VBFlexGrid Control (Replacement of the MSFlexGrid control)

[Krool]

Hello again Krool
I need to allow only numeric values and the decimal point in column 2 but this code doesn't seem to work

Private Sub VBFlexGrid1_KeyPress(KeyChar As Integer)
With VBFlexGrid1
      If .Col = 2 Then
          Select Case KeyAscii
        Case vbKey0 To vbKey9
        Case Asc(".")
   Case Else
            KeyAscii = 0
    End Select

  End If
  End With
End Sub

thank you

With so little context it is difficult to help.

I assume you are referring to user editing a cell ? If yes, then KeyPress is the wrong event. Probably EditKeyPress event is what you are looking for.
Also to note is that KeyAscii got renamed to KeyChar in my events.

[Mustaphi]

thank you Krool it worked

[samer22]

Hello krool
I Wonder how to feed this table.

[Krool]

Hello krool
I Wonder how to feed this table.

In the demo it uses the ColComboItems, ColComboHeader and ColComboBoundColumn.

You have a bug certainly which I can't reproduce. I have a deja-vu of this issue.
I am dependant on YOU to locate this bug. It must be the WM_DRAWITEM handler.

[TheLeePiper]

Ref: Making MergeRow cells editable

Searched the thread and didn't find anything. I would like to set up a three column row, where the first column is a label and the other two columns are MergeRow=True with the same string to merge them. The cell appears to be selected, but no keyed text is shown. I also check grid.EditText for data checking but ValidateEdit never get fired. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thx!

[Krool]

Ref: Making MergeRow cells editable

Searched the thread and didn't find anything. I would like to set up a three column row, where the first column is a label and the other two columns are MergeRow=True with the same string to merge them. The cell appears to be selected, but no keyed text is shown. I also check grid.EditText for data checking but ValidateEdit never get fired. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thx!

In the demo project it is possible to edit merged cells. So, I don't understand what the problem is.
Please make a replicable demo showing your issue. Thanks

[Zvoni]

Oy mate.
I knew of this thing for a long time, but now i looked closer at it.

Question: Can i use this in Excel VBA? in your source i saw you have conditionals for VBA7
Just import it as a file? How to place it in the Form_Designer?

Believe it or not: Have never used a "ctl" in my life, so i have no idea

Note: Can't use the OCX, since i'm not allowed to ship any binary files in the company, nevermind placing it in system32

[Krool]

Oy mate.
I knew of this thing for a long time, but now i looked closer at it.

Question: Can i use this in Excel VBA? in your source i saw you have conditionals for VBA7
Just import it as a file? How to place it in the Form_Designer?

Believe it or not: Have never used a "ctl" in my life, so i have no idea

Note: Can't use the OCX, since i'm not allowed to ship any binary files in the company, nevermind placing it in system32

You can't.
When you have 32-bit Excel you could use the OCX.
For 64-bit Excel we would need to re-compile the OCX in twinBASIC. I have done only the package for experimental purpose but not yet done a 64-bit OCX.

[Krool]

Hello krool
I Wonder how to feed this table.

Again, please test WM_DRAWITEM handler. As it is a window proc an error will not go into debug..
You may place several debug.print in there and see which one does not get printed to narrow down the problem. Thanks

[Zvoni]

You can't.
When you have 32-bit Excel you could use the OCX.
For 64-bit Excel we would need to re-compile the OCX in twinBASIC. I have done only the package for experimental purpose but not yet done a 64-bit OCX.

Ah, OK.
Well, will have to continue using ListView

[Krool]

Update released.

Included hWndToolTip/hWndScrollTip read-only run-time property.

This allows for example to overwrite the max tip width of an info tip or scroll tip.

SendMessage VBFlexGrid1.hWndToolTip, TTM_SETMAXTIPWIDTH, 0, ByVal 400&

SendMessage VBFlexGrid1.hWndScrollTip, TTM_SETMAXTIPWIDTH, 0, ByVal 300&

The label tip shares the same hWndToolTip but it will not be restricted by TTM_SETMAXTIPWIDTH as it resizes upon TTN_SHOW anyway to the needed size.

