DbAltGrid - multi-line layout and RTF text in a DBGrid descendant

DbAltGrid by Quasidata

Did you ever wish of having a grid that lets you display and edit data not as rows and columns, but as records? A grid that would allow you to build unique user interface solutions? We offer you a new approach to the data grid interface. We offer you DbAltGrid.

DbAltGrid is fully compatible with common DBGrid shipped with the VCL. The TDbAltGrid class is a TCustomDBGrid descendant, as TDBGrid is. By migration to DbAltGrid, you will not get any code conflict or loss in grid functionality.

DbAltGrid adds the following features to the common DBGrid:

Multiple lines per record. Unlike DBGrid, which displays each record in a single row, DbAltGrid allows a free-form layout for each record in the dataset. Layout is customizable at design-time as well as at runtime. Such an approach provides an extremely efficient screen space use.
Enhanced column resizing and moving. It is possible to resize and move any column both horizontally and vertically at design-time as well as at runtime. DbAltGrid animates the column being moved with position indicators for sharper look and feel. Enhanced row resizing. The end-user can adjust height of rows to meet her specific needs. Furthermore, if each row consists of many lines, the user can adjust height of every line separately. The height of each row and the width of a column can be fine tuned with a mouse double-click.
Hierarchical column structure. Now you can sort your columns into logical categories, consolidate them and assign any column to a shared parent column. A parent column is expandable and collapsible so that you can imitate a tree-like column structure this way. Such an interface is similar to the object and array field types in the Oracle8 database, but you can emulate this powerful technique with any database now. DbAltGrid supports object fields in TClientDataSet.
The footer panel at the bottom of the grid to display summary for every column.
Custmizable hint window for every cell, including title and footer cells.
In the auto-scale mode columns are resized proportionally to fill entire client width. There is another mode when columns can be either resized by the user manually or auto-scaled automatically (when the user resizes the most right column and releases the mouse button near the grid's edge, the column's width is adjusted to avoid a gap and columns are auto-scaled later implicitly).
Alternate row coloring. Odd and even rows can be filled with alternate background colors like in ledger books.
Clickable button-like depressible column headers. Header arrows indicate the columns the dataset is sorted against and the sorting order used as well as sorting possibility for any column. Images in title cells. A focus rectangle is drawn in the title cell of the selected column.
Automatic word-wrap in data cells. Ellipsis indicates when the text does not fit a data cell or a title cell. If it is the case the user can see the full text in a hint window.
Fast, smooth and flicker-free painting. Off-screen painting even by custom drawing in the OnDrawColumnCell event handler.
Smart key mapping. Optional Enter to Tab key automatic conversion. If you want, pressing the DownArrow key when the current record is the last record in the dataset does not result in appending a new empty record. It is still possible with a hot key.

DbAltGrid comes with a set of helper components:

Components that control displaying and editing of numeric, Boolean, date, time, memo, RTF, and graphic fields.
A component to indicate the string in a cell as a hyperlink.
A unique component for displaying child columns summary as a RTF text.
A component to save and load the grid's properties to and from a text file, a stream, a resource file/compiled resource, or the system registry at design-time as well at runtime. So it is possible to transfer settings from DBGrid to DbAltGrid and vice versa.

The taoDbGrid component wich is a part of Transfer@once provides extra functionality for DbAltGrid:

Data transfer through the clipboard and drag-and-drop using most popular formats including ones native to MS Word and MS Excel and supported by MS Access.
The user can select a single cell (with a mouse click), a range of records (with Shift+Click), multiple records (with Ctrl+Click) in the same mode.
Using a mouse equipped with a wheel, the user can scroll records line-by-line or, when holding down the Ctrl key, page-by-page.
Vertical scrolling is more intuitive. Records are scrolled line-by-line when the user clicks a scroll arrow on the vertical scroll bar. The indicator stays on the same row when the user scrolls records page-by-page with scroll bar.

DbAltGrid Suite 1.3 is available for Delphi 4, 5, 6 and C++ Builder 4, 5.

Please visit http://www.quasidata.com/dbaltgrid.html for additional information.