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Type Converters

RadPropertyGrid is commonly used to visualize custom object’s properties and values. A common case is when a certain property is of custom type, or there is no predefined editor for the specific type. In this situation the control will only display the type as a string. This article demonstrates how you can modify the way a property is being displayed and edited by using custom TypeConverters. A Type Converter is used to convert values between data types. Here are the four main methods that are usually used when implementing a custom Type Converter.

  • Override the CanConvertFrom method that specifies which type the converter can convert from.

  • Override the ConvertFrom method that implements the conversion.

  • Override the CanConvertTo method that specifies which type the converter can convert to.

  • Override the ConvertTo method that implements the conversion.

Consider the RadPropertyGrid is populated with a Patient object contacting the following properties:

Bind RadPropertyGrid


public PropertyGridTypeConverters()
{
    InitializeComponent();

    Patient patient = new Patient();
    patient.BloodType = "O-";
    patient.BodyTemperature = new Temperature() { Value = 309.25, Unit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin };
    patient.FirstName = "First";
    patient.LastName = "Last";
    patient.TotalLungCapacity = 5800d;

    this.radPropertyGrid1.SelectedObject = patient;
}

public class Patient
{
    [Description("This property is here just to make the example more real-life like.")]
    public string FirstName { get; set; }

    [Description("This property is here just to make the example more real-life like.")]
    public string LastName { get; set; }

    public double TotalLungCapacity { get; set; }

    public string BloodType { get; set; }

    public Temperature BodyTemperature { get; set; }
}

public class Temperature
{
    public double Value { get; set; }

    public TemperatureUnit Unit { get; set; }
}

public enum TemperatureUnit
{
    Kelvin,
    Celsius,
    Fahrenheit
}

Public Sub New()
    InitializeComponent()
    Dim patient As New Patient()
    patient.BloodType = "O-"
    patient.BodyTemperature = New Temperature() With { _
         .Value = 309.25, _
        .Unit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin _
    }
    patient.FirstName = "First"
    patient.LastName = "Last"
    patient.TotalLungCapacity = 5800.0
    Me.RadPropertyGrid1.SelectedObject = patient
End Sub
Public Class Patient
    <Description("This property is here just to make the example more real-life like.")> _
    Public Property FirstName() As String
        Get
            Return m_FirstName
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            m_FirstName = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_FirstName As String
    <Description("This property is here just to make the example more real-life like.")> _
    Public Property LastName() As String
        Get
            Return m_LastName
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            m_LastName = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_LastName As String
    Public Property TotalLungCapacity() As Double
        Get
            Return m_TotalLungCapacity
        End Get
        Set(value As Double)
            m_TotalLungCapacity = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_TotalLungCapacity As Double
    Public Property BloodType() As String
        Get
            Return m_BloodType
        End Get
        Set(value As String)
            m_BloodType = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_BloodType As String
    Public Property BodyTemperature() As Temperature
        Get
            Return m_BodyTemperature
        End Get
        Set(value As Temperature)
            m_BodyTemperature = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_BodyTemperature As Temperature
End Class
Public Class Temperature
    Public Property Value() As Double
        Get
            Return m_Value
        End Get
        Set(value As Double)
            m_Value = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_Value As Double
    Public Property Unit() As TemperatureUnit
        Get
            Return m_Unit
        End Get
        Set(value As TemperatureUnit)
            m_Unit = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Private m_Unit As TemperatureUnit
End Class
Public Enum TemperatureUnit
    Kelvin
    Celsius
    Fahrenheit
End Enum

You will notice that the BodyTemperature property displays the property type:

Figure 1: BodyTemperature Property

WinForms RadPropertyGrid BodyTemperature Property

In order to visualize the BodyTemperature value with a custom formatted string you need to implement a TypeConverter which should convert the Temperature value to the desired string.

