Data binding with windows forms

Add a project data source in the drop-down list. Create a connection with the AdventureWorks database and select the HumanResources. Select the first TextBox. Select the second TextBox. Press F5. If everything goes well, you will see the following output: Here is one problem with the preceding. Every time you run your project, you are able to see only one record. So how to solve this problem? We can solve that problem using the BindingNavigator Control.

For every data source that is bound to a Windows Forms control, there exists a BindingNavigator control. The BindingNavigator control handles the binding to the data by keeping the pointer to the item in the record list current. Select BindingNavigator1; this will display the properties window.

Select the bindingSource property from the properties Window to enable the corresponding drop-down list. Select employeeBindingSource from the Drop-Down list as shown in the following figure. Execute the Windows Forms form and verify the output. The Employee Details will be displayed as shown in the following figure. The following table describes the various symbols and their function in the BindingNavigator control: Complex Data Binding Complex data binding allows you to bind more than one data element to control.

Using the column example, complex data binding involves binding more than one column or row from the underlying record source. Any additional feedback? Submit and view feedback for This product This page. View all page feedback. In this article. The ability of a control to bind to a single data element, such as a value in a column in a dataset table.

This is the type of binding typical for controls such as a TextBox control or Label control, which are controls that typically only displays a single value.

In fact, any property on a control can be bound to a field in a database. There is extensive support for this feature in Visual Studio. The ability of a control to bind to more than one data element, typically more than one record in a database. Complex binding is also called list-based binding.

Reports provide a flexible way for you to display and summarize your data in a printed document. This browser is no longer supported. Download Microsoft Edge More info. Contents Exit focus mode. Please rate your experience Yes No. Any additional feedback? Submit and view feedback for This product This page. Second, you can specify an instance of any one of the classes in the following table as the data source.

Third, you must specify the navigation path, which can be an empty string "" , a single property name, or a period-delimited hierarchy of names. If you set the navigation path to an empty string, the ToString method will be called on the underlying data source object. If the data source is a DataTable , which can contain multiple DataColumn objects, the navigation path must be used to resolve to a specific column.

Consequently, the bound rows are actually DataRowView objects. A period-delimited navigation path is required when the data source is set to an object that contains multiple DataTable objects such as a DataSet or DataViewManager.

You can also use a period-delimited navigation path when you bind to an object whose properties return references to other objects such as a class with properties that return other class objects. For example, the following navigation paths all describe valid data fields:.

Each member of the path can return either a property that resolves to a single value such as an integer , or a list of values such as an array of strings. Although each member in the path can be a list or property, the final member must resolve to a property. Each member builds on the previous member: "Size. Height" resolves to the Height property for the current Size ; "Regions. CustomerFirstName" resolves to the first name for the current customer, where the customer is one of the customers for the current region.

For example, if the DataTable named "Suppliers" contains a DataRelation named "suppliers2products", the data member could be "Suppliers.

The data source can consist of a set of related classes. For example, imagine a set of classes that catalogs solar systems. The class named System contains a property named Stars that returns a collection of Star objects. Each Star object has Name and Mass properties, as well as a Planets property that returns a collection of Planet objects. In this system, each planet also has Mass and Name properties.

Each Planet object further has a Moons property that returns a collection of Moon objects, each of which also has Name and Mass properties.

If you specify a System object as the data source, you can specify any of the following as the data member:. Controls that can be simple-bound feature a collection of Binding objects in a ControlBindingsCollection , which you can access through the control's DataBindings property. You add a Binding to the collection by calling the Add method, thereby binding a property of the control to a property of an object or to a property of the current object in a list.

You can simple-bind to any object that derives from the System.