Disable selecting in WPF DataGrid

Question

How can I disable selecting in a WPFTooklit\'s DataGrid? I tried modifying the solution that works for ListView (from WPF ListView turn off selecti

Answer 1

If someone else is facing same problem, they may find it helpful.

We had a requirement to disable few rows on datagrid, but at the same time allow ARROW key navigation on them. This is why we had to switch to 'IsHitTestVisible' instead of controlling 'IsEnabled' property. So we couldn't adopt to above solution of switching to 'IsEnable' property.

Here is how I ended up solving this issue. I created a new attached property (RowEnable) for DataGridRow. This attached property can be bind to a viewmodel property to control 'virtual' enable and disablement. I also created a new style for DataGridCell where I am setting 'IsHitTestVisible' to false based on the same viewmodel property. So, consider it like a row which mouse/keyboard can see, but can't see its cells/columns. This means now I can style the row based on new attached property (RowEnabled) to look disabled/enabled. At the same time, I can view tooltips for these rows which are virtually disabled.

Answer 2

The clean way would be, to just override the styles of the row and the cell

<DataGrid.Resources>
    <ResourceDictionary>
        <Style x:Key="{x:Type DataGridCell}" TargetType="{x:Type DataGridCell}">
            <Setter Property="Background" Value="{x:Null}" />
            <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{x:Null}" />
            <Style.Triggers>
                <Trigger Property="IsSelected" Value="True">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="{x:Null}" />
                    <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{x:Null}" />
                </Trigger>
            </Style.Triggers>
        </Style>
        <Style TargetType="{x:Type DataGridRow}">
            <Setter Property="Background" Value="{x:Null}" />
            <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{x:Null}" />
            <Style.Triggers>
                <Trigger Property="IsSelected" Value="True">
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="{x:Null}" />
                    <Setter Property="BorderBrush" Value="{x:Null}" />
                </Trigger>
            </Style.Triggers>
        </Style>
    </ResourceDictionary>
</DataGrid.Resources>

Answer 3

As pointed out by Sonic Soul here, viky's solution doesn't actually work.

Here is actual working code to disable selection in a DataGrid:

grid.SelectionChanged += (obj, e) => 
  Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(DispatcherPriority.Render, new Action(() => 
    grid.UnselectAll())); 

Answer 4

I needed a code behind solution. This works for me:

controlGrid.SelectedCellsChanged += (sender, e) =>
    Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherPriority.Render, new Action(() =>
        controlGrid.UnselectAll()));
controlGrid.Columns.Clear();

Because it sometimes flickers, the BackgroundProperty also be set to transparent.

Style dataGridCellStyle = new Style(typeof(DataGridCell));
Setter newSetterCell = new Setter(DataGridCell.BackgroundProperty, Brushes.Transparent);
dataGridCellStyle.Setters.Add(newSetterCell);
controlGrid.CellStyle = dataGridCellStyle;

Answer 5

To completely disable selection of rows in a DataGrid, you could do the following:

<DataGrid>
    <DataGrid.RowStyle>
        <Style TargetType="DataGridRow">
            <Setter Property="IsHitTestVisible" Value="False"/>
        </Style>
    </DataGrid.RowStyle>
    <!--Other DataGrid items-->
</DataGrid>

This could be considered more favorable than setting <Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="False"/> due to the fact that doing the aforementioned technique causes the style of the row to change. It also does not disable context menus from appearing when right-clicking.

Lastly: it is important to note that setting "IsHitTestVisible" to "False" disables all interaction with the rows, including editing.

However, if all you want to do is change the styling of the row when selected, please view the answers here.

Answer 6

Another simple way is to change the Selection Style with an IsSelected Trigger to Transparent.