Column template in Angular Grid component

13 Jun 202424 minutes to read

Grid component provides a template option that allows you to display custom elements in a column instead of the field value. This can be useful when you need to display images, buttons, or other custom content within a column.

When using template columns, they are primarily meant for rendering custom content and may not provide built-in support for grid actions like sorting, filtering, editing. It is must to define the field property of the column to perform any grid actions.

Render image in a column

To render an image in a grid column, you need to define a template for the column using the template property. The template property expects the HTML element or a function that returns the HTML element.

The following example demonstrates how to define a template for the Employee Image field that displays an image element. The template property is set to the HTML element that contains an image tag. You have utilized the src and alt attributes to an image tag.

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData } from './datasource';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column headerText='Employee Image' width='150' textAlign='Center'>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div class="image">
                                    <img src="{{data.EmployeeID}}.png" alt="{{data.EmployeeID}}"/>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                        <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='FirstName' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column field='LastName' headerText='Last Name' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column field='City' headerText='City' width=100></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = employeeData;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

The template option allows to define any HTML content within a column.

The Grid component provides support for rendering hyperlink columns and performing routing on click using the template property. This feature is useful when displaying data that requires a link to another page or website.

The following example demonstrates, how to render hyperlink column in the Grid using the template property of the e-column tag. To define a template for the column, you can use the ng-template with the a tag to create the hyperlink. The onClick function is triggered when the hyperlink is clicked.

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData } from './datasource';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='EmployeeID' headerText='Employee ID' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='LastName' headerText='Last Name' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='FirstName' width=150>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div>
                                    <a href="#" (click)="onClick($event, data.FirstName)">
                                    {{data.FirstName}}
                                    </a>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = employeeData;
    }

    onClick(event:MouseEvent, firstName: string) {
        var url = 'https://www.google.com/search?q=';
        var searchUrl = url + firstName; 
        window.open(searchUrl);
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

The window.open() method is a built-in JavaScript function that opens a new browser window or tab with the specified URL.

Render other components in a column

The column template has options to render a custom component in a grid column instead of a field value.

Render LineChart component in a column

The LineChart component of Syncfusion provides an elegant way to represent and compare data over time. It displays data points connected by straight line segments to visualize trends in data.

In the following example, we rendered the Sparkline Chart component in the Grid column by defining the template property.

import { Component, OnInit, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData } from './datasource';
import { Sparkline } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-charts';
import { GridComponent,} from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-root',
  template: `
    <ejs-grid #grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px' (created)="renderGridSparkline()">
      <e-columns>
        <e-column field='EmployeeID' headerText='Employee ID' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
        <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='FirstName' width=150></e-column>
        <e-column headerText='Employee Performance Rating' width='280'>
          <ng-template #template let-griddata>
            <div id="spkline{{griddata.EmployeeID}}"></div>
          </ng-template>
        </e-column>
      </e-columns>
    </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

  public data?: object[] = employeeData;
  @ViewChild('grid')
  grid?: GridComponent;

  public lineData: object[] = [
    [0, 6, -4, 1, -3, 2, 5],
    [5, -4, 6, 3, -1, 2, 0],
    [6, 4, 0, 3, -2, 5, 1],
    [4, -6, 3, 0, 1, -2, 5],
    [3, 5, -6, -4, 0, 1, 2],
    [1, -3, 4, -2, 5, 0, 6],
    [2, 4, 0, -3, 5, -6, 1],
    [5, 4, -6, 3, 1, -2, 0],
    [0, -6, 4, 1, -3, 2, 5],
    [6, 4, 0, -3, 2, -5, 1],
  ];

  ngOnInit(): void {
  }

  public getSparkData(type: string, count: number) {
    return this.lineData[count] as number[];
  }

  public renderGridSparkline(): void {
    setTimeout(() => {
      const length =(this.grid as GridComponent).getDataRows().length
      for (let i: number = 1; i <= length; i++) {
        let line: Sparkline = new Sparkline({
          height: '50px',
          width: '90%',
          lineWidth: 2,
          valueType: 'Numeric',
          fill: '#3C78EF',
          dataSource: this.getSparkData('line', i)
        });
        line.appendTo('#spkline' + i);
      }
    }, 100)
  }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Render ColorPicker component in a column

The ColorPicker component of Syncfusion provides a user-friendly way to select colors from a pre-defined color palette or custom colors. It can be used in a variety of scenarios such as picking a theme color or changing the color of an element on a page.

In the following code, we rendered the ColorPicker component in the Grid column by defining the template property.

