Vb.Net 2005 - Defining a DGV Column as LinkCell???

[blakemckenna]

I am trying to define a column in a DataGridView as a LinkCell and I keep getting the following error:

"Value provided for cell template must of type 'Windows.System.Forms.DataGridViewTextBoxCell' or derive from it"

I've included my code:

    Private Sub FormatGrid3()
        Try
            grd3.RowHeadersVisible = False

            grd3.Columns(0).Width = 100
            grd3.Columns(0).HeaderText = "Request ID"

            grd3.Columns(1).Width = 140
            grd3.Columns(1).CellTemplate = New DataGridViewLinkCell
            grd3.Columns(1).HeaderText = "Image Name"

            grd3.Columns(2).Width = 430
            grd3.Columns(2).HeaderText = "File Path"

        Catch ex As Exception
            ErrorHandler(strModule, strProcedure, Msg)
        End Try
    End Sub

[jmcilhinney]

You can't change the type of a column once it's been created. If you are relying on the grid to create the columns for you then it's going to create text box columns in most cases as that's the default type for most data types. If you want a column of hyperlinks then you'll have to create that column yourself, either in code or, more likely, in the designer. You set the column's DataPropertyName to specify that it should bind to a specific column in the data source.

[blakemckenna]

Ok,

I got it working...but when I click/doubleclick on the filename (linked cell)...nothing happens. I thought that because it is defined as a LinkCell that it would automatically associate an application to open the link.

[jmcilhinney]

If you had read the MSDN documentation for the DataGridViewLinkColumn class you would already have your answer.

[blakemckenna]

I did a search using VS Help and all I got was the following:

Private Sub AddLinkColumn()

    Dim links As New DataGridViewLinkColumn()
    With links
        .HeaderText = ColumnName.ReportsTo.ToString()
        .DataPropertyName = ColumnName.ReportsTo.ToString()
        .ActiveLinkColor = Color.White
        .LinkBehavior = LinkBehavior.SystemDefault
        .LinkColor = Color.Blue
        .TrackVisitedState = True
        .VisitedLinkColor = Color.YellowGreen
    End With
    DataGridView1.Columns.Add(links)
End Sub

This doesn't help me do what I want?

[jmcilhinney]

Every class has at least two topics dedicated to it in the MSDN library: one an overview of the class and the other a list of members. Had you read the class overview for the DataGridViewLinkColumn class you would have seen this:

To respond to user link clicks, handle the DataGridView.CellContentClick event. You can also use the DataGridView.CellClick event to respond to clicks anywhere in the cell.

[blakemckenna]

If a user clicks on a file name within a LinkCell....will the appropriate program open the file or does that need to be programmed accordingly?

Thanks,

[jmcilhinney]

will the appropriate program open the file

You've already said that when you click a link nothing happens.

does that need to be programmed accordingly

The documentation I quoted says that you're supposed to handle the CellContentClick event of the grid. Why do you usually handle events? So that you can execute some code when something happens. In this case that means performing the desired action when the user clicks the content in your link cells.

[FlyingBear]

you have to pocess the action in event, although you can define a 'LinkCell'. just like in RichText, you can enable LinkText, but you have to process it in LinkClicked event.

you can use default browser to open the link:
Try
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(e.LinkText)
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox("Can not open " & e.LinkText & " using default browser!", MsgBoxStyle.Information Or MsgBoxStyle.OkOnly)
End Try

bear

[blakemckenna]

Thank you Flying Bear...that's exactly the answer I was looking for. I didn't think my question was that hard to understand. Some people just can't give a straight answer.

[blakemckenna]

Bear,

To which object does the LinkClicked Event belong to?

Thanks,

[stanav]

You handle the CellClick event and test e.ColumnIndex to see it it's the link column. If it is, you do as Flying Bear have shown.

[jmcilhinney]

I didn't think my answer was that hard to understand:

handle the CellContentClick event of the grid