GridView.AllowSorting Property (System.Web.UI.WebControls)

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AllowSorting Property

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/.NET Framework 2.0

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

GridView.AllowSorting Property

Note: This property is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the sorting feature is enabled.

Namespace: System.Web.UI.WebControls
Assembly: System.Web (in system.web.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Overridable Property AllowSorting As Boolean

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As GridView
Dim value As Boolean

value = instance.AllowSorting

instance.AllowSorting = value

public virtual bool AllowSorting { get; set; }

C++

public:
virtual property bool AllowSorting {
    bool get ();
    void set (bool value);
}

/** @property */
public boolean get_AllowSorting ()

/** @property */
public void set_AllowSorting (boolean value)

JScript

public function get AllowSorting () : boolean

public function set AllowSorting (value : boolean)

Property Value

true if the sorting feature is enabled; otherwise, false. The default is false.

Remarks

When a data source control that supports sorting is bound to the GridView control, the GridView control can take advantage of the data source control's capabilities and provide automatic sorting functionality.

Note
Different data sources have different requirements for enabling their sorting capabilities. To determine the requirements, see the documentation for the specific data source.

To enable sorting, set the AllowSorting property to true. When sorting is enabled, the heading text for each column field with its SortExpression property set is displayed as a link button.

Note
The SortExpression property for an automatically generated columns field is automatically populated. If you define your own columns through the Columns collection, you must set the SortExpression property for each column; otherwise, the column will not display the link button in the header.

Clicking the link button for a column causes the items in the GridView control to be sorted based on the sort expression. Typically, the sort expression is simply the name of the field displayed in the column, which causes the GridView control to sort with respect to that column. To sort by multiple fields, use a sort expression that contains a comma-separated list of field names. You can determine the sort expression that the GridView control is applying by using the SortExpression property. Clicking a column's link button repeatedly toggles the sort direction between ascending and descending order. To determine the current sort direction, use the SortDirection property.

The GridView control provides several events that you can use to perform a custom action when sorting occurs. The following table lists the available events.

Event	Description
Sorted	Occurs when the hyperlink to sort a column is clicked, but after the GridView control handles the sort operation. This event is commonly used to perform a task after the user clicks a hyperlink to sort a column.
Sorting	Occurs when the hyperlink to sort a column is clicked, but before the GridView control handles the sort operation. This event is often used to cancel the sorting operation or to perform a custom sorting routine.

Example

The following code example demonstrates how to use the AllowSorting property to enable sorting in a GridView control when automatically generated columns are used.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page language="VB" %>

<html>
  <body>
    <form runat="server">
        
      <h3>GridView AllowSorting Example</h3>

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true" 
        runat="server">
                
      </asp:gridview>
            
      <!-- This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects  -->
      <!-- to the Northwind sample database. Use an ASP.NET     -->
      <!-- expression to retrieve the connection string value   -->
      <!-- from the Web.config file.                            -->
      <asp:sqldatasource id="CustomersSource"
        selectcommand="Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]"
        connectionstring="<%$ ConnectionStrings:NorthWindConnectionString%>" 
        runat="server"/>
        
    </form>
  </body>
</html>

<%@ Page language="C#" %>

<html>
  <body>
    <form runat="server">
        
      <h3>GridView AllowSorting Example</h3>

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true" 
        runat="server">
                
      </asp:gridview>
            
      <!-- This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects  -->
      <!-- to the Northwind sample database. Use an ASP.NET     -->
      <!-- expression to retrieve the connection string value   -->
      <!-- from the Web.config file.                            -->
      <asp:sqldatasource id="CustomersSource"
        selectcommand="Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]"
        connectionstring="<%$ ConnectionStrings:NorthWindConnectionString%>" 
        runat="server"/>
        
    </form>
  </body>
</html>

The following code example demonstrates how to use the AllowSorting property to enable sorting in a GridView control when a Columns collection is defined. An image is also programmatically added to the header of the column being sorted to indicate the sort direction. You must provide your own images for this sample to work.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page language="VB" %>

<script runat="server">

  Sub CustomersGridView_RowCreated(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewRowEventArgs)
    
    ' Use the RowType property to determine whether the 
    ' row being created is the header row. 
    If e.Row.RowType = DataControlRowType.Header Then
    
      ' Call the GetSortColumnIndex helper method to determine
      ' the index of the column being sorted.
      Dim sortColumnIndex As Integer = GetSortColumnIndex()
      
      If sortColumnIndex <> -1 Then
      
        ' Call the AddSortImage helper method to add
        ' a sort direction image to the appropriate
        ' column header. 
        AddSortImage(sortColumnIndex, e.Row)
    
      End If
      
    End If
    
  End Sub

  ' This is a helper method used to determine the index of the
  ' column being sorted. If no column is being sorted, -1 is returned.
  Function GetSortColumnIndex() As Integer

    ' Iterate through the Columns collection to determine the index
    ' of the column being sorted.
    Dim field As DataControlField
    For Each field In CustomersGridView.Columns
    
      If field.SortExpression = CustomersGridView.SortExpression Then
      
        Return CustomersGridView.Columns.IndexOf(field)

