When testing an application that uses DataGridView controls, you may need to search for a specific record within the grid. For example, you may need to find a certain record to make sure that the data has been loaded into the grid correctly or to determine the position of a record within the grid. This topic describes two approaches for searching within the DataGridView control and explains how you can implement a custom search:

To perform these actions, TestComplete should have access to internal objects, properties and methods of the DataGridView control. For this purpose, the .NET Application Support and Microsoft Control Support plugins must be installed and enabled.

When testing Microsoft DataGridView controls, use specific methods and properties of the corresponding MicrosoftDataGridView object. You can call these methods and properties from your keyword tests, as well as from scripts. This topic describes how to work with an object’s properties and methods from your scripts. However, when testing a DataGridView control from your keyword test, you can use the same methods and properties calling them from keyword test operations. For more information, see Keyword Tests Basic Operations.

Searching Within the Grid’s Dataset

If the DataGridView control is bound to an external dataset, you can search for the desired record within the dataset rather than within the grid itself. Searching within the grid’s dataset is a universal approach that is free from the grid’s user interface limitations. You can also use this approach if you need to obtain and process values in the grid cells rather than their displayed representation.

To obtain the grid’s underlying dataset, use the DataSource property of the grid control. Since the DataGridView control can be bound to various source types, the object returned by the DataSource property may have a different structure in different applications. To explore the dataset object, find the grid’s DataSource property in the Object Browser panel and click the ellipsis button on the right of the property cell -- you will see the properties and methods of the object returned by this property. Digging further, you will be able to determine the exact “path” to the table object containing the data and the methods that can be used to search within this table.

Let’s illustrate this approach by the example of the grid bound to the ADO.NET dataset. You can search in the dataset using the Find or FindRows method of a .NET DataView object that represents a view of the grid data. To obtain the DataView object, you can use this statement:

GridObj.BindingContext.Item_2( GridObj.DataSource, GridObj.DataMember ).List

To search within the DataView object, you can use the Find or FindRows methods. These methods search in the column of the currently sorted grid. The difference between these methods is that Find returns the index of the first found row that matches the search criteria, whereas FindRows returns the array of objects corresponding to all matching rows. The parameter of both methods is the value that is sought for (integer, double, string, date or any other). To search for a complex value (such as System.DateTime), you need to create an instance of the corresponding .NET class (see Calling Functions From .NET Assemblies). If rows that match the search criteria are not found, Find returns -1 and FindRows returns an empty array (with no elements).

Below is an example that demonstrates how you can search for a grid row using the DataView.Find method.

Example

JavaScript, JScript

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1");

  // Sort the grid data by the "Customer Name" column
  Grid.ClickColumnHeader ("Customer Name");

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRowInDataset (Grid, "Samuel Clemens");
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRowInDataset (Grid, Value)
{
  // Get the grid's DataView
  var DataView = Grid.BindingContext.Item_2(Grid.DataSource, Grid.DataMember).List;

  // Find data row containing the specified value
  return DataView.Find (Value);
}

Python

def Main ():

  # Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  # Sort the grid data by the "Customer Name" column
  Grid.ClickColumnHeader ("Customer Name")

  # Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRowInDataset (Grid, "Samuel Clemens")
  if (RowIndex >= 0):
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  else:
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")

def FindRowInDataset (Grid, Value):
  # Get the grid's DataView
  DataView = Grid.BindingContext.Item_2[Grid.DataSource, Grid.DataMember].List

  # Find data row containing the specified value
  return DataView.Find (Value)

VBScript

Sub Main
  Dim p, Grid, RowIndex

  ' Obtain the grid object
  Set p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Set Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  ' Sort the grid data by the "Customer Name" column
  Grid.ClickColumnHeader ("Customer Name")

  ' Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRowInDataset (Grid, "Samuel Clemens")
  If RowIndex >= 0 Then
    Call Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  Else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")
  End If
End Sub

Function FindRowInDataset (Grid, Value)
  Dim DataView
  ' Get the grid's DataView
  Set DataView = Grid.BindingContext.Item_2(Grid.DataSource, Grid.DataMember).List.List

  ' Find data row containing the specified value
  FindRowInDataset = DataView.Find (Value)
End Function

DelphiScript

function FindRowInDataset (Grid, Value);
var DataView : OleVariant;
begin
  // Get the grid's DataView
  DataView := Grid.BindingContext.Item_2[Grid.DataSource, Grid.DataMember].List.List;

  // Find data row containing the specified value
  Result := DataView.Find (Value);
end;

procedure Main;
var p, Grid, RowIndex : OleVariant;
begin
  // Obtain the grid object
  p := Sys.Process ('DataGridViewSample');
  Grid := p.WinFormsObject('Form1').WinFormsObject('dataGridView1');

  // Sort the grid data by the 'Customer Name' column
  Grid.ClickColumnHeader ('Customer Name');

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex := FindRowInDataset (Grid, 'Samuel Clemens');
  if RowIndex >= 0 then
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, 'Customer Name')
  else
    Log.Error ('Row was not found.');
end;

