Sorting gridview bound to datatable in c#.net

Question

I have a gridview which is bound to a DataTable. When I try to sort the gridview, it goes blank. How can I enable sorting this gridview?

I know this question has been asked before, but what I'm looking for is an explanation of how to do it. Perhaps with a simple example.

I have read that I need to put some code in the on_sorting and/or on_sorted events, but I don't understand what needs to go there.

Again, I want to understand the method of accomplishing this, I don't just want a giant block of code.

Ok, here's what I have now, but still not working:

            <asp:GridView ID="gridResults" runat="server" CellPadding="4" ForeColor="#333333"
            GridLines="Horizontal" AllowSorting="True" AllowPaging="True" 
            EmptyDataText="No Tracking Information Found for the given criteria." 
            PageSize="15" onsorted="gridResults_Sorted" AutoGenerateColumns="False" 
            EnableSortingAndPagingCallbacks="True">
            <RowStyle BackColor="#E3EAEB" />
            <FooterStyle BackColor="#1C5E55" Font-Bold="True" ForeColor="White" />
            <PagerStyle BackColor="#666666" ForeColor="White" HorizontalAlign="Center" />
            <SelectedRowStyle BackColor="#C5BBAF" Font-Bold="True" ForeColor="#333333" />
            <HeaderStyle BackColor="#1C5E55" Font-Bold="True" ForeColor="White" />
            <EditRowStyle BackColor="#7C6F57" />
            <AlternatingRowStyle BackColor="White" />
        </asp:GridView>

And then in code behind:

  //From search method
gridResults.Columns.Clear();
    foreach (DataColumn col in currentResults.Columns)
    {
        String fieldName = col.ColumnName;
        BoundField field = new BoundField();
        field.DataField = fieldName;
        field.SortExpression = fieldName;
        field.HeaderText = fieldName;

        gridResults.Columns.Add(field);  
    }

    gridResults.DataSource = currentResults;
    gridResults.DataBind();
    gridResults.AllowSorting = true;

Can anyone see what I'm still missing? Results show, but no sorting or paging works.

hav2play21 · Accepted Answer · 2010-09-28 16:05:18Z

1

You are able to make a GridView sortable using a DataTable. All you need to do is make sure that you have Enable Sorting = true and you provide the column name that you wish to be sorted in the SortExpression.

This is what you would need to do to allow this to be sortable:

<asp:BoundField HeaderText="Product" 
      DataField="ProductName" SortExpression="ProductName">
</asp:BoundField>

You always need to set the SortExpression or you are not going to be able to sort your columns

answered Sep 28, 2010 at 16:05

hav2play21

1717 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

5 Comments

MAW74656 Over a year ago

Hmm. Ok, but can this be done programmatically? I'm allowing the user to select which columns will exist in the gridview (search results). Can I do this in c# and use something like a foreach on the datatable's columns to get the column names?

hav2play21 Over a year ago

Yes, you can grab the column names inside a foreach loop and then set the properties accordingly. Here is a good article to look at: msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/…

hav2play21 Over a year ago

Also, if you know what the fields are going to be before you make the call, aka between when the user makes the selection and you call for your data, you can create the columns then using the selections and then just assign your data table to your datasource.

MAW74656 Over a year ago

@hav2play21 - Which will have better performance, foreach or using the selections? I'm thinking foreach so I don't bother checking the non-selected options.

hav2play21 Over a year ago

It really all depends on how you are sending your selections to grab your data. If you are already using the selections to ask for your data then that way would be easier but if you dont know the exact selections already then using a foreach loop after you get your data back would be better.

anishMarokey · Accepted Answer · 2010-09-28 15:24:30Z

1

please have a look on GridView Examples for ASP.NET 2.0: Paging and Sorting the GridView's Data

answered Sep 28, 2010 at 15:24

anishMarokey

11.4k2 gold badges36 silver badges47 bronze badges

4 Comments

MAW74656 Over a year ago

I'm familiar with this information, I'm binding my gridview to a DataTable, not to a datasource.

anishMarokey Over a year ago

why you can do it in DataView . do you want example? i think in data table its not possible

MAW74656 Over a year ago

The datatable is convenient for other processing I do later. Are you suggesting I cast/convert the datatable to a dataview and bind that to the gridview?

MAW74656 Over a year ago

Yes, an example may help. I think I'm simple missing what your saying.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Sorting gridview bound to datatable in c#.net

2 Answers 2

5 Comments

4 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

5 Comments

4 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related