      End If
      
    Next

    Return -1
      
  End Function

  ' This is a helper method used to add a sort direction
  ' image to the header of the column being sorted.
  Sub AddSortImage(ByVal columnIndex As Integer, ByVal row As GridViewRow)

    ' Create the sorting image based on the sort direction.
    Dim sortImage As New Image()
    If CustomersGridView.SortDirection = SortDirection.Ascending Then
    
      sortImage.ImageUrl = "~/Images/Ascending.jpg"
      sortImage.AlternateText = "Ascending Order"
    
    Else
    
      sortImage.ImageUrl = "~/Images/Descending.jpg"
      sortImage.AlternateText = "Descending Order"
    
    End If
    ' Add the image to the appropriate header cell.
    row.Cells(columnIndex).Controls.Add(sortImage)
    
  End Sub
    
</script>

<html>
  <body>
    <form runat="server">
        
      <h3>GridView AllowSorting Example</h3>

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="false"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true"
        onrowcreated="CustomersGridView_RowCreated"
        runat="server">
        
        <columns>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="CustomerID"
            headertext="Customer ID"
            headerstyle-wrap="false" 
            sortexpression="CustomerID"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="CompanyName"
            headertext="CompanyName"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="CompanyName"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="Address"
            headertext="Address"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="Address"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="City"
            headertext="City"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="City"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="PostalCode"
            headertext="Postal Code"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="PostalCode" />
          <asp:boundfield datafield="Country"
            headertext="Country"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="Country"/>         
        </columns>
                
      </asp:gridview>
            
      <!-- This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects  -->
      <!-- to the Northwind sample database. Use an ASP.NET     -->
      <!-- expression to retrieve the connection string value   -->
      <!-- from the Web.config file.                            -->
      <asp:sqldatasource id="CustomersSource"
        selectcommand="Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]"
        connectionstring="<%$ ConnectionStrings:NorthWindConnectionString%>" 
        runat="server"/>
        
    </form>
  </body>
</html>

<%@ Page language="C#" %>

<script runat="server">

  void CustomersGridView_RowCreated(Object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
  {
    
    // Use the RowType property to determine whether the 
    // row being created is the header row. 
    if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.Header)
    {
      // Call the GetSortColumnIndex helper method to determine
      // the index of the column being sorted.
      int sortColumnIndex = GetSortColumnIndex();
      
      if (sortColumnIndex != -1)
      {
        // Call the AddSortImage helper method to add
        // a sort direction image to the appropriate
        // column header. 
        AddSortImage(sortColumnIndex, e.Row);
      }
    }
  }

  // This is a helper method used to determine the index of the
  // column being sorted. If no column is being sorted, -1 is returned.
  int GetSortColumnIndex()
  {

    // Iterate through the Columns collection to determine the index
    // of the column being sorted.
    foreach (DataControlField field in CustomersGridView.Columns)
    {
      if (field.SortExpression == CustomersGridView.SortExpression)
      {
        return CustomersGridView.Columns.IndexOf(field);
      }
    }

    return -1;
  }

  // This is a helper method used to add a sort direction
  // image to the header of the column being sorted.
  void AddSortImage(int columnIndex, GridViewRow headerRow)
  {
    
    // Create the sorting image based on the sort direction.
    Image sortImage = new Image();
    if (CustomersGridView.SortDirection == SortDirection.Ascending)
    {
      sortImage.ImageUrl = "~/Images/Ascending.jpg";
      sortImage.AlternateText = "Ascending Order";
    }
    else
    {
      sortImage.ImageUrl = "~/Images/Descending.jpg";
      sortImage.AlternateText = "Descending Order";
    }

    // Add the image to the appropriate header cell.
    headerRow.Cells[columnIndex].Controls.Add(sortImage);
    
  }
    
</script>

<html>
  <body>
    <form runat="server">
        
      <h3>GridView AllowSorting Example</h3>

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="false"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true"
        onrowcreated="CustomersGridView_RowCreated"
        runat="server">
        
        <columns>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="CustomerID"
            headertext="Customer ID"
            headerstyle-wrap="false" 
            sortexpression="CustomerID"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="CompanyName"
            headertext="CompanyName"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="CompanyName"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="Address"
            headertext="Address"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="Address"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="City"
            headertext="City"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="City"/>
          <asp:boundfield datafield="PostalCode"
            headertext="Postal Code"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="PostalCode" />
          <asp:boundfield datafield="Country"
            headertext="Country"
            headerstyle-wrap="false"
            sortexpression="Country"/>         
        </columns>
                
      </asp:gridview>
            
      <!-- This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects  -->
      <!-- to the Northwind sample database. Use an ASP.NET     -->
      <!-- expression to retrieve the connection string value   -->
      <!-- from the Web.config file.                            -->
      <asp:sqldatasource id="CustomersSource"
        selectcommand="Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]"
        connectionstring="<%$ ConnectionStrings:NorthWindConnectionString%>" 
        runat="server"/>
        
    </form>
  </body>
</html>

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0

Reference

GridView Class
GridView Members
System.Web.UI.WebControls Namespace
System.Collections.ICollection
DataSourceView.CanSort
SortDirection
SortExpression
Sorted
Sorting