Display nested properties with ExpandableObjectConverter

As the BodyTemperature property is of complex type composed of two properties, we will use a custom type converter derived from the ExpandableObjectConverter:

TemperatureTypeConverter


public class TemperatureTypeConverter : ExpandableObjectConverter
{
    public override bool CanConvertFrom(ITypeDescriptorContext context, Type sourceType)
    {
        if (sourceType == typeof(string))
        {
            return true;
        }

        return base.CanConvertFrom(context, sourceType);
    }

    public override bool CanConvertTo(ITypeDescriptorContext context, Type destinationType)
    {
        if (destinationType == typeof(string))
        {
            return true;
        }

        return base.CanConvertTo(context, destinationType);
    }

    public override object ConvertTo(ITypeDescriptorContext context,
        System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture, object value, Type destinationType)
    {
        if (destinationType != typeof(string))
        {
            return base.ConvertTo(context, culture, value, destinationType);
        }

        Temperature temp = value as Temperature;

        if (temp == null)
        {
            return string.Empty;
        }

        return string.Format("{0} {1}", temp.Value, temp.Unit.ToString().Substring(0, 1));
    }

    public override object ConvertFrom(ITypeDescriptorContext context,
        System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture, object value)
    {
        string stringValue = value as string;

        if (stringValue == null)
        {
            return base.ConvertFrom(context, culture, value);
        }

        string number = "";

        for (int i = 0; i < stringValue.Length; i++)
        {
            char c = stringValue[i];

            if (char.IsNumber(c))
            {
                number += stringValue[i];
            }

            if (c == ',' || c == '.')
            {
                number += culture.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalSeparator;
            }
        }

        TemperatureUnit unit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin;

        if (stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("K"))
        {
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin;
        }
        else if (stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("F"))
        {
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Fahrenheit;
        }
        else if (stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("C"))
        {
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Celsius;
        }
        else
        {
            PropertyGridItem item = context as PropertyGridItem;

            if (item != null)
            {
                Temperature oldTemp = item.Value as Temperature;

                if (oldTemp != null)
                {
                    unit = oldTemp.Unit;
                }
            }
        }

        return new Temperature() { Value = double.Parse(number), Unit = unit };
    }
}

Public Class TemperatureTypeConverter
    Inherits ExpandableObjectConverter
    Public Overrides Function CanConvertFrom(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, sourceType As Type) As Boolean
        If sourceType = GetType(String) Then
            Return True
        End If
        Return MyBase.CanConvertFrom(context, sourceType)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CanConvertTo(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, destinationType As Type) As Boolean
        If destinationType = GetType(String) Then
            Return True
        End If
        Return MyBase.CanConvertTo(context, destinationType)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function ConvertTo(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, culture As System.Globalization.CultureInfo, value As Object, destinationType As Type) As Object
        If destinationType <> GetType(String) Then
            Return MyBase.ConvertTo(context, culture, value, destinationType)
        End If
        Dim temp As Temperature = TryCast(value, Temperature)
        If temp Is Nothing Then
            Return String.Empty
        End If
        Return String.Format("{0} {1}", temp.Value, temp.Unit.ToString().Substring(0, 1))
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function ConvertFrom(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, culture As System.Globalization.CultureInfo, value As Object) As Object
        Dim stringValue As String = TryCast(value, String)
        If stringValue Is Nothing Then
            Return MyBase.ConvertFrom(context, culture, value)
        End If
        Dim number As String = ""
        For i As Integer = 0 To stringValue.Length - 1
            Dim c As Char = stringValue(i)
            If Char.IsNumber(c) Then
                number += stringValue(i)
            End If
            If c = ","c OrElse c = "."c Then
                number += culture.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalSeparator
            End If
        Next
        Dim unit As TemperatureUnit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin
        If stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("K") Then
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Kelvin
        ElseIf stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("F") Then
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Fahrenheit
        ElseIf stringValue.ToUpper().Contains("C") Then
            unit = TemperatureUnit.Celsius
        Else
            Dim item As PropertyGridItem = TryCast(context, PropertyGridItem)
            If item IsNot Nothing Then
                Dim oldTemp As Temperature = TryCast(item.Value, Temperature)
                If oldTemp IsNot Nothing Then
                    unit = oldTemp.Unit
                End If
            End If
        End If
        Return New Temperature() With { _
             .Value = Double.Parse(number), _
             .Unit = unit _
        }
    End Function
End Class

Apply a TypeConverterAttribute that indicates the type of your type converter. The result is illustrated on the screenshot below:

BodyTemperature Property


[Description("This is a property with a TypeConverter (TemperatureTypeConverter) set to the class defining the type of the property." +
             "The converter allows the property to be expanded and individual properties of the class to be edited. " +
             "Additionally the convert allows users to input temperature as string in Kelvin, Celsius and Fahrenheit.")]
[TypeConverter(typeof(TemperatureTypeConverter))]
public Temperature BodyTemperature { get; set; }

