Column Header

• Nov 21, 2025
• 2 minutes to read

Column headers identify columns in Grid Views, Banded Grid Views, and Advanced Banded Grid Views. A column header contains the following UI elements:

• Caption
• Column Header Image
• Sort Glyph
• Filter Button

The column header panel contains headers of all visible columns. Headers of grouped columns are displayed in the group panel. The Customization Form displays headers of hidden columns. A right click on a column header in the header panel or the group panel activates the column header context menu.

The following table lists the main properties that allow you to customize column headers:

Appearance	The GridViewAppearances.HeaderPanel property specifies appearance settings for all column headers. Individual columns may override these settings using the GridColumn.AppearanceHeader property.
Custom Draw Event	GridView.CustomDrawColumnHeader
Visibility	GridOptionsView.ShowColumnHeaders and GridOptionsView.ShowGroupPanel options specify whether to display the column header panel and group panel respectively. A column’s OptionsColumn.ShowInCustomizationForm option specifies whether the column header can appear in the Customization Form when the column is hidden.
Contents	GridColumn.Caption, GridColumn.ImageOptions You can use HTML tags to format a column’s caption if the GridOptionsView.AllowHtmlDrawHeaders option is enabled.
Tooltips	GridOptionsHint.ShowColumnHeaderHints, GridColumn.ToolTip

If the view’s OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation is active, a user can can navigate to column headers using the keyboard. You can also focus a column header in code:

C#

using DevExpress.XtraEditors;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.BandedGrid;
using DevExpress.Utils;

public partial class Form1 : XtraForm {

    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        gridView1.OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation = DefaultBoolean.True;
        focusBtn.Click += focusBtn_Click;
    }
    void focusBtn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            gridView1.FocusedRowHandle = GridControl.ColumnsRowHandle;
            gridView1.FocusedColumn = gridView1.Columns[0];
        }
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors
Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.BandedGrid
Imports DevExpress.Utils

Public Partial Class Form1
    Inherits XtraForm

    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()
        gridView1.OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation = DefaultBoolean.True
        AddHandler focusBtn.Click, AddressOf focusBtn_Click
    End Sub

    Private Sub focusBtn_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        gridView1.FocusedRowHandle = GridControl.ColumnsRowHandle
        gridView1.FocusedColumn = gridView1.Columns(0)
    End Sub
End Class