BeepGridProDesigner

Overview
Key Features
Smart-Tag Sections
Quick Configuration Actions
Design-Time Sample Data
Column Editor
Code Example

Overview

Namespace: TheTechIdea.Beep.Winform.Controls.Design.Server.Designers
Inheritance: BaseBeepControlDesigner

BeepGridProDesigner is the richest single-control designer in the library with 47 smart-tag items organized across 7 named sections. It provides:

Quick configuration presets (DataDisplay, DataEntry, SimpleList, SelectionGrid)
Design-time sample data generation
Column editor dialog integration
Row height presets (Standard/Compact/Comfortable)
Batch feature toggles (EnableAll/DisableAll)
Column auto-sizing commands

Key Features

4 quick-configuration presets that set multiple properties at once
GenerateSampleData() creates a 6-row BindingList for design-time preview
EditColumns() opens the BeepGridColumnEditorDialog modal
3 row-height presets: Standard (24px), Compact (20px), Comfortable (28px)
Column auto-size: BestFitVisibleColumns, BestFitVisibleColumnsAllRows, AutoSizeColumnsNow
Inherits CommonBeepControlActionList for style/theme/schema
All property changes route through IComponentChangeService

Smart-Tag Sections

Section	Items	Description
Quick Configuration	7 action methods	ConfigureAsDataDisplay, ConfigureAsDataEntry, ConfigureAsSimpleList, ConfigureAsSelectionGrid, GenerateSampleData, ClearSamplePreview, EditColumns
Row Height Presets	3 action methods	SetStandardRowHeight (24px), SetCompactRowHeight (20px), SetComfortableRowHeight (28px)
Features	2 action methods	EnableAllFeatures, DisableInteractiveFeatures
Data Properties	2 properties	DataSource (object), DataMember (string)
Layout Properties	6 properties	RowHeight, ColumnHeaderHeight, ShowColumnHeaders, ShowNavigator, AutoSizeColumnsMode, AutoSizeTriggerMode
Auto-Size	3 action methods	BestFitVisibleColumns, BestFitVisibleColumnsAllRows, AutoSizeColumnsNow
Behavior	5 properties	AllowUserToResizeColumns, AllowColumnReorder, MultiSelect, ReadOnly, ShowCheckBox
Appearance	5 properties	GridStyle, GridTitle, NavigationStyle, SortIconVisibility, FilterIconVisibility
Focus Styling	3 properties	UseDedicatedFocusedRowStyle, ShowFocusedCellFill, ShowFocusedCellBorder, FocusedCellBorderWidth
Filtering UI	2 properties	ShowTopFilterPanel, TopFilterPanelHeight

Quick Configuration Actions

ConfigureAsDataDisplay()

Sets: ReadOnly=true, ShowColumnHeaders=true, ShowNavigator=true, MultiSelect=true, AllowUserToResizeColumns=true, AllowColumnReorder=true

ConfigureAsDataEntry()

Sets: ReadOnly=false, ShowColumnHeaders=true, ShowNavigator=true, MultiSelect=false, AllowUserToResizeColumns=true

ConfigureAsSimpleList()

Sets: ShowColumnHeaders=false, ShowNavigator=false, AllowUserToResizeColumns=false, AllowColumnReorder=false, MultiSelect=false

ConfigureAsSelectionGrid()

Sets: MultiSelect=true, ShowCheckBox=true, ReadOnly=true

Design-Time Sample Data

The GenerateSampleData() method creates a BindingList<DesignTimeGridPreviewRow> with 6 sample rows. It uses reflection to access the grid's internal Data and Layout helpers, calls Bind() then Recalculate(). The operation is wrapped in a try/catch to prevent designer crashes.

public void GenerateSampleData()
{
    var sampleData = new BindingList<DesignTimeGridPreviewRow>();
    for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++)
        sampleData.Add(new DesignTimeGridPreviewRow
        {
            Id = i + 1,
            Name = $"Item {i + 1}",
            Description = $"Description for item {i + 1}",
            Value = (i + 1) * 100m,
            IsActive = i % 2 == 0,
            CreatedDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(-i)
        });
    // Use reflection to bind to grid internals
    var dataHelper = grid.GetType()
        .GetField("Data", BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance)
        ?.GetValue(grid);
    dataHelper?.GetType()
        .GetMethod("Bind")?.Invoke(dataHelper, new[] { sampleData });
}

Column Editor

The EditColumns() method opens the BeepGridColumnEditorDialog — a modal form that provides full column management:

Add/remove/reorder columns
Set column type (Text, Numeric, Date, ComboBox, CheckBox, Masked)
Configure column width, header text, read-only flag
Visual column preview

After the dialog closes, the grid layout is recalculated and the designer surface is invalidated for immediate visual feedback.

Code Example

// At design time, the smart-tag provides all configuration.
// At runtime, bind data programmatically:
var grid = new BeepGridPro();
grid.DataSource = myDataTable;
grid.RowHeight = 28;
grid.AllowUserToResizeColumns = true;
grid.MultiSelect = true;
grid.ShowColumnHeaders = true;
grid.GridStyle = "DataTables";

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