Displaying Data on Forms in Windows Applications

Display data to users by dragging items from the Data Sources Window onto Windows Forms, or by selecting a new or existing data source from the smart tag on certain controls, such as the DataGridView and ComboBox. The following topics describe the processes and tasks related to presenting data to users in data-bound controls on Windows Forms.

In This Section

• Displaying Data Overview
  Describes the process of displaying data on Windows Forms.

• Data Sources Window
  Describes how to create data-bound forms by dragging items from the Data Sources window.

• How to: Bind Data to Existing Controls
  Describes how to bind an existing control to a specific field of data.

• How to: Create Lookup Tables
  Describes how to display data from one table based on the data selected in another table.

• How to: Customize How Visual Studio Creates Captions for Data-bound Controls
  Describes how to control the behavior of the smart-captioning feature in the Data Sources window.

• How to: Display Data in a Windows Forms DataGridView Control
  Describes how to present data in a DataGridView on a Windows Form.

• How to: Display Data in Individual Windows Forms Controls
  Describes how to present data in individual controls on a Windows Form.

• How to: Display Related Data in a Windows Application
  Describes how to present data from related tables in a dataset on a Windows Form.

• How to: Add a Parameterized Query to a Form in a Windows Application
  Describes how to modify an existing Windows Form to include controls to input parameters and execute a query.

• How to: Display Pictures from a Database in Windows Forms
  Describes how to set a column to use an image control to display images in a database.

• How to: Set the Control to be Created when Dragging from the Data Sources Window
  Describes how to set the control that will be created when dragging items from the Data Sources window onto a Windows Form.

• How to: Add Custom Controls to the Data Sources Window
  Describes how to modify the list of controls available for items in the Data Sources window, and how to add custom controls to the list.

• How to: Open the Data Sources Window
  Describes how to open the Data Sources window in the Visual Studio IDE.

• Walkthrough: Displaying Data on a Form in a Windows Application
  Provides step-by-step details on querying data from a database and displaying the data on a Windows Form.

• Walkthrough: Displaying Related Data on a Form in a Windows Application
  Provides step-by-step details on displaying data from two related tables and displaying the data on a Windows Form.

• Walkthrough: Creating a Form to Search Data in a Windows Application
  Provides step-by-step details on creating a Windows Form that searches for records in a database based on values input by a user.

• Walkthrough: Creating a Lookup Table
  Provides step-by-step details on displaying data from one table based on the data selected in another table.

• Walkthrough: Passing Data Between Forms in a Windows Application
  Provides step-by-step details on passing values from one form to a second form in an application.

• Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Simple Data Binding
  Provides step-by-step details on creating a custom control that can be used in the Data Sources window.

• Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Complex Data Binding
  Provides step-by-step details on creating a custom control that can be used in the Data Sources window.

• Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Lookup Databinding
  Provides step-by-step details on creating a custom control that can be used in the Data Sources window.

Reference

• BindingSource
  A BindingSource object provides methods for accessing an underlying data source.

• BindingNavigator
  The BindingNavigator control represents a standardized way to navigate and manipulate data on a form.

• DataGridView
  The DataGridView control provides a customizable table for displaying data.

• ADO.NET
  Describes the ADO.NET classes, which expose data-access services to the .NET programmer.

• System.Data
  Describes the ADO.NET classes, which expose data-access services to the .NET programmer.

• System.Transactions
  The System.Transactions namespace contains classes that allow you to write your own transactional application and resource manager.

Related Sections

• BindingSource Component
  Provides links to topics that explain and demonstrate how to use a BindingSource object.

• BindingNavigator Control (Windows Forms)
  Provides links to topics that explain and demonstrate how to use a BindingNavigator control.

• Windows Forms Data Binding
  Provides links to topics that explain the concepts and tasks associated with manipulating data on Windows Forms.

• Getting Started with Data Access
  Provides links to topics on creating applications that work with data, using Visual Studio.

• Connecting to Data in Visual Studio
  Provides links to topics on connecting your application to data with design time tools, and ADO.NET connection objects, using Visual Studio.

• Preparing Your Application to Receive Data
  Provides links to topics explaining what datasets are, how to create new datasets, and how to create and edit the individual objects they are made of.

• Fetching Data into Your Application
  Provides links to topics describing how to load data into datasets, and how to execute SQL statements and stored procedures.

• Editing Data in Your Application
  Provides links to topics describing how to manipulate the data in the data tables of a dataset.

• Validating Data
  Provides links to topics describing how to add validation to a dataset during column and row changes.

• Saving Data
  Provides links to topics explaining how to send updated data from an application to the database.

• Data Resources
  Provides links to additional data related sections, including dialog boxes and data adapters.