GridPattern.GetItem(Int32, Int32) Method

Definition

Retrieves an AutomationElement that represents the specified cell.

public:
 System::Windows::Automation::AutomationElement ^ GetItem(int row, int column);
public System.Windows.Automation.AutomationElement GetItem (int row, int column);
member this.GetItem : int * int -> System.Windows.Automation.AutomationElement
Public Function GetItem (row As Integer, column As Integer) As AutomationElement

Parameters

row
Int32

The ordinal number of the row of interest.

column
Int32

The ordinal number of the column of interest.

Returns

An AutomationElement that represents the retrieved cell.

Exceptions

Either the requested row or column coordinate is less than zero.

-or-

The requested row coordinate is larger than the RowCount or the column coordinate is larger than the ColumnCount.

Examples

In the following example, an AutomationFocusChangedEvent listener is declared to track the traversal of grid items within a grid container. Item properties are echoed to the console upon each focus change event.

///--------------------------------------------------------------------
/// <summary>
/// Set up grid item event listeners.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="targetControl">
/// The grid item container of interest.
/// </param>
///--------------------------------------------------------------------
private void SetGridItemEventListeners(AutomationElement targetControl)
{
    AutomationFocusChangedEventHandler gridItemFocusChangedListener =
        new AutomationFocusChangedEventHandler(OnGridItemFocusChange);
    Automation.AddAutomationFocusChangedEventHandler(
        gridItemFocusChangedListener);
}
'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
''' <summary>
''' Set up grid item event listeners.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="targetControl">
''' The grid item container of interest.
''' </param>
'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sub SetGridItemEventListeners( _
ByVal targetControl As AutomationElement)
    Dim gridItemFocusChangedListener As AutomationFocusChangedEventHandler = _
    AddressOf OnGridItemFocusChange
    Automation.AddAutomationFocusChangedEventHandler( _
    gridItemFocusChangedListener)
End Sub
///--------------------------------------------------------------------
/// <summary>
/// Event handler for grid item focus change.
/// Can be used to track traversal of individual grid items 
/// within a grid.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="src">Object that raised the event.</param>
/// <param name="e">Event arguments.</param>
///--------------------------------------------------------------------
private void OnGridItemFocusChange(
    object src, AutomationFocusChangedEventArgs e)
{
    // Make sure the element still exists. Elements such as tooltips
    // can disappear before the event is processed.
    AutomationElement sourceElement;
    try
    {
        sourceElement = src as AutomationElement;
    }
    catch (ElementNotAvailableException)
    {
        return;
    }

    // Gets a GridItemPattern from the source of the event.
    GridItemPattern gridItemPattern = 
        GetGridItemPattern(sourceElement);

    if (gridItemPattern == null)
    {
        return;
    }

    // Gets a GridPattern from the grid container.
    GridPattern gridPattern = 
        GetGridPattern(gridItemPattern.Current.ContainingGrid);

    if (gridPattern == null)
    {
        return;
    }

    AutomationElement gridItem = null;
    try
    {
        gridItem = gridPattern.GetItem(
        gridItemPattern.Current.Row, 
        gridItemPattern.Current.Column);
    }
    catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException)
    {
        // If the requested row coordinate is larger than the RowCount 
        // or the column coordinate is larger than the ColumnCount.
        // -- OR --
        // If either of the requested row or column coordinates 
        // are less than zero.
        // TO DO: error handling.
    }

    // Further event processing can be done at this point.
    // For the purposes of this sample we just report item properties.
    StringBuilder gridItemReport = new StringBuilder();
    gridItemReport.AppendLine(
        gridItemPattern.Current.Row.ToString()).AppendLine(
        gridItemPattern.Current.Column.ToString()).AppendLine(
        gridItemPattern.Current.RowSpan.ToString()).AppendLine(
        gridItemPattern.Current.ColumnSpan.ToString()).AppendLine(
        gridItem.Current.AutomationId.ToString());
    Console.WriteLine(gridItemReport.ToString());
}

///--------------------------------------------------------------------
/// <summary>
/// Handles our application shutdown.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="args">Event arguments.</param>
///--------------------------------------------------------------------
protected override void OnExit(System.Windows.ExitEventArgs args)
{
    Automation.RemoveAllEventHandlers();
    base.OnExit(args);
}
'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
''' <summary>
''' Event handler for grid item focus change.
''' Can be used to track traversal of individual grid items 
''' within a grid.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="src">Object that raised the event.</param>
''' <param name="e">Event arguments.</param>
'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sub OnGridItemFocusChange( _
ByVal src As Object, ByVal e As AutomationFocusChangedEventArgs)
    ' Make sure the element still exists. Elements such as tooltips
    ' can disappear before the event is processed.
    Dim sourceElement As AutomationElement
    Try
        sourceElement = DirectCast(src, AutomationElement)
    Catch exc As ElementNotAvailableException
        Return
    End Try

    ' Gets a GridItemPattern from the source of the event.
    Dim gridItemPattern As GridItemPattern = _
    GetGridItemPattern(sourceElement)

    If gridItemPattern Is Nothing Then
        Return
    End If

    ' Gets a GridPattern from the grid container.
    Dim gridPattern As GridPattern = _
    GetGridPattern(gridItemPattern.Current.ContainingGrid)

    If gridPattern Is Nothing Then
        Return
    End If

    Dim gridItem As AutomationElement = Nothing
    Try
        gridItem = gridPattern.GetItem( _
        gridItemPattern.Current.Row, gridItemPattern.Current.Column)
    Catch
        ' If the requested row coordinate is larger than the RowCount 
        ' or the column coordinate is larger than the ColumnCount.
        ' -- OR --
        ' If either of the requested row or column coordinates 
        ' are less than zero.
        ' TO DO: error handling.
    End Try

    ' Further event processing can be done at this point.
    ' For the purposes of this sample we just report item properties.
    Dim gridItemReport As New StringBuilder()
    gridItemReport.AppendLine( _
    gridItemPattern.Current.Row.ToString()).AppendLine( _
    gridItemPattern.Current.Column.ToString()).AppendLine( _
    gridItemPattern.Current.RowSpan.ToString()).AppendLine( _
    gridItemPattern.Current.ColumnSpan.ToString()).AppendLine( _
    gridItem.Current.AutomationId.ToString())
    Console.WriteLine(gridItemReport.ToString())

End Sub


'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
''' <summary>
''' Handles our application shutdown.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="args">Event arguments.</param>
'''--------------------------------------------------------------------
Protected Overrides Sub OnExit(ByVal args As System.Windows.ExitEventArgs) 
    Automation.RemoveAllEventHandlers()
    MyBase.OnExit(args)

End Sub

Remarks

Grid coordinates are zero-based with the upper left (or upper right cell depending on locale) having coordinates (0,0).

If a cell is empty, a UI Automation element is still returned in order to support retrieval of the ContainingGrid property for that cell. This is possible when the layout of child elements in the grid is similar to a ragged array as shown here.

Windows Explorer view showing ragged layout.
Example of a Grid Control with Empty Coordinates

Applies to