The OCX got updated and typelib jumped to 1.4

Object={075212A8-C1CF-444E-939D-F6046CCDBC08}#1.4#0; VBFLXGRD18.OCX

[TheLeePiper]

In the demo project it is possible to edit merged cells. So, I don't understand what the problem is.
Please make a replicable demo showing your issue. Thanks

Got it resolved. Error in my code for handling some of the data checking. Apologies for the inconvenience, and thanks!

[fengzhongxia]

After selecting all cells using ".SelectRange 0, 0, fgTmp.Rows - 1, fgTmp.Cols - 1", the originally fixed rows and columns that were not editable become editable. Is this considered a bug?

[Krool]

After selecting all cells using ".SelectRange 0, 0, fgTmp.Rows - 1, fgTmp.Cols - 1", the originally fixed rows and columns that were not editable become editable. Is this considered a bug?

Who said fixed cells are not editable?
There are not movable to. But due to code you can move to a fixed cell.
That's intended and cannot be denied.

Also denying editing a fixed cell would be an artificial limitation.

Solution: handle the BeforeEdit event and Cancel = True when row/col are fixed cell.

[fengzhongxia]

I want the selected cell background color to be a blend of two colors, specifically the cell's actual foreground color and the selection color (default is blue), so that differences in cell colors can still be distinguished within the selected area. How can I achieve this? Thank you very much.

[Krool]

I want the selected cell background color to be a blend of two colors, specifically the cell's actual foreground color and the selection color (default is blue), so that differences in cell colors can still be distinguished within the selected area. How can I achieve this? Thank you very much.

I understand what you want but not why. Black text for example is hardly readable at blue selection background.
Therefore there is this SelForeColor and SelBackColor property.

There is (currently?) no way to ignore the SelForeColor property.

I could imagine to allow following trick: "The SelForeColor property is ignored, if it has the same value as ForeColor property."

But why you need it? Can't imagine a use case..

[fengzhongxia]

I understand what you want but not why. Black text for example is hardly readable at blue selection background.
Therefore there is this SelForeColor and SelBackColor property.

There is (currently?) no way to ignore the SelForeColor property.

I could imagine to allow following trick: "The SelForeColor property is ignored, if it has the same value as ForeColor property."

But why you need it? Can't imagine a use case..

Suppose I mark cell A2 in the table by setting its text color to red. During a meeting, I select a range to indicate to my colleagues that the data within this range is usable, but the marked A2 should not be used. If A2 is included in the range, I cannot easily tell whether the selected area contains any marked cells.

[Krool]

Suppose I mark cell A2 in the table by setting its text color to red. During a meeting, I select a range to indicate to my colleagues that the data within this range is usable, but the marked A2 should not be used. If A2 is included in the range, I cannot easily tell whether the selected area contains any marked cells.

Ok, I see. Will then soon introduce new "UseForeColorSel" property which would default to True.

[fengzhongxia]

THANK YOU very much!

[Krool]

Update released.

Included the UseForeColorSel property which defaults to True.

The OCX got updated and typelib jumped to 1.5

Object={075212A8-C1CF-444E-939D-F6046CCDBC08}#1.5#0; VBFLXGRD18.OCX

[fengzhongxia]

Update released.

Included the UseForeColorSel property which defaults to True.

The OCX got updated and typelib jumped to 1.5

Object={075212A8-C1CF-444E-939D-F6046CCDBC08}#1.5#0; VBFLXGRD18.OCX

The foreground color is blended very well. Could you also blend the background? Thank you so much!

[Krool]

How should that work / look like ?

[fengzhongxia]

The cells with values 99.97, 99.96, and 99.98 have been marked with a pink background, but when I select an area that includes these cells, I cannot distinguish which cells have been highlighted with a pink background.

[fengzhongxia]

Add the UseBackColorSel property. When set to False, the color of the selected cell will be a blend of BackColor and SelBackColor.

[Krool]

Add the UseBackColorSel property. When set to False, the color of the selected cell will be a blend of BackColor and SelBackColor.

Such a new property would not work. Because you want the BackColorSel, just not on those cells where a cell custom back color is defined, right?

[Krool]

fengzhongxia,

you can achieve what you need by a "workaround".

