Column Header

Nov 21, 2025
2 minutes to read

Column headers identify columns in Grid Views, Banded Grid Views, and Advanced Banded Grid Views. A column header contains the following UI elements:

The column header panel contains headers of all visible columns. Headers of grouped columns are displayed in the group panel. The Customization Form displays headers of hidden columns. A right click on a column header in the header panel or the group panel activates the column header context menu.

The following table lists the main properties that allow you to customize column headers:

Appearance

The GridViewAppearances.HeaderPanel property specifies appearance settings for all column headers. Individual columns may override these settings using the GridColumn.AppearanceHeader property.

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Custom Draw Event

GridView.CustomDrawColumnHeader

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Visibility

GridOptionsView.ShowColumnHeaders and GridOptionsView.ShowGroupPanel options specify whether to display the column header panel and group panel respectively. A column’s OptionsColumn.ShowInCustomizationForm option specifies whether the column header can appear in the Customization Form when the column is hidden.

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Contents

GridColumn.Caption, GridColumn.ImageOptions

You can use HTML tags to format a column’s caption if the GridOptionsView.AllowHtmlDrawHeaders option is enabled.

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Tooltips

GridOptionsHint.ShowColumnHeaderHints, GridColumn.ToolTip

If the view’s OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation is active, a user can can navigate to column headers using the keyboard. You can also focus a column header in code:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.XtraEditors;
using DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.BandedGrid;
using DevExpress.Utils;

public partial class Form1 : XtraForm {

    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        gridView1.OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation = DefaultBoolean.True;
        focusBtn.Click += focusBtn_Click;
    }
    void focusBtn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            gridView1.FocusedRowHandle = GridControl.ColumnsRowHandle;
            gridView1.FocusedColumn = gridView1.Columns[0];
        }
}

Imports DevExpress.XtraEditors
Imports DevExpress.XtraGrid.Views.BandedGrid
Imports DevExpress.Utils

Public Partial Class Form1
    Inherits XtraForm

    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()
        gridView1.OptionsNavigation.AllowHeaderNavigation = DefaultBoolean.True
        AddHandler focusBtn.Click, AddressOf focusBtn_Click
    End Sub

    Private Sub focusBtn_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        gridView1.FocusedRowHandle = GridControl.ColumnsRowHandle
        gridView1.FocusedColumn = gridView1.Columns(0)
    End Sub
End Class