HOWTO: Display Hierarchical Data Using the MSHFlexGrid

• Microsoft Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 6.0

SUMMARY

As its name suggests, the MSHFlexGrid control that ships with Visual Basic 6.0 allows database data to be displayed in an aggregated, hierarchical format. Using this control in conjunction with the Data Environment Designer, developers can easily and logically display information contained in several different database tables, which are connected through the use of foreign keys.

MORE INFORMATION

The Data Environment Designer is a tool that enables developers to encapsulate ActiveX Data Object (ADO) connection and command objects in a reusable Visual Basic object. This sample project makes use of a Data Environment Designer to establish a connection to SQL Server and to retrieve related data from two tables in the Pubs sample database via command objects. The related data is then displayed in a hierarchical format in the MSHFlexGrid control.

To create this sample, do the following:

1. Create a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.



2. On the Project menu, click Components, and click the Designers tab in the Components window. On the Designers tab, make sure that the Data Environment check box is selected. On the Controls tab, select the check box next to the Microsoft Hierarchical FlexGrid Control 6.0 option. Then click OK to exit the Components window.



3. On the Project menu, click Add Data Environment, which adds the DataEnvironment1 object to your project.



4. If the object window for the DataEnvironment1 object is not visible, right-click the DataEnvironment1 object in Project Explorer and select View Object.



5. In the DataEnvironment1 object window, right-click the Connection1 icon pictured beneath the DataEnvironment1 icon and select the Properties option from the pop-up menu (this displays the Data Link Properties window).



6. Select the Use Connection String option, and click Build. Select the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server option, and click Next.



7. Under step 1 on the Connection tab, select or enter the name of the SQL Server that you are using for this project.



8. Under step 2, enter a user name and password that are valid values for your SQL Server Environment. Also select the Allow Saving Of Password check box.



9. Under step 3, select the Pubs sample database from the combo box. Click Test to test your connection information. If your test is successful, click OK to exit the Data Link Properties window.



10. Right-click the Connection1 icon in the object window for the DataEnvironment1 object. Select the Add Command option from the pop-up menu to add a new command object to your project.



11. Right-click the new Command1 icon in the DataEnvironment1 object window and select the Properties option from the pop-up window (this displays the Command1 Properties window).



12. On the General tab, select the SQL Statement option button and cut and paste the following code into the enabled text box:

    
          SELECT pub_id, pub_name FROM Publishers
     

    Then click OK to close the Command1 Properties window.



13. Right-click the Command1 icon in the DataEnvironment1 object window, and select the Add Child Command option from the pop-up menu (this adds another icon to the DataEnvironment1 object window called Command2).



14. Right-click the Command2 icon in the DataEnvironment1 object window and select the Properties option from the pop-up menu (this displays the Command2 Properties window).



15. On the General tab, select the SQL Statement option button and cut and paste the following code into the enabled text box:

    
          SELECT pub_id, title, price FROM Titles
     




16. On the Relation tab, make sure that the pub_id value is selected in both the Parent Fields and the Child Fields/Parameters combo boxes. Then click Add (this creates a hierarchical relationship between the pub_id fields that are selected in the two command objects).



17. Place an MSHFlexGrid control onto Form1, the default form of the project.



18. Select the MSHFlexGrid control that you added to Form1, then select the Properties window.



19. Select the DataEnvironment1 option for the DataSource property, and select the Command1 option for the DataMember property.



20. Now run your project. The MSHFlexGrid control is filled with data from both the Publishers and Titles tables of the Pubs database, and the information is hierarchically grouped.

   Option Explicit

   Private Sub Form_Load()
       DataEnvironment1.Command1
       Set MSHFlexGrid1.DataSource = DataEnvironment1.rsCommand1
   End Sub 

REFERENCES

Search for "MSHFlexGrid control" in the MSDN Library for Visual Studio 6

Additional query words: kbDSupport kbdse kbVBp kbVBp600

Keywords : kbVBp600 kbGrpVBDB
Version : WINDOWS:6.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto