Changing the DataGridView Header Text in Visual F#

To change the header text of a grid contrl in Visual F#, the first thing that you’ll need to do is to create a grid view columns. This can be done by using the following syntax:
let columnname=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
For instance:
let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
After that, you’ll need to add that column to the data grid. This can be done by using the following syntax:
dataobjvariable.Columns.Add(columnname)
For example:
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)
Then finally, you’ll need to bind the column name to the fieldname where you will be getting the record value followed by changing its header text using the DataPropertyName and HeaderText propeties.

For a simple example on changing the header text of a grid control, follow these steps:

Before the Database Connection and Binding process I want you to make an Ms-Access database file named “dbEmployee” containing a table named “tblEmployee”. Use the following specifications:

Field NameData Type Description
chrempno text Handles employee id
chrfnametext Handles employee’s name
chrlname text Holds employee’s last name


After designing the structure of your table, you can enter appropriate values for each field. For instance:

chrempnochrfnameChrlname
1John Doe
2Jean Doe


Now that we are done creating a table, we can now link to it by using OleDbDataAdapter in Visual F#:


1. Click Start>All Programs>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

2. Click File>New>Project>Select Visual F# in the project types>Select F# application in the Visual Studio installed templates category.

3. Click the Project menu>Add reference>Click the .Net tab>Locate then double-click System.Windows.Forms. Do step 3 again and this time, select System.Drawing and System.Data from the .Net tab.

4. Enter the following code after the line “// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net “:

// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net
//specifies the location of the class files
//that will be needed in our application
open System
open System.Windows.Forms
open System.Data
open System.Drawing
//creates a connection object
let olecon = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
  Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")
//adds an oleDbDataAdapter
let dataadapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", olecon)
//generate a dataset
let dataset11 = new DataSet()
//fill our dataset with record values
dataadapter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore
//creates a form
let dataform = new Form(Text="Change DataGrid Header",ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(398, 232))
//creates a datagrid
let datagrid = new DataGridView(ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode=DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize,Size=new System.Drawing.Size(341, 143),Location=new System.Drawing.Point(22, 38))
//creates a grid control colums
let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
let chrfnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
let chrlnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
//adds the columns into our datagrid
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)|>ignore
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrfnamecol)|>ignore
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrlnamecol)|>ignore
//opens the database connection and
//set our table as the datagrid's datasource
olecon.Open()
datagrid.DataSource <- dataset11.Tables.["tblEmployee"]
//links our fieldname to each grid
//and change its header text
chrempnocol.DataPropertyName<-"chrempno"
chrempnocol.HeaderText<-"Employee No."
chrfnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrfname"
chrfnamecol.HeaderText<-"First Name"
chrlnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrlname"
chrlnamecol.HeaderText<-"Last Name"
//add the datagrid to our form
dataform.Controls.Add(datagrid)
//execute our application
dataform.Show()
Application.Run(dataform)
5. Click the run icon to execute your application. You should now see an output similar to the following screen shot:
For more sketchy tutorials on Visual F# visit Microsoft F# Developer Center.That's all for now:)

Binding a Record Value To a Control (OleDbDataAdapter Visual F#)

To bind a record value to a control, simply use the DataBindings method of the control which has the following syntax:

controlobjvariable.DataBindings.Add(new Binding(controlproperty, datasetname, fieldname))
For instance:

fnamelabel.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text", dataset11, "Table1.fname", true))
For a simple data binding example, follow these steps:

Before the Database Connection and Binding process I want you to make an Ms-Access database file named “dbEmployee” containing a table named “tblEmployee”. Use the following specifications:

Field NameData Type Description
chrempno text Handles employee id
chrfnametext Handles employee’s name
chrlname text Holds employee’s last name


After designing the structure of your table, you can enter appropriate values for each field. For instance:

chrempnochrfnameChrlname
2010AJohn Doe
2010BJean Doe


Now that we are done creating a table, we can now link to it by using OleDbDataAdapter in Visual F#:


1. Click Start>All Programs>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

2. Click File>New>Project>Select Visual F# in the project types>Select F# application in the Visual Studio installed templates category.

3. Click the Project menu>Add reference>Click the .Net tab>Locate then double-click System.Windows.Forms. Do step 3 again and this time, select System.Drawing and System.Data from the .Net tab.

4. Enter the following code after the line “// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net “:

// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net
//specifies the memory location of the class files
//that will be needed in our application
open System
open System.Windows.Forms
open System.Data
open System.Drawing
//creates a font
let ffont=new Font("Verdana", 9.75F,FontStyle.Regular, GraphicsUnit.Point)  
//creates a connection object
let oleconn = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
  Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\station 2\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")
 //creates an OleDbDataAdapter
let dataadpter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", oleconn)
//generates a dataset
let dataset11 = new DataSet()
//fills the dataset with recod values
dataadpter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore
//creates a form
let dataform = new Form(Text="Use OleDbDataAdapter",AutoScaleDimensions=new System.Drawing.SizeF(60.0F, 13.0F),ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(300, 200),StartPosition=FormStartPosition.CenterScreen)
//creates our controls
let exitbutton=new Button(Text="Exit", Location=new System.Drawing.Point(190, 170))  
let label1=new Label(Text="Employee number:",Location=new System.Drawing.Point(0, 10),AutoSize=true)
let label2=new Label(Text="Firstname:",Location=new System.Drawing.Point(0, 50),AutoSize=true)
let label3=new Label(Text="Lastname:",Location=new System.Drawing.Point(0,100),AutoSize=true)
let emplabel=new Label(Location=new System.Drawing.Point(140,10),BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)
let fnamelabel=new Label(Location=new System.Drawing.Point(100,50),BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)
let lnamelabel=new Label(Location=new System.Drawing.Point(100,100),BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)
//assings the font to our form
dataform.Font<-ffont
//adds the controls to our form
dataform.Controls.Add(exitbutton)
dataform.Controls.Add(label1)
dataform.Controls.Add(label2)
dataform.Controls.Add(label3)
dataform.Controls.Add(emplabel)
dataform.Controls.Add(fnamelabel)
dataform.Controls.Add(lnamelabel)
//binds the fieldnames to our label
emplabel.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text",dataset11,"tblEmployee.chrempno"))
fnamelabel.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text",dataset11,"tblEmployee.chrfname"))
lnamelabel.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text",dataset11,"tblEmployee.chrlname"))
//when the exit button is clicked
exitbutton.Click.Add(fun exit->
//close the form and dataconnection
                    dataform.Close()
                    oleconn.Close())

//executes our application
dataform.Show()
Application.Run(dataform)

5. Click the run icon to execute your application. You should now see an output similar to the following screen shot: