DataGridView.DefaultCellStyle Property

Definition

Gets or sets the default cell style to be applied to the cells in the DataGridView if no other cell style properties are set.

public:
 property System::Windows::Forms::DataGridViewCellStyle ^ DefaultCellStyle { System::Windows::Forms::DataGridViewCellStyle ^ get(); void set(System::Windows::Forms::DataGridViewCellStyle ^ value); };
public System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewCellStyle DefaultCellStyle { get; set; }
member this.DefaultCellStyle : System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewCellStyle with get, set
Public Property DefaultCellStyle As DataGridViewCellStyle

Property Value

The DataGridViewCellStyle to be applied as the default style.

Examples

The following code example illustrates the use of this property in a DataGridView control intended primarily for display. In this example, the visual appearance of the control is customized in several ways and the control is configured for limited interactivity. This example is part of a larger example available in the DataGridViewCellStyle class overview.

// Configures the appearance and behavior of a DataGridView control.
private void InitializeDataGridView()
{
    // Initialize basic DataGridView properties.
    dataGridView1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
    dataGridView1.BackgroundColor = Color.LightGray;
    dataGridView1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D;

    // Set property values appropriate for read-only display and 
    // limited interactivity. 
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToAddRows = false;
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToDeleteRows = false;
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToOrderColumns = true;
    dataGridView1.ReadOnly = true;
    dataGridView1.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.FullRowSelect;
    dataGridView1.MultiSelect = false;
    dataGridView1.AutoSizeRowsMode = DataGridViewAutoSizeRowsMode.None;
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToResizeColumns = false;
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode = 
        DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.DisableResizing;
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToResizeRows = false;
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersWidthSizeMode = 
        DataGridViewRowHeadersWidthSizeMode.DisableResizing;

    // Set the selection background color for all the cells.
    dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor = Color.White;
    dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionForeColor = Color.Black;

    // Set RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor so that its default
    // value won't override DataGridView.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor.
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor = Color.Empty;

    // Set the background color for all rows and for alternating rows. 
    // The value for alternating rows overrides the value for all rows. 
    dataGridView1.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.LightGray;
    dataGridView1.AlternatingRowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.DarkGray;

    // Set the row and column header styles.
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.White;
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.Black;
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.Black;

    // Set the Format property on the "Last Prepared" column to cause
    // the DateTime to be formatted as "Month, Year".
    dataGridView1.Columns["Last Prepared"].DefaultCellStyle.Format = "y";

    // Specify a larger font for the "Ratings" column. 
    using (Font font = new Font(
        dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.Font.FontFamily, 25, FontStyle.Bold))
    {
        dataGridView1.Columns["Rating"].DefaultCellStyle.Font = font;
    }

    // Attach a handler to the CellFormatting event.
    dataGridView1.CellFormatting += new
        DataGridViewCellFormattingEventHandler(dataGridView1_CellFormatting);
}
' Configures the appearance and behavior of a DataGridView control.
Private Sub InitializeDataGridView()

    ' Initialize basic DataGridView properties.
    dataGridView1.Dock = DockStyle.Fill
    dataGridView1.BackgroundColor = Color.LightGray
    dataGridView1.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Fixed3D

    ' Set property values appropriate for read-only display and 
    ' limited interactivity. 
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToAddRows = False
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToDeleteRows = False
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToOrderColumns = True
    dataGridView1.ReadOnly = True
    dataGridView1.SelectionMode = DataGridViewSelectionMode.FullRowSelect
    dataGridView1.MultiSelect = False
    dataGridView1.AutoSizeRowsMode = DataGridViewAutoSizeRowsMode.None
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToResizeColumns = False
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode = _
        DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.DisableResizing
    dataGridView1.AllowUserToResizeRows = False
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersWidthSizeMode = _
        DataGridViewRowHeadersWidthSizeMode.DisableResizing

    ' Set the selection background color for all the cells.
    dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor = Color.White
    dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionForeColor = Color.Black

    ' Set RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor so that its default
    ' value won't override DataGridView.DefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor.
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor = Color.Empty

    ' Set the background color for all rows and for alternating rows. 
    ' The value for alternating rows overrides the value for all rows. 
    dataGridView1.RowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.LightGray
    dataGridView1.AlternatingRowsDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.DarkGray

    ' Set the row and column header styles.
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.White
    dataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.Black
    dataGridView1.RowHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.Black

    ' Set the Format property on the "Last Prepared" column to cause
    ' the DateTime to be formatted as "Month, Year".
    dataGridView1.Columns("Last Prepared").DefaultCellStyle.Format = "y"

    ' Specify a larger font for the "Ratings" column. 
    Dim font As New Font( _
        dataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.Font.FontFamily, 25, FontStyle.Bold)
    Try
        dataGridView1.Columns("Rating").DefaultCellStyle.Font = font
    Finally
        font.Dispose()
    End Try

End Sub

Remarks

The DataGridView control displays its cells using the styles indicated by the cell InheritedStyle property, which inherits styles from other properties of type DataGridViewCellStyle. The styles specified through the DefaultCellStyle property affect all cells except when overridden by the styles specified through the following properties:

For more information, see Cell Styles in the Windows Forms DataGridView Control.

When getting this property, a DataGridViewCellStyle with default values will be created if the property has not already been accessed. This can cause a performance impact when getting this property for many rows. Whenever possible, use a single DataGridViewCellStyle to set this property for multiple rows. For more information, see Best Practices for Scaling the Windows Forms DataGridView Control.

Applies to

See also