToString()
    If ghi.HitTest = GridHitTest.ColumnFilterButton Then
        '...
    End If
End If

The HitInfo objects also provide helper properties to identify complex visual elements (for example, a row, data row, column header panel, etc.). These properties have the “In…“ prefix. For example:

• HitInfo.InRow returns whether the test point belongs to the ‘row’ visual element. This complex element includes row cells, row preview region, indicator button, edges, group button (for group rows), etc.
• HitInfo.InColumn returns true if the test point belongs to the column header button or the column header filter button.

C#

if(ghi.InRow) {
    myMenu.Show();
}

VB.NET

If ghi.InRow Then
    myMenu.Show()
End If

Identify the row/column/band/card

To identify the column, row, and band (when applicable) that contain the test point, use the corresponding properties the HitInfo objects provide: HitInfo.Column, HitInfo.RowHandle and HitInfo.Band.

C#

//Test if the point belongs to the focused row
if(ghi.RowHandle == ghi.View.FocusedRowHandle) {
    //...
}

VB.NET

' Test if the point belongs to the focused row
If ghi.RowHandle = ghi.View.FocusedRowHandle Then
    '...
End If

To determine which View is at the specified coordinates when the GridControl displays multiple Views, call the GridControl.GetViewAt method.

Example

The following sample code shows how to identify the element located at a specific point using the GridView.CalcHitInfo method.

In the example, the CalcHitInfo method is called when you move the cursor over a Grid Control. The name of the current View element is displayed in the form’s caption.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraGrid;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Base;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Base.ViewInfo;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Grid.ViewInfo;
// ...
private void gridControl1_MouseMove(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) {
    GridControl grid = sender as GridControl;
    if (grid == null) return;
    // Get a View at the current point.
    BaseView view = grid.GetViewAt(e.Location);
    if (view == null) return;
    // Retrieve information on the current View element.
    BaseHitInfo baseHI = view.CalcHitInfo(e.Location);
    GridHitInfo gridHI = baseHI as GridHitInfo;
    if (gridHI != null)
        Text = gridHI.HitTest.ToString();
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid
Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Base
Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Base.ViewInfo
Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.Grid.ViewInfo
' ...
Private Sub GridControl1_MouseMove(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
  ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.MouseEventArgs) _
  Handles GridControl1.MouseMove
    Dim grid As GridControl = sender
    If grid Is Nothing Then
        Return
    End If
    ' Get a View at the current point.
    Dim view As BaseView = grid.GetViewAt(e.Location)
    If view Is Nothing Then
        Return
    End If
    ' Retrieve information on the current View element.
    Dim baseHI As BaseHitInfo = view.CalcHitInfo(e.Location)
    Dim gridHI As GridHitInfo = TryCast(baseHI, GridHitInfo)
    If Not gridHI Is Nothing Then
        Text = gridHI.HitTest.ToString()
    End If
End Sub

Example

The following code sample displays a context menu when a user right-clicks the Header Panel Button. The created context menu contains a Column Auto Width button. This menu item toggles the GridOptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth option.

C#

void gridView1_PopupMenuShowing(object sender, PopupMenuShowingEventArgs e) {
    if (e.HitInfo.HitTest == GridHitTest.ColumnButton) {
        popupMenu_HeaderButton.Tag = e.HitInfo;
        e.ShowCustomMenu(popupMenu_HeaderButton);
    }
}
GridHitInfo GetHitInfo(BarItemLink link) {
    PopupMenu menu = link.LinkedObject as PopupMenu;
    return menu.Tag as GridHitInfo;
}
void barButtonItem_AutoWidth_ItemClick(object sender, ItemClickEventArgs e) {
    GridHitInfo info = GetHitInfo(e.Link);
    info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth = !info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth;
    if (info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth == false)
        info.View.BestFitColumns();
}

VB.NET

Private Sub gridView1_PopupMenuShowing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As PopupMenuShowingEventArgs)
    If e.HitInfo.HitTest = GridHitTest.ColumnButton Then
        popupMenu_HeaderButton.Tag = e.HitInfo
        e.ShowCustomMenu(popupMenu_HeaderButton)
    End If
End Sub

Private Function GetHitInfo(ByVal link As BarItemLink) As GridHitInfo
    Dim menu As PopupMenu = TryCast(link.LinkedObject, PopupMenu)
    Return TryCast(menu.Tag, GridHitInfo)
End Function

Private Sub barButtonItem_AutoWidth_ItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ItemClickEventArgs)
    Dim info As GridHitInfo = GetHitInfo(e.Link)
    info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth = Not info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth
    If info.View.OptionsView.ColumnAutoWidth = False Then info.View.BestFitColumns()
End Sub

Refer to the following help topic for more information: Custom Context Menus.

Cheat Sheets and Best Practices

Read the following quick-reference guide for general information and examples:

How to Obtain Information About UI Elements Located at the Specified Point