GridView.Sorting Event (System.Web.UI.WebControls)

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Sorting Event

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

GridView..::.Sorting Event

Updated: April 2009

Occurs when the hyperlink to sort a column is clicked, but before the GridView control handles the sort operation.

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

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Event Sorting As GridViewSortEventHandler

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As GridView
Dim handler As GridViewSortEventHandler

AddHandler instance.Sorting, handler

public event GridViewSortEventHandler Sorting

Visual C++

public:
 event GridViewSortEventHandler^ Sorting {
    void add (GridViewSortEventHandler^ value);
    void remove (GridViewSortEventHandler^ value);
}

JScript

JScript does not support events.

ASP.NET

<asp:GridView OnSorting="GridViewSortEventHandler" />

Remarks

The Sorting event is raised when the hyperlink to sort a column is clicked, but before the GridView control handles the sort operation. This enables you to provide an event-handling method that performs a custom routine, such as canceling the sorting operation, whenever this event occurs.

A GridViewSortEventArgs object is passed to the event-handling method, which enables you to determine the sort expression for the column and to indicate that the selection operation should be canceled. To cancel the selection operation, set the Cancel property of the GridViewSortEventArgs object to true.

For information about how to programmatically initiate a sort operation, see the Sort method.

For more information about handling events, see Consuming Events.

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to use the Sorting event to perform the sorting functionality when the GridView control is bound to a DataTable object by setting the DataSource property programmatically.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page Language="VB" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">

  Protected Sub TaskGridView_Sorting(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewSortEventArgs)

    'Retrieve the table from the session object.
    Dim dt = TryCast(Session("TaskTable"), DataTable)

    If dt IsNot Nothing Then

      'Sort the data.
      dt.DefaultView.Sort = e.SortExpression & " " & GetSortDirection(e.SortExpression)
      TaskGridView.DataSource = Session("TaskTable")
      TaskGridView.DataBind()

    End If

  End Sub


  Private Function GetSortDirection(ByVal column As String) As String

    ' By default, set the sort direction to ascending.
    Dim sortDirection = "ASC"

    ' Retrieve the last column that was sorted.
    Dim sortExpression = TryCast(ViewState("SortExpression"), String)

    If sortExpression IsNot Nothing Then
      ' Check if the same column is being sorted.
      ' Otherwise, the default value can be returned.
      If sortExpression = column Then
        Dim lastDirection = TryCast(ViewState("SortDirection"), String)
        If lastDirection IsNot Nothing _
          AndAlso lastDirection = "ASC" Then

          sortDirection = "DESC"

        End If
      End If
    End If

    ' Save new values in ViewState.
    ViewState("SortDirection") = sortDirection
    ViewState("SortExpression") = column

    Return sortDirection

  End Function

  Protected Sub Page_Load()

    If Not Page.IsPostBack Then

      ' Create a new table.
      Dim taskTable As New DataTable("TaskList")

      ' Create the columns.
      taskTable.Columns.Add("Id", GetType(Integer))
      taskTable.Columns.Add("Description", GetType(String))

      'Add data to the new table.
      For i = 0 To 9
        Dim tableRow As DataRow = taskTable.NewRow()
        tableRow("Id") = i
        tableRow("Description") = "Task " & (10 - i)
        taskTable.Rows.Add(tableRow)
      Next i

      'Persist the table in the Session object.
      Session("TaskTable") = taskTable

      'Bind the GridView control to the data source.
      TaskGridView.DataSource = Session("TaskTable")
      TaskGridView.DataBind()
    End If

  End Sub

</script>

<html >
<head runat="server">
    <title>Sorting example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>

      <asp:GridView ID="TaskGridView" runat="server" 
        AllowSorting="true" 
        OnSorting="TaskGridView_Sorting" >
      </asp:GridView>

    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">

  protected void TaskGridView_Sorting(object sender, GridViewSortEventArgs e)
  {

    //Retrieve the table from the session object.
    DataTable dt = Session["TaskTable"] as DataTable;

    if (dt != null)
    {

      //Sort the data.
      dt.DefaultView.Sort = e.SortExpression + " " + GetSortDirection(e.SortExpression);
      TaskGridView.DataSource = Session["TaskTable"];
      TaskGridView.DataBind();
    }