C++Script, C#Script

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys["Process"]("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p["WinFormsObject"]("Form1")["WinFormsObject"]("dataGridView1");

  // Sort the grid data by the "Customer Name" column
  Grid["ClickColumnHeader"]("Customer Name");

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRowInDataset (Grid, "Samuel Clemens");
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid["ClickCell"](RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log["Error"]("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRowInDataset (Grid, Value)
{
  // Get the grid's DataView
  var DataView = Grid["BindingContext"]["Item_2"](Grid["DataSource"], Grid["DataMember"])["List"];

  // Find data row containing the specified value
  return DataView["Find"](Value);
}

Searching Within the Grid

If the DataGridView control in the tested application works in the unbound mode or if it is bound to a custom source, you should search within the grid itself rather that within its dataset. You should also search within the grid if it is configured so that it displays values with a custom formatting applied.

The DataGridView control does not have built-in methods for searching within the grid, so you will need to implement the search algorithm yourself. A general search approach implies that you iterate through the grid rows and on each iteration check whether the row meets the specified condition. For more information on how to iterate through the grid, see Iterating Through Rows in Microsoft DataGridView.

Below is an example that demonstrates how you can locate a particular row by iterating through the grid rows.

Example

JavaScript

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1");

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRow (Grid, "Customer Name", "Samuel Clemens");
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value)
{
  // Iterate through grid rows
  for (let i=0; i<Grid.wRowCount; i++)
    // Check the cell value in the specified column
    if (equal(Grid.wValue(i, ColumnId), Value))
      return i;  // Row is found

  return -1;  // Row is not found
}

JScript

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1");

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRow (Grid, "Customer Name", "Samuel Clemens");
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value)
{
  // Iterate through grid rows
  for (var i=0; i<Grid.wRowCount; i++)
    // Check the cell value in the specified column
    if (Grid.wValue(i, ColumnId) == Value)
      return i;  // Row is found

  return -1;  // Row is not found
}

Python

def Main ():

  # Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  # Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRow (Grid, "Customer Name", "Samuel Clemens")
  if (RowIndex >= 0):
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  else:
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")

def FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value):
  # Iterate through grid rows
  for i in range(0, Grid.wRowCount-1):
    # Check the cell value in the specified column
    if (Grid.wValue[i, ColumnId] == Value):
      return i  # Row is found

  return -1  # Row is not found

VBScript

Sub Main
  Dim p, Grid, RowIndex

  ' Obtain the grid object
  Set p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Set Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  ' Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRow (Grid, "Customer Name", "Samuel Clemens")
  If RowIndex >= 0 Then
    Call Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  Else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")
  End If
End Sub

Function FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value)
  Dim i
  ' Iterate through grid rows
  For i = 0 To Grid.wRowCount-1
    ' Check the cell value in the specified column
    If Grid.wValue(i, ColumnId) = Value Then
      FindRow = i  ' Row is found
      Exit Function
    End If
  Next

  FindRow = -1  ' Row is not found
End Function

DelphiScript

function FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value);
var i : OleVariant;
begin
  // Iterate through grid rows
  for i :=0 to Grid.wRowCount-1 do
    // Check the cell value in the specified column
    if Grid.wValue[i, ColumnId].Equals(Value) then
    begin
      Result := i;  // Row is found
      Exit
    end;

  Result := -1;  // Row is not found
end;

procedure Main;
var p, Grid, RowIndex : OleVariant;
begin
  // Obtain the grid object
  p := Sys.Process ('DataGridViewSample');
  Grid := p.WinFormsObject('Form1').WinFormsObject('dataGridView1');

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex := FindRow (Grid, 'Customer Name', 'Samuel Clemens');
  if RowIndex >= 0 then
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, 'Customer Name')
  else
    Log.Error ('Row was not found.');
end;

C++Script, C#Script

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys["Process"]("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p["WinFormsObject"]("Form1")["WinFormsObject"]("dataGridView1");

  // Locate a row by cell value
  RowIndex = FindRow (Grid, "Customer Name", "Samuel Clemens");
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid["ClickCell"](RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log["Error"]("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRow (Grid, ColumnId, Value)
{
  // Iterate through grid rows
  for (var i=0; i<Grid["wRowCount"]; i++)
    // Check the cell value in the specified column
    if (Grid["wValue"](i, ColumnId) == Value)
      return i;  // Row is found

  return -1;  // Row is not found
}

The following example is a bit more complex. It demonstrates how to find a DataGridView row by values held in multiple cells.