<Description("This is a property with a TypeConverter (TemperatureTypeConverter) set to the class defining the type of the property." + "The converter allows the property to be expanded and individual properties of the class to be edited. " + "Additionally the convert allows users to input temperature as string in Kelvin, Celsius and Fahrenheit.")> _
<TypeConverter(GetType(TemperatureTypeConverter))> _
Public Property BodyTemperature() As Temperature
    Get
        Return m_BodyTemperature
    End Get
    Set(value As Temperature)
        m_BodyTemperature = value
    End Set
End Property
Private m_BodyTemperature As Temperature

Figure 2: RadPropertyGrid TypeConverterAttribute

WinForms RadPropertyGrid TypeConverterAttribute

Display a predefined list of values for a property with TypeConverter

The BloodType property is a string property which allows entering any string, even if it is not a valid blood type. To handle this case we can create a TypeConverter. In it we will override the GetStandardValuesSupported method, which indicates whether the object supports a standard set of values that can be picked from a predefined list. Then we will override the GetStandardValuesExclusive method which indicates whether the collection of standard values is exclusive or the user is allowed to add custom values. Lastly, in the GetStandardValues method we should specify the predefined list. The property grid uses this collection to build a list and provide it to the user for selection.

BloodTypeConverter


public class BloodTypeConverter : TypeConverter
{
    public override bool GetStandardValuesSupported(ITypeDescriptorContext context)
    {
        return true;
    }

    public override bool GetStandardValuesExclusive(ITypeDescriptorContext context)
    {
        return true;
    }

    public override StandardValuesCollection GetStandardValues(ITypeDescriptorContext context)
    {
        return new StandardValuesCollection(new string[] { "O−", "O+", "A−", "A+", "B−", "B+", "AB−", "AB+" });
    }
}

Public Class BloodTypeConverter
    Inherits TypeConverter
    Public Overrides Function GetStandardValuesSupported(context As ITypeDescriptorContext) As Boolean
        Return True
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function GetStandardValuesExclusive(context As ITypeDescriptorContext) As Boolean
        Return True
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function GetStandardValues(context As ITypeDescriptorContext) As StandardValuesCollection
        Return New StandardValuesCollection(New String() {"O−", "O+", "A−", "A+", "B−", "B+", _
            "AB−", "AB+"})
    End Function
End Class

After applying the TypeConverterAttribute, when you try to modify the BloodType property RadPropertyGrid will display a drop down list editor with the predefined set of values:

BloodType Property


[TypeConverter(typeof(BloodTypeConverter)),
Description("This is a string property which has a standard values collection defined in its TypeConverter (BloodTypeConverter)." +
            " The property grid uses this collection to build a list and provide it to the user for selection.")]
public string BloodType { get; set; }

<TypeConverter(GetType(BloodTypeConverter)), Description("This is a string property which has a standard values collection defined in its TypeConverter (BloodTypeConverter)." + " The property grid uses this collection to build a list and provide it to the user for selection.")> _
Public Property BloodType() As String
    Get
        Return m_BloodType
    End Get
    Set(value As String)
        m_BloodType = value
    End Set
End Property
Private m_BloodType As String

Figure 3: BloodTypeConverter

WinForms RadPropertyGrid BloodTypeConverter

Culture Aware TypeConverter

This example demonstrates how to apply a culture aware TypeConverter to the TotalLungCapacity property which can convert input from Cubic Inches and Cubic Centimeters but when converting data for display it uses the current culture to determine which system of measurement to use (Imperial or Metric). The value is stored in Cubic Centimeters.

VolumeTypeConverter


public class VolumeTypeConverter : TypeConverter
{
    private const double CubicInchesToCubicCentimeters = 16.387064d;
    private const double CubicCentimetersToCubicInches = 0.0610237441d;

    public override bool CanConvertFrom(ITypeDescriptorContext context, Type sourceType)
    {
        if (sourceType == typeof(string))
        {
            return true;
        }

        return base.CanConvertFrom(context, sourceType);
    }

    public override bool CanConvertTo(ITypeDescriptorContext context, Type destinationType)
    {
        if (destinationType == typeof(string))
        {
            return true;
        }

        return base.CanConvertTo(context, destinationType);
    }

    public override object ConvertFrom(ITypeDescriptorContext context, CultureInfo culture, object value)
    {
        if (!(value is string))
        {
            return base.ConvertFrom(context, culture, value);
        }

