DataGridView.SortedColumn Property

Definition

Gets the column by which the DataGridView contents are currently sorted.

C#
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewColumn SortedColumn { get; }
C#
[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public System.Windows.Forms.DataGridViewColumn? SortedColumn { get; }

Property Value

The DataGridViewColumn by which the DataGridView contents are currently sorted.

Attributes

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use the SortedColumn property in a programmatic sort.

C#
private void sortButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    // Check which column is selected, otherwise set NewColumn to null.
    DataGridViewColumn newColumn =
        dataGridView1.Columns.GetColumnCount(
        DataGridViewElementStates.Selected) == 1 ?
        dataGridView1.SelectedColumns[0] : null;

    DataGridViewColumn oldColumn = dataGridView1.SortedColumn;
    ListSortDirection direction;

    // If oldColumn is null, then the DataGridView is not currently sorted.
    if (oldColumn != null)
    {
        // Sort the same column again, reversing the SortOrder.
        if (oldColumn == newColumn &&
            dataGridView1.SortOrder == SortOrder.Ascending)
        {
            direction = ListSortDirection.Descending;
        }
        else
        {
            // Sort a new column and remove the old SortGlyph.
            direction = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
            oldColumn.HeaderCell.SortGlyphDirection = SortOrder.None;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        direction = ListSortDirection.Ascending;
    }

    // If no column has been selected, display an error dialog  box.
    if (newColumn == null)
    {
        MessageBox.Show("Select a single column and try again.",
            "Error: Invalid Selection", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
            MessageBoxIcon.Error);
    }
    else
    {
        dataGridView1.Sort(newColumn, direction);
        newColumn.HeaderCell.SortGlyphDirection =
            direction == ListSortDirection.Ascending ?
            SortOrder.Ascending : SortOrder.Descending;
    }
}

Remarks

If the DataGridView is not sorted, this property will return null.

When the column indicated by this property has a SortMode property value of DataGridViewColumnSortMode.Automatic, it will display a sorting glyph based on the value of the SortOrder property.

When the column has a SortMode property value of DataGridViewColumnSortMode.Programmatic, you must display the sorting glyph yourself through the DataGridViewColumnHeaderCell.SortGlyphDirection property.

Note

The value of this property is not meaningful when you sort the control using custom sorting. For more information about custom sorting, see the Sort(IComparer) method and the SortCompare event.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

See also