Continue to use .UseForeColorSel = False and then apply a 4x4 pixel solid color picture to a cell and set the .CellPictureAlignment = FlexPictureAlignmentStretch for fast "fill" of the background.

The picture is then effectively over the selected back color. See below example of the purple picture with a cyan fore color. Beneath a cell with red fore color and no custom background.



Only problem is when you still need a real picture in that cell. But this could also be circumvented when using ColImageList..

[fengzhongxia]

This method you've mentioned meets my requirements perfectly. Thank you so much, expert!

[Krool]

This method you've mentioned meets my requirements perfectly. Thank you so much, expert!

Another (more elegant) solution is to use .CellFloodColor and .CellFloodPercent.
Of course .CellFloodPercent must be set to 100.

[Krool]

Update released.

Just noticed that in vsFlexGrid the cell "flooding" is not the whole cell background like here but has a padding in the size of the focus rect.
So the original cell back color or selected back color is still visible.
I kinda like this more and updated it now. That's also how it works in Excel with the solid bars.

[fengzhongxia]

Thinks!Very Good!

[smileyoufu]

Hello Krool!

Thank you very much for providing the great VBCCR control.

1. The VBFlexGrid.ColPosition property is currently 'write-only'. Could it be changed to 'read/write'?
2. Is it possible to drag columns to a specified position (like 'ListView' or 'VSFlexGrid', allowing columns to be dragged to a specific position)? This would be more convenient because sometimes users need to adjust columns to their preferred positions.
3. If I want to click a column header to sort the column data in ascending or descending order, how should I set it up?

I hope to get your help, thank you very much!

[Krool]

1. The VBFlexGrid.ColPosition property is currently 'write-only'. Could it be changed to 'read/write'?
2. Is it possible to drag columns to a specified position (like 'ListView' or 'VSFlexGrid', allowing columns to be dragged to a specific position)? This would be more convenient because sometimes users need to adjust columns to their preferred positions.
3. If I want to click a column header to sort the column data in ascending or descending order, how should I set it up?

1. The .ColPosition is indeed write-only. Will check it, thanks. But what's the reason you need to read it ? It's the same value as you input as index ? The vsFlexGrid and MSFlexGrid also are write-only.

2. Use the .DragCol function. Below a snippet which allows to re-arrange columns and rows when you press the alt key and left mouse button.

Private Sub VBFlexGrid1_BeforeMouseDown(ByVal Button As Integer, ByVal Shift As Integer, ByVal X As Single, ByVal Y As Single, Cancel As Boolean)
With VBFlexGrid1
If Button = vbLeftButton And (Shift And vbAltMask) = vbAltMask Then
    .HitTest X, Y
    If .HitResult = FlexHitResultCell Then
        If .HitCol < .FixedCols And .HitRow >= .FixedRows Then
            VBFlexGrid1.RowPosition(.HitRow) = VBFlexGrid1.DragRow(.HitRow)
            Cancel = True
        ElseIf .HitCol >= .FixedCols And .HitRow < .FixedRows Then
            VBFlexGrid1.ColPosition(.HitCol) = VBFlexGrid1.DragCol(.HitCol)
            Cancel = True
        End If
    End If
End If
End With
End Sub

3. Use also the BeforeMouseDown event and set the .ColSortArrow and .ColSort properties and then you may use .Sort = FlexSortUseColSort for individual column sortings. You will figure it out for sure.
You can also set .RowSortArrows if you have multiple fixed rows and want the sort arrows other than fixed row 0.

[Eduardo-]

I want to say thank you to Krool because of this control (and the other ones), it is helping a lot in being able to program in VB6 in 2026.
All the new functions of this grid that allow editing are of great help.

[fabel358]

VbFlexGrid supposrts CellOwnerDraw, like VBFlexGrid1.CellOwnerDraw(row, col) = True?

[Krool]

VbFlexGrid supposrts CellOwnerDraw, like VBFlexGrid1.CellOwnerDraw(row, col) = True?

will not implement it, at least not in the master branch. What do you want to draw?

[fabel358]

I asked CoPilot about the possibility of using different character styles in the same cell, as well as the possibility of using lowercase and uppercase letters, such as underlining or bold. CoPilot gave me this answer:
Excellent, Fabrizio — this is **your thing**: VB6, VBFlexGrid, owner-draw, total control of the cell.

