The date time picker cell provides features similar to that of the DateTimePicker control (System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker) in the .NET Framework. The user can enter dates and times using the date time picker cell. The appearance of the date time picker cell depends on Windows settings.
Features
The date time picker cell provides the following features in addition to the Base Cell features.
- Input of date and time
- Display of drop-down calendar
- Specifying input range for date
Refer to the DateTimePickerCell class reference for details on each of these features.
Data Type
The date time picker cell stores Object type values. This type can be verified using the DateTimePickerCell.ValueType property. Values transformed into a Date type (System.DateTime type in case of C#) based on the format of the DateTimePickerCell.Format property are used for input and display.This type can be verified using the DateTimePickerCell.FormattedValueType. To modify the behavior when values are read in a cell, you can override the DateTimePickerCell.OnCellFormatting method. The behavior when the value is written back from the cell can be modified by overriding the DateTimePickerCell.OnCellParsing method.
Cell Edit Control
The date time picker cell values can be edited using the DateTimePickerEditingControl control. This control inherits the IEditingControl interface and System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker class. The cell editing control type can be verified using the DateTimePickerCell.EditType property.
Styles
The date time picker cell supports the following CellStyle class members. You can set cell styles using the DateTimePickerCell.Style property.
| CellStyle Member | Non-editable state | Editable state |
| BackColor | Enabled | - |
| Border | Enabled | Enabled |
| DataSourceNullValue | Enabled | Enabled |
| DisabledBackColor | Enabled | - |
| DisabledForeColor | Enabled | - |
| Font | Enabled | Enabled |
| ForeColor | Enabled | - |
| Format | - | - |
| FormatProvider | - | - |
| GradientColors | Enabled | - |
| GradientDirection | Enabled | - |
| GradientStyle | Enabled | - |
| Image | Enabled | - |
| ImageAlign | Enabled | - |
| ImeMode | Enabled | Enabled |
| InputScope | Enabled | Enabled |
| ImeSentenceMode | Enabled | Enabled |
| LineAdjustment | Enabled only in GDI+ compatibility mode | - |
| Margin | Enabled | Enabled |
| Multiline | Enabled | Enabled |
| NullValue | Enabled | Enabled |
| Padding | Enabled | Enabled |
| PatternColor | Enabled | - |
| PatternStyle | Enabled | - |
| SelectionBackColor | Enabled | - |
| SelectionForeColor | Enabled | - |
| Tag | Enabled | Enabled |
| TextAdjustment | Enabled only in GDI+ compatibility mode | - |
| TextAlign | Enabled | Only for vertical direction |
| TextAngle | Enabled only in GDI+ compatibility mode | - |
| TextEffect | Enabled | - |
| TextImageRelation | Enabled | - |
| TextIndent | Enabled | - |
| TextVertical | Enabled only in GDI+ compatibility mode | - |
| UseCompatibleTextRendering | Enabled | - |
| WordWrap | Enabled | - |
The GDI+ Compatibility Mode can be enabled by setting the UseCompatibleTextRendering property to True.
Shortcut Keys
The table below lists all the supported keys when editing the date time picker cell and lists keys processed by the GcMultiRow control.
| Modifier | Key | DateTimePickerCell | GcMultiRow |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Keys.PageUp | - | - |
| Keys.PageDown | - | - | |
| Keys.End | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Home | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Left | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Right | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Up | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Down | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Insert | - | - | |
| Keys.Delete | - | - | |
| Keys.BackSpace | - | - | |
| Keys.F4 | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Control | Keys.PageUp | - | - |
| Keys.PageDown | - | - | |
| Keys.End | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Home | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Left | - | Enabled | |
| Keys.Right | - | Enabled | |
| Keys.Up | - | Enabled | |
| Keys.Down | - | Enabled | |
| Keys.A | - | - | |
| Keys.C | - | - | |
| Keys.V | - | - | |
| Keys.X | - | - | |
| Keys.Shift | Keys.Left | Enabled | - |
| Keys.Right | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Up | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Down | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Home | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.End | Enabled | - | |
| Keys.Alt | Keys.Up | Enabled | - |
| Keys.Down | Enabled | - |
 |
Keys.Control + Keys.C is processed by the GcMultiRow control in case multiple cells have been selected. |
The following keys are not processed when the DateTimePicker.ShowUpDown property is set to True.
| Modifier | Key | DateTimePickerCell | GcMultiRow |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Keys.F4 | - | - |
| Keys.Alt | Keys.Up | - | - |
| Keys.Down | - | - |
Events
The GcMultiRow.CellContentClick event can be used to implement the processing when clicking in the content area of the cell. The GcMultiRow.CellContentDoubleClick event can be used for a double-click. The GcMultiRow.CellEditedFormattedValueChanged event can be used to implement the processing when the cell value is changed. Events in the DateTimePickerEditingControl class can be used to handle the processing for events when the date time picker cell is being edited. The same set of events used for the System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker class can be used for the DateTimePickerEditingControl class.
Standard Control Comparison
The following table shows a comparison between the main properties of the date time picker cell and the System.Windows.Forms.DateTimePicker control.
| DateTimePickerCell | DateTimePicker |
| CalendarFont | CalendarFont |
| CalendarForeColor | CalendarForeColor |
| CalendarMonthBackground | CalendarMonthBackground |
| CalendarTitleBackColor | CalendarTitleBackColor |
| CalendarTitleForeColor | CalendarTitleForeColor |
| CalendarTrailingForeColor | CalendarTrailingForeColor |
| CustomFormat | CustomFormat |
| DropDownAlign | DropDownAlign |
| Format | Format |
| MaxDate | MaxDate |
| MinDate | MinDate |
| ShowUpDown | ShowUpDown |
| ShowDropDownButton | None |
| None | PreferredHeight |
| None | RightToLeftLayout |
| None | ShowCheckBox |
| None | Checked |
| DisplayText | Text |
| Value | Value |
See the following for more information:
- Automatically Confirm Initial Value as Input Value (DateTimePickerCell)
- Get Formatted Values (DateTimePickerCell)
- Usage of ValueChanged Event (DateTimePickerCell)
- Display Alternate Text for Null Values (DateTimePickerCell)
- Hide Drop-Down Button (DateTimePickerCell)