Disabling or greying out a DataGridView

Question

Is there any easy way to disable/grey out a DataGridView? For instance when doing

dgv.Enabled = false

The appearance of the dgv does not change. I have seen people appending the following:

dgv.forecolor = gray
dgv.columnheader.forecolor = gray

However, this seems clumsy. Is there a better way?

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 09 '13 at 15:15

Private Sub DataGridView1_EnabledChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles DataGridView1.EnabledChanged
    If Not DataGridView1.Enabled Then
        DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control
        DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText
        DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control
        DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText
        DataGridView1.CurrentCell = Nothing
        DataGridView1.ReadOnly = True
        DataGridView1.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = False
    Else
        DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window
        DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText
        DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window
        DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText
        DataGridView1.ReadOnly = False
        DataGridView1.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = True
    End If
End Sub

I also had to add DefaultCellStyle.SelectionBackColor to the list of things set to Control color or the first cell in the grid would display with a white background. — Kevin Gale, Jan 28 '16 at 19:43

score 15 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:59

15

Simple answer to your question: no, there isn't a better way.

MSDN is mostly silent on the topic but the forums are abuzz. Manually setting the background colour to Gray is how most people get "disabled" look on the DGV.

answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:59

Abbas

6,720
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9

Please respect the system colours and use `SystemColors.Control` not a hardcoded grey! – MarkJ Mar 08 '12 at 20:27

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 20 '17 at 18:57

sveilleux2's example, only in C# (which is the tag) and advanced (allows you to put it on any name and on any number of DataGridViews)

private void DataGridView_EnabledChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        DataGridView dgv = sender as DataGridView;
        if (!dgv.Enabled) {
            dgv.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
            dgv.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
            dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
            dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
            dgv.CurrentCell = null;
            dgv.ReadOnly = true;
            dgv.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = false;
        }
        else {
            dgv.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
            dgv.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText;
            dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
            dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText;
            dgv.ReadOnly = false;
            dgv.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = true;
        }
    }

TheHUTMan · Answer 4 · 2018-03-07T19:58:53.933

I'll add this here even though the question is a bit old - I did it differently than these others by overriding the Paint method on the control to draw a transparent box. I used a class that inherited from the base DataGridView and then provided some additional properties and an override for the OnPaint method. You might be able to do this in the Paint event as well, but for me I already had made our own version of the control.

This has the benefit of not changing any row/cell color/formatting you've already setup and just want to dim out the control when its disabled.

Simply set the DisableColor (to Black for instance) to make it dim out (you can also alter the alpha channel with the DisableColorAlpha property). Otherwise it acts as it always did.

/// <summary>
/// Color used when the grid is disabled
/// </summary>
[Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(typeof(Color), "Transparent"), Description("Color to use when the control is disabled (should be transparent)")]
public Color DisableColor { get; set; }

/// <summary>
/// Color used when the grid is disabled
/// </summary>
[Category("Appearance"), DefaultValue(50), Description("Alpha channel value for disabled color (0-255)")]
public int DisableColorAlpha { get; set; }

protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
{
    base.OnPaint(e);

    if (this.Enabled == false && DisableColor != Color.Transparent)
    {
        // paint a transparent box -- simulate disable
        using (Brush b = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(DisableColorAlpha, DisableColor)))
        {
            e.Graphics.FillRectangle(b, e.ClipRectangle);
        }
    }
}

This is an elegant solution without any side effects. I used SystemColors.ControlLightLight for the DisableColor and 150 for the DisableColorAlpha to achieve a pretty good match to other disabled controls. This combination dims the text, which is missed when using Black. This approach also works for practically any other control that is missing the disabled look, including user controls. — Preston McCormick, Sep 02 '20 at 22:15
This answer combined with the suggestions from @PrestonMcCormick seem to be a winning combination! — Joe Gayetty, Jan 12 '21 at 13:51

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 21 '13 at 09:49

3

Just setting gray color for header will not change it. You also need to switch EnableHeadersVisualStyles to false.

dgv.ForeColor = Color.Gray;
dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.Gray;
dgv.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = false;

answered Feb 21 '13 at 09:49

Elephant

675
1
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If you still want to see the header text, but have it "look" disabled, use `dgv.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlDark;`. – Jim Fell Jun 21 '16 at 17:11

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 08 '15 at 09:43

I understand this is a solved one but want to prevent the loss of 1 hour for some one else.

//C# version for buttons also. Inspired by sveilleux2.
private void DataGridView1_EnabledChanged(object sender, EventArgs e){
if (!DataGridView1.Enabled){
    DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
    DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
    DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
    DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
    //Disable two colums of buttons
    for (int i = 0; i < DataGridView1.RowCount; i++){
        DataGridViewButtonCell buttonCell = (DataGridViewButtonCell)DataGridView1.Rows[i].Cells[1];
        buttonCell.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Popup;
        buttonCell.Style.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
        buttonCell.Style.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
        DataGridViewButtonCell buttonCell_2 = (DataGridViewButtonCell)DataGridView1.Rows[i].Cells[6];
        buttonCell_2.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Popup;
        buttonCell_2.Style.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
        buttonCell_2.Style.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
    }

    DataGridView1.Columns[1].DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.GrayText;
    DataGridView1.Columns[1].DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Control;
    DataGridView1.ReadOnly = true;
    DataGridView1.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = false;
    DataGridView1.CurrentCell = null;
}else{
    DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
    DataGridView1.DefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText;
    DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
    DataGridView1.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = SystemColors.ControlText;
    DataGridView1.ReadOnly = false;
    DataGridView1.EnableHeadersVisualStyles = false;

    //Enable two colums of buttons
    for (int i = 0; i < DataGridView1.RowCount; i++){
        DataGridViewButtonCell buttonCell = (DataGridViewButtonCell)DataGridView1.Rows[i].Cells[1];
        buttonCell.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Standard;
        DataGridViewButtonCell buttonCell_2 = (DataGridViewButtonCell)DataGridView1.Rows[i].Cells[6];
        buttonCell_2.FlatStyle = FlatStyle.Standard;
    }
}

}

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:54

0

I'm assuming you want the datagridview to display info to the user and deny the user the ability to modify in any way.

private void IntializeDataGridView()
  {
    dataGridViewTest.ReadOnly = true;
   // you can code permissions or colors as well
    dataGridViewTest.AllowUserToAddRows = false;
    dataGridViewTest.AllowUserToDeleteRows = false;
    dataGridViewTest.AllowUserToOrderColumns = false;
    dataGridViewTest.BackgroundColor = Color.LightGray;
   //so on and so forth
  }

Hope this helps. :]

answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:54

javasocute

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Thanks, I am more interested in the visual aspect of the control when it is disabled for a visual cue; the same behaviour when disabling buttons etc. – Jeb Jan 03 '12 at 16:58
Are you talking about changing colors of cells columns and buttons? Can you be a little more specific? I do not think I am quite understanding. – javasocute Jan 03 '12 at 17:12
Actually, I think I do know. But unfortunately, I dont think in C# there is an easier way. What you will have to do is call a javascript function which will gray it out for you. – javasocute Jan 03 '12 at 17:18

score -1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:43

-1

does setting the ReadOnly = false alter the appearance at all? I thought possibly that greyed out the 'clickable' parts of the datagraid such as column headers..but you can still see the data in it.

answered Jan 03 '12 at 16:43

Tom Morgan

2,355
18
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Good point - however, no, the appearance remains the same. This just prevents cell edits afaik – Jeb Jan 03 '12 at 16:53

Disabling or greying out a DataGridView

8 Answers8