        string val = (string)value;

        string measure = val.Substring(val.Length - 2, 2).ToLower();
        string dispValue = val.Substring(0, val.Length - 2);
        double disp = double.Parse(dispValue);

        if (measure.ToLower() == "cc")
        {
            return disp;
        }
        else
        {
            return disp * CubicInchesToCubicCentimeters;
        }
    }

    public override object ConvertTo(ITypeDescriptorContext context, CultureInfo culture, object value, Type destinationType)
    {
        if (!(destinationType == typeof(string)))
        {
            return base.ConvertTo(context, culture, value, destinationType);
        }

        RegionInfo regionInfo = new RegionInfo(culture.LCID);
        bool metric = regionInfo.IsMetric;

        if (metric)
        {
            return string.Format("{0:F0}cc", value);
        }
        else
        {
            double cubicInches = (double)value * CubicCentimetersToCubicInches;

            return string.Format("{0:F0}ci", cubicInches);
        }
    }
}

Public Class VolumeTypeConverter
    Inherits TypeConverter
    Private Const CubicInchesToCubicCentimeters As Double = 16.387064
    Private Const CubicCentimetersToCubicInches As Double = 0.0610237441
    Public Overrides Function CanConvertFrom(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, sourceType As Type) As Boolean
        If sourceType = GetType(String) Then
            Return True
        End If
        Return MyBase.CanConvertFrom(context, sourceType)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CanConvertTo(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, destinationType As Type) As Boolean
        If destinationType = GetType(String) Then
            Return True
        End If
        Return MyBase.CanConvertTo(context, destinationType)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function ConvertFrom(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, culture As CultureInfo, value As Object) As Object
        If Not (TypeOf value Is String) Then
            Return MyBase.ConvertFrom(context, culture, value)
        End If
        Dim val As String = DirectCast(value, String)
        Dim measure As String = val.Substring(val.Length - 2, 2).ToLower()
        Dim dispValue As String = val.Substring(0, val.Length - 2)
        Dim disp As Double = Double.Parse(dispValue)
        If measure.ToLower() = "cc" Then
            Return disp
        Else
            Return disp * CubicInchesToCubicCentimeters
        End If
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function ConvertTo(context As ITypeDescriptorContext, culture As CultureInfo, value As Object, destinationType As Type) As Object
        If Not (destinationType = GetType(String)) Then
            Return MyBase.ConvertTo(context, culture, value, destinationType)
        End If
        Dim regionInfo As New RegionInfo(culture.LCID)
        Dim metric As Boolean = regionInfo.IsMetric
        If metric Then
            Return String.Format("{0:F0}cc", value)
        Else
            Dim cubicInches As Double = CDbl(value) * CubicCentimetersToCubicInches
            Return String.Format("{0:F0}ci", cubicInches)
        End If
    End Function
End Class

Do not forget to apply the TypeConverterAttribute. Additionally, we will specify the editor to be PropertyGridTextBoxEditor.

ApplyVolumeTypeAttribute


[TypeConverter(typeof(VolumeTypeConverter)),
Editor(typeof(PropertyGridTextBoxEditor), typeof(BaseInputEditor)),
Description("This property has a culture aware TypeConverter (VolumeTypeConverter) which can convert input from Cubic Inches and" +
            "Cubic Centimeters but when converting data for display it uses the current culture to determine" +
            "which system of measurement to use (Imperial or Metric). Values is stored in Cubic Centimeters")]
public double TotalLungCapacity { get; set; }

<TypeConverter(GetType(VolumeTypeConverter)), Editor(GetType(PropertyGridTextBoxEditor), GetType(BaseInputEditor)), Description("This property has a culture aware TypeConverter (VolumeTypeConverter) which can convert input from Cubic Inches and" + "Cubic Centimeters but when converting data for display it uses the current culture to determine" + "which system of measurement to use (Imperial or Metric). Values is stored in Cubic Centimeters")> _
Public Property TotalLungCapacity() As Double
    Get
        Return m_TotalLungCapacity
    End Get
    Set(value As Double)
        m_TotalLungCapacity = value
    End Set
End Property
Private m_TotalLungCapacity As Double

Figure 4: TotalLungCapacity Property

WinForms RadPropertyGrid TotalLungCapacity Property

See Also

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