COURSE NAME: Computer Programming II – C# with Database
COURSE CODE: CPRG2301
TOPIC: BindingSource and BindingNavigator Controls in Windows Form
LECTURE 14
Working With a BindingNavigator Control in Windows Form
The BindingSource offers the easiest way to navigate through records in a data source. Iit is
designed to simplify the process of binding controls to an underlying data source. Whereas
a BindingNavigator is paired mostly with a BindingSource control to move through data records
on a form and interact with them.
The BindingNavigator control provides a UI for navigating records in a form. Generally this
control is used with the BindingSource control to move from a record to another record. By
default this control has a series of buttons for moving to next and previous records as well as first
and last records, to add a new record and to delete a record. Here we will use this control in our
Windows application.
At first we should have some records. So we create a Database and insert some records into the
database table.
Create Database
CREATE DATABASE EMP
USE EMP
CREATE TABLE EMP_DETAIL
(
E_ID INT PRIMARY KEY,
E_NAME VARCHAR(30),
E_AGE INT,
E_CITY VARCHAR(30),
E_DEPARTMENT VARCHAR(20)
)
INSERT
INSERT
INSERT
INSERT
INSERT
INSERT
INTO
INTO
INTO
INTO
INTO
INTO
EMP_DETAIL
EMP_DETAIL
EMP_DETAIL
EMP_DETAIL
EMP_DETAIL
EMP_DETAIL
VALUES(11,'ALOK KUMAR',24,'DELHI','IT')
VALUES(12,'RAJESH TRIPATHI',22,'ALLAHABAD','SALES')
VALUES(13,'SATISH KUMAR',23,'JHANSI','PRODUCT')
VALUES(14,'MANOJ SINGH',22,'NOIDA','MARKETING')
VALUES(15,'AMIT MAHESHWARI',25,'ALLIGARH','IT')
VALUES(16,'DEEPAK DWIJ',24,'NOIDA','IT')
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I am showing a screen shot of all records of an EMP_DETAIL table so that it can become easy
to understand.
SELECT * FROM EMP_DETAIL
Now create a Windows Forms application. Follow the given steps.
Step 1 : Go to Toolbox and take a BindingSource and a BindingNavigator control.
Step 2: It will add to your form like in the following figure.
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Step 3: Now we set DataSource and DataMember properties to a BindingSource object. Now
select BindingNavigator and go to its property window. Set the "BindingSource" property to
bindingSource1. Look at the following figure.
Step 4: Take five Labels and five TextBox controls. Set the Text property of the Labels to "ID",
"Name", "Age", "City", and "Department" and the name property of the TextBoxes to "txtid",
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"txtname", "txtage", "txtcity" and "txtdepartment". (In this example I have set these properties as
given.)
Step 5: Now select a TextBox and go to its Text property under DataBindings.
Step 6 : Click at Text property -> Click at bindingSource1 and select appropriate column. (Look
at the following figure; I am selecting "E_ID" to show the value of this column in the TextBox.)
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Step 7 : Do the same for the remaining TextBoxes.
Run the application.
Output
You can move to first, previous, next and last records as well and you can add new records and
delete records.
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Now we perform the same work without using a wizard. Take a Windows Forms application ->
take a BindingSource, a BindingNavigator, five Labels and five TextBoxes and set the Text and
Name property like as Step 4. Your form will look like in the following figure.
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Write the following code.
using
using
using
using
using
using
using
using
using
System;
System.Collections.Generic;
System.ComponentModel;
System.Data;
System.Drawing;
System.Linq;
System.Text;
System.Windows.Forms;
System.Data.SqlClient;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
public partial class Form2 : Form
{
public Form2()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
SqlDataAdapter da;
DataSet ds;
private void Form2_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
da = new SqlDataAdapter("select * from
emp_detail","database=emp;server=.;user=sa;password=wintellect");
ds = new DataSet();
da.Fill(ds);
bindingSource1.DataSource = ds.Tables[0];
bindingNavigator1.BindingSource = this.bindingSource1;
txtid.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text", bindingSource1, "E_ID", true));
txtname.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text", bindingSource1, "E_NAME", true));
txtage.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text", bindingSource1, "E_AGE", true));
txtcity.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text", bindingSource1, "E_CITY", true));
txtdepartment.DataBindings.Add(new Binding("Text",
bindingSource1, "E_DEPARTMENT",true));
}
}
}
Run the application.
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You can perform different operation like above.
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BindingSource and BindingNavigator
Introduction
What is BindingSource?
It supports the binding of control elements in a form, and can be seen as a link between a data
source and a control element. It provides advantages over traditional data binding such as:

Interoperates with other data-related Windows Forms controls, i.e., the BindingNavigator and
theDataGridView controls.
The default property for the BindingSource class is DataSource. The default event
is CurrentChanged. TheBindingSource provides a number of methods, properties, and events
such as CurrentItemChanged andDataSourceChanged, that allow for customization.
The Position property gets or sets the index of the current item in the underlying list.
The MoveLast() method changes the current value of the Position property to the index of the
last item in the underlying data source, which is equal to the value of the Count property minus 1.
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For example:
//attach the BindingSource to the DataGridView.
this.customersDataGridView1.DataSource = this.customersBindingSource1;
or
//gets the total number of the items.
int count = this.flagsBindingSource.Count;
or
//gets or sets the index of the current item.
int pos = this.customersBindingSource1.Position;
or
//moves to the last item in the list.
//MoveLast() OR equivalent
this.bindingSource1.Position = this.bindingSource1.Count - 1;
Data Binding With »BindingSource« in a Windows Application
If you want to navigate through records in a data source as mentioned before,
the BindingSource offers the better and easiest way to do this. You can bind
a BindingSource component to the data source, and then bind, e.g., TextBox controls to
the BindingSource as we will see later. We can then use the built-in navigation methods on
the BindingSource such as MoveNext(), MovePrevious(), MoveFirst(), and MoveLast().
The easiest way to see the BindingSource and BindingNavigator in action is as follows: choose
the menu options: Data-->Show Data Source-->Add New Data Source. After you establish the
connection, choose a DataSet, and select a table, you will see in the Data Source window the table
you chose. From there, now you can drag/drop the table onto the Windows Form, and you get the
data from the dragged table on aDataGridView including
the BindingSource, DataSet, TableAdapter, and BindingSource automatically.
But we want to go another way which I think is the better way to understand and see
how BindingSource andBindingNavigator work together.
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First drag/drop five TextBoxes, six Labels, four Buttons, and a BindingSource from
the Toolbox onto the form.
Now we have to adjust the two properties for the objects to find the data source clearly, which are:


DataSource
DataMember
After setting the DataSource in the Properties window, click "Add Project Data Source..."
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In the next dialog window, you choose the database, and click Next.
Through the Next button, you come to a new dialog. Here you search for an available database
connection, or you create a new connection.
After you click the Next button, you will get the following dialog where you choose your database
object, in other words: you choose here the table "Customer" and tick it, and click the Finish button.
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Now, you have created and added, as you can see, a new typed DataSet "northwindDataSet".
Mark theDataMember in the Properties window, and click the "Customers" table. Now, an
of TableAdapter is created. A TableAdapter is similar to a DataAdapter, but related to
a DataTable. For example: if it describes the table "Customers", then the name of
the TableAdapter is customersTableAdapter; for the table "Authors", the name would
be authorsTableAdapter etc.
Now you have to combine all the control elements (TextBoxes) with the BindingSource object.
You can do this in the Properties window entry "DataBinding" of each TextBox.
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You mark textBoxCustId and extend the "DataBinding" entry in the Properties window.
Click Text, and then choose here the column "CustomerID". Combine textBoxCompanyName with
the column "CompanyName" and so on.
At this point, we have completed binding all the TextBox controls to the BindingSource.
Navigation methods of the BindingSource
MoveNext( ), MovePrevious( ), MoveFirst( ), and MoveLast( )
Here are the event handlers for the Click events of the buttons (Next, Previous, First, Last) for
navigation.
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Next button:
private void btNext_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (this.bindingSource1.Position + 1 < this.bindingSource1.Count)
{
this.bindingSource1.MoveNext();
this.fnDisplayPosition();
}
}
Previous button:
Collapse | Copy Code
private void btPrevious_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.bindingSource1.MovePrevious();
this.fnDisplayPosition();
}
First button:
Collapse | Copy Code
private void btFirst_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.bindingSource1.MoveFirst();
this.fnDisplayPosition();
}
Last button:
Collapse | Copy Code
private void btLast_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.bindingSource1.MoveLast();
this.fnDisplayPosition();
}
Display the position of the current record:
Collapse | Copy Code
private void fnDisplayPosition()
{
this.labelPosition.Text = this.bindingSource1.Position +
1 + " of " + this.bindingSource1.Count;
}
You can run the application, and the four navigation buttons should function now. But we have not
implemented the BindingNavigator yet.
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What is BindingNavigator?
The BindingNavigator control represents a standard way to navigate and manipulate data on a
form. It is a special-purpose ToolStrip control for navigating and manipulating controls on the
Windows Form.
In most cases, a BindingNavigator is combined with a BindingSource control to move through
data records on a Windows Form. It is easy to modify the BindingNavigator component if you
want to add additional or alternative commands for the user.
Now, from the Toolbox, drag/drop a BindingNavigator onto the Form, and the Windows Forms
Designer puts it by default on the top automatically.
And at last, that brings us to our final operation. The BindingNavigator still does not know where
the data source is. We have to show the BindingNavigator where its data source is.
Mark bindingNavigator1 on the Form1[Design] and set
the BindingNavigator control's BindingSource property to
the BindingSource (here:bindingSource1) on the Form.
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Now the BindingNavigator is ready to do its task as a link between the data source and the
control elements.
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