  }

  private string GetSortDirection(string column)
  {

    // By default, set the sort direction to ascending.
    string sortDirection = "ASC";

    // Retrieve the last column that was sorted.
    string sortExpression = ViewState["SortExpression"] as string;

    if (sortExpression != null)
    {
      // Check if the same column is being sorted.
      // Otherwise, the default value can be returned.
      if (sortExpression == column)
      {
        string lastDirection = ViewState["SortDirection"] as string;
        if ((lastDirection != null) && (lastDirection == "ASC"))
        {
          sortDirection = "DESC";
        }
      }
    }

    // Save new values in ViewState.
    ViewState["SortDirection"] = sortDirection;
    ViewState["SortExpression"] = column;

    return sortDirection;
  }

  protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {

    if (!Page.IsPostBack)
    {

      // Create a new table.
      DataTable taskTable = new DataTable("TaskList");

      // Create the columns.
      taskTable.Columns.Add("Id", typeof(int));
      taskTable.Columns.Add("Description", typeof(string));

      //Add data to the new table.
      for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
      {
        DataRow tableRow = taskTable.NewRow();
        tableRow["Id"] = i;
        tableRow["Description"] = "Task " + (10 - i).ToString();
        taskTable.Rows.Add(tableRow);
      }

      //Persist the table in the Session object.
      Session["TaskTable"] = taskTable;

      //Bind the GridView control to the data source.
      TaskGridView.DataSource = Session["TaskTable"];
      TaskGridView.DataBind();

    }

  }

</script>

<html >
<head runat="server">
    <title>Sorting example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>

      <asp:GridView ID="TaskGridView" runat="server" 
        AllowSorting="true" 
        OnSorting="TaskGridView_Sorting" >
      </asp:GridView>

    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

The following example demonstrates how to use the Sorting event to cancel a sorting operation.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page language="VB" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">

  Sub CustomersGridView_Sorting(sender As Object, e As GridViewSortEventArgs)

    ' Cancel the sorting operation if the user attempts
    ' to sort by address.
    If e.SortExpression = "Address" Then

      e.Cancel = True
      Message.Text = "You cannot sort by address."
      SortInformationLabel.Text = ""

    Else

      Message.Text = ""

    End If

  End Sub

  Sub CustomersGridView_Sorted(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

    ' Display the sort expression and sort direction.
    SortInformationLabel.Text = "Sorting by " & _
      CustomersGridView.SortExpression.ToString() & _
      " in " & CustomersGridView.SortDirection.ToString() & _
      " order."

  End Sub

</script>

<html  >
  <head runat="server">
    <title>GridView Sorted and Sorting Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">

      <h3>GridView Sorted and Sorting Example</h3>

      <asp:label id="Message"
        forecolor="Red"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>

      <asp:label id="SortInformationLabel"
        forecolor="Navy"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>  

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true"
        allowpaging="true"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true"
        onsorting="CustomersGridView_Sorting"
        onsorted="CustomersGridView_Sorted"  
        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#" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">

  void CustomersGridView_Sorting(Object sender, GridViewSortEventArgs e)
  {
    // Cancel the sorting operation if the user attempts
    // to sort by address.
    if (e.SortExpression == "Address")
    {
      e.Cancel = true;
      Message.Text = "You cannot sort by address.";
      SortInformationLabel.Text = "";
    }
    else
    {
      Message.Text = "";
    }
  }

  void CustomersGridView_Sorted(Object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    // Display the sort expression and sort direction.
    SortInformationLabel.Text = "Sorting by " +
      CustomersGridView.SortExpression.ToString() +
      " in " + CustomersGridView.SortDirection.ToString() +
      " order.";
  }

</script>

<html  >
  <head runat="server">
    <title>GridView Sorting Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">

      <h3>GridView Sorting Example</h3>

      <asp:label id="Message"
        forecolor="Red"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>

      <asp:label id="SortInformationLabel"
        forecolor="Navy"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>  

      <asp:gridview id="CustomersGridView" 
        datasourceid="CustomersSource" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true"
        allowpaging="true"
        emptydatatext="No data available." 
        allowsorting="true"
        onsorting="CustomersGridView_Sorting"
        onsorted="CustomersGridView_Sorted"  
        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>

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

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

Version Information