Applying Custom Sort Criteria

By default, RadGrid changes the sort mode in an ascending/descending/none sequence when the user clicks the column headers. The way that sort mode is interpreted depends on the DataType of the column:

• When the DataType is "String", columns are sorted alphabetically.

• When the DataType is a numeric type such as "Integer" or "Double", columns are sorted numerically.

You can skip this default sort behavior and provide your own custom sort order for a column by setting the AllowCustomSorting property of the corresponding table view. With custom sorting enabled, RadGrid displays the sorting icons but does not actually sort the data. Instead, you perform the custom sorting inside the SortCommand event handler.

The following example shows how to apply custom sort pattern for two columns - FirstName and LastName. The first column is sorted based on the length of the strings in its cells while the second column is sorted in reverse order (descending/ascending/none):

It is a good idea -not- to use auto-generated columns so that you can be sure of the DataField name for each column.

<telerik:RadGrid RenderMode="Lightweight" ID="RadGrid1" runat="server" AllowSorting="True" AutoGenerateColumns="False"
      GridLines="None" OnSortCommand="RadGrid1_SortCommand" OnNeedDataSource="RadGrid1_NeedDataSource">
      <MasterTableView AllowCustomSorting="true">
          <Columns>
              <telerik:GridBoundColumn HeaderText="First name" HeaderButtonType="TextButton" DataField="FirstName" />
              <telerik:GridBoundColumn HeaderText="Last name" HeaderButtonType="TextButton" DataField="LastName"
                  SortAscImageUrl="Img/SortDesc.gif" SortDescImageUrl="Img/SortAsc.gif" />
          </Columns>
      </MasterTableView>
</telerik:RadGrid>

In the code-behind, the SortCommand event handler assigns a data source with the records in the desired sort order:

public DataTable GetDataTable(string query)
{
    String ConnString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["NorthwindConnectionString"].ConnectionString;
    SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(ConnString);
    SqlDataAdapter adapter = new SqlDataAdapter();
    adapter.SelectCommand = new SqlCommand(query, conn);

    DataTable myDataTable = new DataTable();

    conn.Open();
    try
    {
        adapter.Fill(myDataTable);
    }
    finally
    {
        conn.Close();
    }

    return myDataTable;
}
protected void RadGrid1_SortCommand(object source, GridSortCommandEventArgs e)
{
    if ("FirstName".Equals(e.CommandArgument))
    {
        switch (e.OldSortOrder)
        {
            case GridSortOrder.None:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LEN(FirstName) ASC");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
            case GridSortOrder.Ascending:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LEN(FirstName) DESC");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
            case GridSortOrder.Descending:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
        }
    }
    else if ("LastName".Equals(e.CommandArgument))
    {
        switch (e.OldSortOrder)
        {
            case GridSortOrder.None:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LastName DESC");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
            case GridSortOrder.Ascending:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LastName ASC");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
            case GridSortOrder.Descending:
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees");
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind();
                break;
        }
    }
}
protected void RadGrid1_NeedDataSource(object source, GridNeedDataSourceEventArgs e)
{
    RadGrid1.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees");
}

Public Function GetDataTable(ByVal query As String) As DataTable
    Dim ConnString As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("NorthwindConnectionString").ConnectionString
    Dim conn As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(ConnString)
    Dim adapter As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter
    adapter.SelectCommand = New SqlCommand(query, conn)
    Dim table1 As New DataTable
    conn.Open()
    Try
        adapter.Fill(table1)
    Finally
        conn.Close()
    End Try
    Return table1
End Function

Protected Sub RadGrid1_SortCommand(ByVal source As Object, ByVal e As GridSortCommandEventArgs)
    If e.CommandArgument = "FirstName" Then
        Select Case e.OldSortOrder
            Case GridSortOrder.None
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LEN(FirstName) ASC")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
            Case GridSortOrder.Ascending
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LEN(FirstName) DESC")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
            Case GridSortOrder.Descending
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
        End Select
    ElseIf e.CommandArgument = "LastName" Then
        Select Case e.OldSortOrder
            Case GridSortOrder.None
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LastName DESC")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
            Case GridSortOrder.Ascending
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees ORDER BY LastName ASC")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
            Case GridSortOrder.Descending
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees")
                e.Item.OwnerTableView.Rebind()
                Exit Select
        End Select
    End If
End Sub
Protected Sub RadGrid1_NeedDataSource(ByVal source As Object, ByVal e As GridNeedDataSourceEventArgs)
    RadGrid1.DataSource = GetDataTable("SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employees")
End Sub