index > Windows Forms Data Controls and Databinding > DataGridView - Copy only selected text

DataGridView - Copy only selected text

Hi there.

I am having an annoying problem with a DataGridView not linked to any database; I save/load to/from a simple XML file.

(Using VSNet 2005release version- developping in VB.NET)

When editing a cell's content, highlighting a portion of text and pressing CTRL-C, the complete cell content is copied to the clipboard.

Is there an easy way to only have the selected text copied on CTRL-C? I know that I can achieve this by right-clicking on the selection and selecting copy, but for speed, I would like to use the CTRL-C method.

Also, why is that when I press SHIFT-SPACE, the complete line is selected?

Thanks for the help,

Zolt

Zolt Thursday, March 23, 2006 3:27 PM

Hello,

I couldn't find a way to override default behaviour of the grid but my solution is like that:

protected override void OnColumnHeaderMouseClick(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)

{

//Ensure that none of column ordering is in automatic mode

foreach (DataGridViewColumn column in this.Columns)

column.SortMode = DataGridViewColumnSortMode.Programmatic;

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.ColumnHeaderSelect;

this.Columns[e.ColumnIndex].Selected = true;

base.OnColumnHeaderMouseClick(e);

}

protected override void OnRowHeaderMouseClick(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)

{

if (e.Button == MouseButtons.Left)

{

// Select whole row.

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.RowHeaderSelect;

this.Rows[e.RowIndex].Selected = true;

}

base.OnRowHeaderMouseClick(e);

}

protected override void OnCellBeginEdit(DataGridViewCellCancelEventArgs e)

{

// While editing a cell, disallowrow or column selectto avoid Shift+Space row selection default behaviour.

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.CellSelect;

base.OnCellBeginEdit(e);

}

If you disallow row or column selection while editing a cell, the Shift-Space event does not rise, which is exactly what I needed. Not sure if that would fit your needs though.

krejcimar Friday, September 01, 2006 7:51 AM

I can't help but I would like to ask if the problem of pressing shift-space was solved. When I press shift-space, I wish just space was passed to the EditingControl of the DataGridView and no row was selected.

krejcimar Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:38 PM

Would you provide more information such as what properties of datagridview you modified, what events you have added handlers to, what you used is datagridviewtextboxcolumn?

Wang Chi Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:46 AM

No, the shift-space problem was not resolved. If you find anything on your side, please let me know!

Zolt Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:20 PM

The datagrid (DataGridView) I use is bound to a recordset.

I do not manually generate the columns: they are taken care by the object, so I am not modifying any event, nor did I add any handlers to it.

The only 2 things I added are to be able to track if there was any changes between edit and save: I keep the old value before editing and compare it with the new one after leaving the cell.

Here are the additions I made :

Private Sub DataGrid1_CellEnter(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewCellEventArgs) Handles DataGrid1.CellEnter

sCellValue = DataGrid1.CurrentCell.Value.ToString

End Sub

Private Sub DataGrid1_CellEndEdit(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewCellEventArgs) Handles DataGrid1.CellEndEdit

If DataGrid1.CurrentCell.Value.ToString <> sCellValue Then

If e.ColumnIndex = 0 Then

''Only for first column, put the text to lower case, and replace spaces with underscores (_)

DataGrid1.CurrentCell.Value = DataGrid1.CurrentCell.Value.ToString.Trim.ToLower.Replace(" ", "_")

Me.chkDirty.Checked = True

End If

End Sub

Any ideas? :)

Zolt Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:22 PM

Regarding the shift-space problem, I tried everything that I could think of, including searching the whole web but found nothing. :-(

I found the problem pretty annoying...

krejcimar Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:26 PM

It is pretty annoying indeed.

I have switched to another project since then, but I keep this in my list of things to work on.

If I come up with something at some point, I will let you know. Please do the same if you find a solution :)

Zolt Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:29 PM

OK, I would inform you.

krejcimar Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:35 PM

Hello,

I couldn't find a way to override default behaviour of the grid but my solution is like that:

protected override void OnColumnHeaderMouseClick(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)

{

//Ensure that none of column ordering is in automatic mode

foreach (DataGridViewColumn column in this.Columns)

column.SortMode = DataGridViewColumnSortMode.Programmatic;

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.ColumnHeaderSelect;

this.Columns[e.ColumnIndex].Selected = true;

base.OnColumnHeaderMouseClick(e);

}

protected override void OnRowHeaderMouseClick(DataGridViewCellMouseEventArgs e)

{

if (e.Button == MouseButtons.Left)

{

// Select whole row.

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.RowHeaderSelect;

this.Rows[e.RowIndex].Selected = true;

}

base.OnRowHeaderMouseClick(e);

}

protected override void OnCellBeginEdit(DataGridViewCellCancelEventArgs e)

{

// While editing a cell, disallowrow or column selectto avoid Shift+Space row selection default behaviour.

this.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.CellSelect;

base.OnCellBeginEdit(e);

}

If you disallow row or column selection while editing a cell, the Shift-Space event does not rise, which is exactly what I needed. Not sure if that would fit your needs though.

krejcimar Friday, September 01, 2006 7:51 AM

Can not reproduce your problems here:-(. You may repeat the steps what you have done, and check this behavior at the end of each step, find out what causes this issue.

Wang Chi Friday, September 01, 2006 9:00 AM

Try this:

dataGridView.MultiSelect = false;
dataGridView.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.CellSelect;

nshafaee Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:53 PM

Hi,

Try this to solve the whole cell being copied problem.

public class CustomDataGridView : DataGridView
{
public override System.Windows.Forms.DataObject GetClipboardContent()
{
if (this.SelectedCells.Count == 1)
{
System.Windows.Forms.DataObject dataObject = new System.Windows.Forms.DataObject();

if (this.CurrentCell.IsInEditMode)
{
if (this.EditingControl is System.Windows.Forms.TextBox)
{
string text = ((System.Windows.Forms.TextBox)this.EditingControl).SelectedText;

dataObject.SetText(text);
}
}
else
{
dataObject.SetText(this.CurrentCell.Value.ToString());
}

return dataObject;
}
else
{
return base.GetClipboardContent();
}
}
}

MSearles Monday, November 03, 2008 12:26 AM

Solution above does not restore row selection mode when header row is clicked, which is not trivial. The solution I found is to handleOnCellMouseEnter event and set the grid selection mode accordingly.

protected override void OnCellMouseEnter(DataGridViewCellEventArgs e)

{

//this enables using Ctrl-C and other shortcuts to copy cell values.

this.SelectionMode = e.ColumnIndex == -1 ? DataGridViewSelectionMode.FullRowSelect : DataGridViewSelectionMode.CellSelect;

base.OnCellMouseEnter(e);

}

glevik Thursday, September 24, 2009 10:42 PM