<div>
    <input ejs-colorpicker #colorPicker id="color-picker" type="color" [mode]="modeSettings" (change)="change($event)"/>
</div>

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, GroupService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { ButtonModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'
import { ColorPickerModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-inputs'



import { Component, OnInit, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData } from './datasource';
import { GridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids';
import { ColorPickerEventArgs } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-inputs';

@Component({
imports: [
        
        ButtonModule,
        GridModule,
        ColorPickerModule
    ],

providers: [PageService,
                SortService,
                FilterService,
                GroupService],
standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid #grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'[enableHover]="false">
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='FirstName' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column field='LastName' headerText='Last Name' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column field='City' headerText='City' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column headerText='Change the color of row' width='120' textAlign='Center'>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div class="colorpicker">
                                    <input ejs-colorpicker #colorPicker id="color-picker" type="color" [mode]="modeSettings" (change)="change($event)"/>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];
    public modeSettings = 'Palette'
    @ViewChild('grid') 
    public grid?: GridComponent;

    change(args: ColorPickerEventArgs) {
        const selectedRows = (this.grid as GridComponent).getSelectedRows() as HTMLElement[];
        for (const row of selectedRows) {
            row.style.backgroundColor = args.value as string;
        }
        (this.grid as GridComponent).clearSelection();
    }

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = employeeData;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Render DropDownList component in a column

To render a custom component in a grid column, you need to define a template for the column using the template property. In the following code, we rendered the DropDownList component in the Order Status column by defining the template property.

<div>
    <ejs-dropdownlist [value]='data.OrderStatus' width="100" [dataSource]='dropData' [popupHeight]='150' [popupWidth]='150' ></ejs-dropdownlist>
</div>

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { ButtonModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'
import { DropDownListModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-dropdowns'



import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { data } from './datasource';

@Component({
imports: [
        
        GridModule,
        ButtonModule,
        DropDownListModule
    ],

standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid #grid [dataSource]='data' [height]='300'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='OrderID' headerText='Order ID' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='CustomerID' headerText='Customer ID' width=100></e-column>
                        <e-column field='Freight' headerText='Freight' textAlign='Right' format='C2' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column headerText='Order Status'width='200'>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div>
                                    <ejs-dropdownlist [value]='data.OrderStatus' width="100" [dataSource]='dropData' [popupHeight]='150' [popupWidth]='150' >
                                    </ejs-dropdownlist>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];
    public dropData?: string[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = data;
        this.dropData = ['Order Placed', 'Processing', 'Delivered'];
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Render Chip component in a column

The Grid component provides support for rendering Chips component in a column using the template property. This feature is useful when displaying data that requires a chip component to be rendered in a column.

In the following code, we rendered the Chips component in the Grid First Name column by defining the template property.

<div>
    <ejs-chiplist id="chip" [text]="data.FirstName"></ejs-chiplist>
</div>

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, GroupService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { ButtonModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'
import { ChipListModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData } from './datasource';

@Component({
imports: [
        
        ButtonModule,
        GridModule,
        ChipListModule
    ],

providers: [PageService,
                SortService,
                FilterService,
                GroupService],
standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='LastName' headerText='Last Name' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='City' headerText='City' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='FirstName' width=150>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div class="chip">
                                    <ejs-chiplist id="chip" [text]="data.FirstName"></ejs-chiplist>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = employeeData;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Render ProgressBar component in a column

The Syncfusion Grid component supports rendering the Progress Bar component within a column using the template property. Displaying the Progress Bar component in a grid column allows users to visually track the progress of tasks or operations associated with specific records. This feature is particularly useful for applications involving processes such as data loading, task completion, or other progressive activities.

In the following code, the Progress Bar component render in the Grid Freight column by defining the template property.

<div>
    <ejs-progressbar id='data.OrderID' type='Linear' height='60' 
    [value]='data.Freight' trackThickness=24 progressThickness='20'>
    </ejs-progressbar>
</div>

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule,  } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { ProgressBarModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-progressbar';
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { data } from './datasource';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';


@Component({
    imports: [
        CommonModule,
        GridModule,
        ProgressBarModule
    ],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='OrderID' headerText='Order ID' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='CustomerID' headerText='Customer Name' width=150>
                        </e-column>
                        <e-column field='Freight' headerText='Freight' width=150>
                            <ng-template #template let-data>
                                <div>
                                    <ejs-progressbar id='data.OrderID' type='Linear' height='60' 
                                    [value]='data.Freight' trackThickness=24 progressThickness='20'>
                                    </ejs-progressbar>
                                </div>
                            </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = data;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Using condition template

The conditional column template allows you to display template elements based on specific conditions.

The following example demonstrates how to use the template property with the ng-template element and add *ngIf directive to render the checkbox based on the value of the Discontinued field. The Discontinued field will render a checkbox in each row for which the value of the Discontinued field is true.