I'll answer you in a **technical, empirical, and immediately operational** way, just the way you like it.

---

# ? How does `CellOwnerDraw(row, column) = True` work in VBFlexGrid

When you set:

```vb
VBFlexGrid1.CellOwnerDraw(row, column) = True
```

You're telling the control:

> "For this cell, **don't draw anything**.
> Call me in the `OwnerDrawCell` event and I'll do it."

This is a complete override of cell rendering.

---

# ? What you need to do after activating it

You need to handle the event:

```vb
Private Sub VBFlexGrid1_OwnerDrawCell(ByVal Row As Long, _
ByVal Col As Long, _
ByVal hDC As Long, _
ByVal Left As Long, _
ByVal Top As Long, _
ByVal Right As Long, _
ByVal Bottom As Long, _
ByVal DrawState As OwnerDrawStateConstants)
```

Here you have:

- the hDC to draw on
- the cell's rectangle
- the state (selected, focused, etc.)

And you can use any GDI API: `FillRect`, `TextOut`, `DrawText`, `BitBlt`, etc.

---

# ? Minimal and working example

Gray background and red text designs:

```vb
Private Sub VBFlexGrid1_OwnerDrawCell(Row As Long, Col As Long, _
hDC As Long, Left As Long, Top As Long, _
Right As Long, Bottom As Long, _
DrawState As OwnerDrawStateConstants)

Dim rc As RECT
rc.Left = Left
rc.Top = Top
rc.Right = Right
rc.Bottom = Bottom

' Background
FillRect hDC, rc, CreateSolidBrush(RGB(230, 230, 230))

' Text
SetTextColor hDC, RGB(200, 0, 0)
DrawText hDC, VBFlexGrid1.TextMatrix(Row, Col), -1, rc, DT_LEFT Or DT_VCENTER Or DT_SINGLELINE
End Sub
```

---

# ? Important Note

`CellOwnerDraw` must be set before the cell is drawn, so:

- in `Form_Load`
- or immediately after filling the grid
- or dynamically before a `Refresh`

---

# ? Want to do something more advanced?

I can help you:

- draw **icons** or **images** in the cell
- create **progress bars**, **badges**, **status indicators**
- manage **hover**, **selection**, **focus**
- implement **symmetric cell rendering** with centralized logic (in line with your style)

Tell me what you want to achieve and I'll prepare a clean, symmetric, and benchmark-safe code block.
That's all... CoPilot "guessed" that this was possible and pointed me to VbFlexGrid and the instructions on GitHub from Krool (!!!)

CoPilot evidently has a lot of imagination

[Krool]

Update released.

The drop-down calendar (FlexComboModeCalendar) will now resize upon WM_THEMECHANGED/WM_STYLECHANGED.
This allows to change theme/styles for the calendar on the EditSetupWindow event. (window created but not yet visible)

WM_THEMECHANGED for the obvious reason when someone dares to try to make a dark mode and needs the visual styles changed per code.
Or for the more common reason (WM_STYLECHANGED) when somebody needs to apply MCS_NOTODAY or so manually on the EditSetupWindow event.

[Krool]

Update released.

Usage of SetBkColor for the DrawFocusRect API so that it can work accurately.

This is especially visible when using dark mode colors. Just compare the focus rect below. Top is now after the update and bottom how it was before or is in a MSFlexGrid.

[lizano diaz]

Dear Krol, an observation: By having the tabindex at 0 or another control (it can be commad Button, or another control) the DrawFocusRect property in the vbflexgrid disappears when the form is loaded..., however, componentone's FlexGrid does meet those characteristics.

[Krool]

Dear Krol, an observation: By having the tabindex at 0 or another control (it can be commad Button, or another control) the DrawFocusRect property in the vbflexgrid disappears when the form is loaded..., however, componentone's FlexGrid does meet those characteristics.

If you are using visual styles you might need to send WM_UPDATEUISTATE to the Form to show the focus cues.

SendMessage Form.hWnd, WM_UPDATEUISTATE, MakeDWord(UIS_CLEAR, UISF_HIDEFOCUS Or UISF_HIDEACCEL), ByVal 0&