Populating Values From XML to a DataGridView And From a DataGridView to XML Using C#

Introduction

This document covers how to populate a DataGridView from XML and how to save DataGridView values back to XML.

Steps to configure

1. Open Visual Studio and create a new Windows application.

2.  Add a DataGridView to the form.

3.  Create a XML file in your local drive (Say D:\ drive) with the following code.

<Dataset>

  <Table1>

    <Server>Server1</Server>

    <Database>Database1</Database>

  </Table1>

  <Table1>

    <Server>Server2</Server>

    <Database>Database2</Database>

  </Table1>

</Dataset>

4. Add the following code in the form load event.

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

    //the path in which XML file is saved

    string path = "D:\\Santhosh\\XMLFile1.xml";

    DataSet ds=new DataSet();

    //Reading XML file and copying to dataset

    ds.ReadXml(path);

    dataGridView1.DataSource = ds;

    dataGridView1.DataMember = "table1";

}

5. Add a Button "Add" below the DataGridView as shown below.

6. Add the following code in the Button click event.

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

 {           

      //path of XML file

       string path = "D:\\Santhosh\\XMLFile1.xml";

       DataSet ds = new DataSet();

       DataTable dt = new DataTable();

       //Adding columns to datatable

       foreach (DataGridViewColumn col in dataGridView1.Columns)

       {

            dt.Columns.Add(col.DataPropertyName, col.ValueType);

        }

       //adding new rows

       foreach (DataGridViewRow row in dataGridView1.Rows)

       {                                   

           DataRow row1 = dt.NewRow();

           for (int i = 0; i < dataGridView1.ColumnCount; i++)

               //if value exists add that value else add Null for that field

               row1[i] = (row.Cells[i].Value == null ? DBNull.Value : row.Cells[i].Value);

               dt.Rows.Add(row1);

        }

        //Copying from datatable to dataset

        ds.Tables.Add(dt);

        //writing new values to XML

        ds.WriteXml(path);

        MessageBox.Show("Successfully added ", "Success");

        this.Close();                          
}

7. Run the solution. The following form should be displayed.

8. Now enter the new values in the DataGridView and click Add. Ensure that the values are being added.

9. Now check that the new value is being added in the XML file.

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>

<NewDataSet>

  <Table1>

    <Server>Server1</Server>

    <Database>Database1</Database>

  </Table1>

  <Table1>

    <Server>Server2</Server>

    <Database>Database2</Database>

  </Table1>

  <Table1>

    <Server>Server3</Server>

    <Database>Database3</Database>

  </Table1>

</NewDataSet>

Using the above concept to create connection string from XML

This can be used to configure a connection string at run time from XML. So the user can add his server name and database in XML and create connections at run time. Now add a DropDown and Button above the DataGridView as shown below. Add the following code in the form load event to populate databases in the dropdown as below.

  //Populating databases value in dropdown

  XmlDocument XMLDoc = new XmlDocument();

  XMLDoc.Load(path);

  //Give Node name here

  XmlNodeList nodelist = XMLDoc.SelectNodes("NewDataSet/Table1");

  foreach(XmlNode node in nodelist)
  {

      comboBox1.Items.Add(node.SelectSingleNode("Database").InnerText);

  }

Now add the following code to fetch a server name on selecting a database in the DropDown and click on Connect.

private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

    string path = "D:\\Santhosh\\XMLFile1.xml";

    string server="";

    XmlDocument XMLDoc = new XmlDocument();

    XMLDoc.Load(path);

    //Give Node name here

    XmlNodeList nodelist = XMLDoc.SelectNodes("NewDataSet/Table1");

    foreach (XmlNode node in nodelist)

    {

        if ((node.SelectSingleNode("Database").InnerText) == comboBox1.SelectedItem.ToString())

        {

            server = node.SelectSingleNode("Server").InnerText;

        }

    }

}

Now using the database and server, create a new SqlConnection as usual.

Conclusion

By using the above code, a user can populate a DataGridView from XML and again save back the new values to the XML file. This can be very useful in creating a connection string also.

//Added solution file using VS2010