Example

JavaScript, JScript

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, ColumnIds, Values, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1");

  // Locate a row by multiple values
  ColumnIds = new Array ("Customer Name", "Product");
  Values = new Array ("Susan McLaren", "MyMoney");
  RowIndex = FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, ColumnIds, Values);
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, Columns, Values)
{
  var match, i, j;

  // Iterate through grid rows
  for (i=0; i<Grid.wRowCount; i++)
  {
    match = true;

    // Check cell values in the specified columns
    for (j=0; j<Columns.length; j++)
      if (Grid.wValue(i, Columns[j]) != Values[j])
      {
        match = false; // Cell value differs from the specified one
        break;
      }

    if (match)
      return i;  // Row is found
  }

  return -1;  // Row is not found
}

Python

def Main ():

  # Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  # Locate a row by multiple values
  ColumnIds = list("Customer Name", "Product")
  Values = list("Susan McLaren", "MyMoney")
  RowIndex = FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, ColumnIds, Values)
  if (RowIndex >= 0):
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  else:
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")

def FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, Columns, Values):

  # Iterate through grid rows
  for i in range(0, Grid.wRowCount-1):
    match = True

    # Check cell values in the specified columns
    for j in range(0, Columns.length-1):
      if (Grid.wValue[i, Columns[j]] != Values[j]):
        match = False # Cell value differs from the specified one
        break

    if (match):
      return i  # Row is found

  return -1  # Row is not found

VBScript

Sub Main
  Dim p, Grid, ColumnIds, Values, RowIndex

  ' Obtain the grid object
  Set p = Sys.Process ("DataGridViewSample")
  Set Grid = p.WinFormsObject("Form1").WinFormsObject("dataGridView1")

  ' Locate a row by multiple values
  ColumnIds = Array ("Customer Name", "Product")
  Values = Array ("Susan McLaren", "MyMoney")
  RowIndex = FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, ColumnIds, Values)
  If RowIndex >= 0 Then
    Call Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, "Customer Name")
  Else
    Log.Error ("Row was not found.")
  End If
End Sub

Function FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, Columns, Values)
  Dim match, i, j

  ' Iterate through grid rows
  For i=0 To Grid.wRowCount-1
    match = True

    ' Check cell values in the specified columns
    For j = 0 To UBound(Columns)
      If Grid.wValue(i, Columns(j)) <> Values(j) Then
        match = False' Cell value differs from the specified one
        Exit For
      End If
    Next

    If match Then
      FindRowByMultipleValues = i  ' Row is found
      Exit Function
    End If
  Next

  FindRowByMultipleValues = -1  ' Row is not found
End Function

DelphiScript

function FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, Columns, Values);
var match, i, j : OleVariant;
begin
  // Iterate through grid rows
  for i := 0 to Grid.wRowCount-1 do
  begin
    match := true;

    // Check cell values in the specified columns
    for j := 0 to VarArrayHighBound(Columns, 1) do
      if not Grid.wValue[i, Columns[j]].Equals(Values[j]) then
      begin
        match := false; // Cell value differs from the specified one
        Break
      end;

    if match then
    begin
      Result := i;  // Row is found
      Exit
    end
  end;

  Result := -1;  // Row is not found
end;

procedure Main;
var p, Grid, ColumnIds, Values, RowIndex : OleVariant;
begin
  // Obtain the grid object
  p := Sys.Process ('DataGridViewSample');
  Grid := p.WinFormsObject('Form1').WinFormsObject('dataGridView1');

  // Locate a row by multiple values
  ColumnIds := CreateVariantArray (0, 1);
  Values := CreateVariantArray (0, 1);
  ColumnIds[0] := 'Customer Name'; ColumnIds[1] := 'Product';
  Values[0] := 'Susan McLaren'; Values[1] := 'MyMoney';
  RowIndex := FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, ColumnIds, Values);
  if RowIndex >= 0 then
    Grid.ClickCell (RowIndex, 'Customer Name')
  else
    Log.Error ('Row was not found.');
end;

C++Script, C#Script

function Main ()
{
  var p, Grid, ColumnIds, Values, RowIndex;

  // Obtain the grid object
  p = Sys["Process"]("DataGridViewSample");
  Grid = p["WinFormsObject"]("Form1")["WinFormsObject"]("dataGridView1");

  // Locate a row by multiple values
  ColumnIds = new Array ("Customer Name", "Product");
  Values = new Array ("Susan McLaren", "MyMoney");
  RowIndex = FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, ColumnIds, Values);
  if (RowIndex >= 0)
    Grid["ClickCell"](RowIndex, "Customer Name");
  else
    Log["Error"]("Row was not found.");
}

function FindRowByMultipleValues (Grid, Columns, Values)
{
  var match, i, j;

  // Iterate through grid rows
  for (i=0; i<Grid["wRowCount"]; i++)
  {
    match = true;

    // Check cell values in the specified columns
    for (j=0; j<Columns["length"]; j++)
      if (Grid["wValue"](i, Columns[j]) != Values[j])
      {
        match = false; // Cell value differs from the specified one
        break;
      }

    if (match)
      return i;  // Row is found
  }

  return -1;  // Row is not found
}

Searching for Records in Microsoft DataGridView

Searching Within the Grid’s Dataset

Example

Searching Within the Grid

Example

Example

See Also