Create drop down list options from enum in a DataGridView

Question

I currently have a class and I\'m trying to create an easy GUI to create a collection of this class. Most of the attributes of this class are strings. However, one of the at

Answer 1

I do not know if that would work with a DataGridView column but it works with ComboBoxes:

comboBox1.DataSource = Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyEnum));

and:

MyEnum value = (MyEnum)comboBox1.SelectedValue;

UPDATE: It works with DataGridView columns too, just remember to set the value type.

DataGridViewComboBoxColumn col = new DataGridViewComboBoxColumn();
col.Name = "My Enum Column";
col.DataSource = Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyEnum));
col.ValueType = typeof(MyEnum);
dataGridView1.Columns.Add(col);

Answer 2

Or, if you need to do some filtering of the enumerator values, you can loop through Enum.GetValues(typeof(EnumeratorName)) and add the ones you want using:

dataGridViewComboBoxColumn.Items.Add(EnumeratorValue)

As an aside, rather than using a DataTable, you can set the DataSource of the DataGridView to a BindingSource object, with the DataSource of the BindingSource object set to a BindingList<Your Class>, which you populate by passing an IList into the constructor.

Actually, I'd be interested to know from anyone if this is preferable to using a DataTable in situations where you don't already have one (i.e. it is returned from a database call).