<e-column headerText='Discontinued' width='150' textAlign='Center'>
    <ng-template #template let-data>
        <div *ngIf="data.Discontinued; else elseblock">
            <input type="checkbox" checked>
        </div>
    </ng-template>
    <ng-template #elseblock><input type="checkbox">
    </ng-template>
</e-column>

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'



import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { categoryData } from './datasource';

@Component({
imports: [
                
        GridModule
    ],

standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column headerText='Discontinued' width='150' textAlign='Center'>
                          <ng-template #template let-data>
                            <div *ngIf="data.Discontinued; else elseblock">
                                 <input type="checkbox" checked>
                            </div>
                          </ng-template>
                          <ng-template #elseblock><input type="checkbox"></ng-template>
                       </e-column>
                        <e-column field='ProductID' headerText='Product ID' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='CategoryName' headerText='Category Name' width=150></e-column>
                        <e-column field='ProductName' headerText='Product Name' width=150></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = categoryData;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

You can use any template element or custom component instead of the checkbox in the conditional template based on your requirement.

How to get the row object by clicking on the template element

The Grid component allows you to retrieve the row object of the selected record when clicking on a template element. This feature can be useful when you need to perform custom actions based on the selected record.

In the following code, the button element is rendered in the Employee Data column and click event binding is used to call the showDetails method when the template element is clicked. The showDetails method is passed the data object as an argument, which allows you to access the selected row object and display it in the dialog popup.

import { Component, OnInit, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
import { employeeData, SelectedRecordDataType } from './datasource';
import { GridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids';
import { DialogComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-popups';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `
    <ejs-grid #grid [dataSource]='data' height='315px'>
        <e-columns>
            <e-column field='EmployeeID' headerText='Employee ID' textAlign='Right' width=130></e-column>
            <e-column field='FirstName' headerText='Name' width=120></e-column>
            <e-column headerText='Employee Data' width='150' textAlign='Right' isPrimaryKey='true'>
                <ng-template #template let-data>
                    <button class="empData" (click)="showDetails(data)">View</button>
                    <div [hidden]="!selectedRecord || selectedRecord !== data">
                        <ejs-dialog
                            #Dialog
                            [visible]="false"
                            width="50%"
                            showCloseIcon="true"
                            [header]="header"
                        >
                            <p><b>EmployeeID:</b> {{ selectedRecord?.EmployeeID }}</p>
                            <p><b>FirstName:</b> {{ selectedRecord?.FirstName }}</p>
                            <p><b>LastName:</b> {{ selectedRecord?.LastName }}</p>
                        </ejs-dialog>
                    </div>
                </ng-template>
            </e-column>
        </e-columns>
    </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];
    public header?: string;
    @ViewChild('grid')
    public grid?: GridComponent;
    @ViewChild('Dialog')
    public dialog?: DialogComponent;
    public selectedRecord?: SelectedRecordDataType;

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = employeeData;
        this.header = 'Selected Row Details';
    }
    showDetails(data: SelectedRecordDataType) {
        (this.dialog as DialogComponent).visible = true;
        this.selectedRecord = data;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Use custom helper inside the template

The Syncfusion Grid allows you to use custom helpers inside the ng-template directive of a column. This feature allows you to create complex templates that can incorporate additional helper functions that are not available through the default template syntax.

To use the custom helper function inside a column template, you must first add the function to the template’s context.

The following example demonstrates how to use a custom helper function inside the template property, using the ng-template element for the Freight column.

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { data } from './datasource';

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `<ejs-grid #grid [dataSource]='data' [height]='300'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='OrderID' headerText='Order ID' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='CustomerID' headerText='Customer ID' width=120></e-column>
                        <e-column field='Freight' headerText='Freight' textAlign='Right' format='C2' width=90>
                        <ng-template #template let-data>
                            {{ formatCurrency(data.Freight) }}
                        </ng-template>
                        </e-column>
                        <e-column field='OrderDate' headerText='Order Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' width=120></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-grid>`
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data?: object[];

    public formatCurrency(value: number): string {
        return '₹ ' + value.toFixed(3);
    }

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = data;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Custom helpers can only be used inside the ng-template directive of a column.

Dynamically adding template column

The Syncfusion Grid component allows you to dynamically add template columns at runtime. This capability is particularly useful when the structure of the grid needs to be modified based on individual interactions or other dynamic conditions.

Dynamically adding template columns involves creating and inserting columns with custom templates after the grid has been initialized. This approach provides flexibility in presenting data in a highly customizable manner.

The following example demonstrates how to add template column using external button click. In this example, the ShipCountry column with a Dropdownlist is added in column template, and an icon is displayed using the headerTemplate for the ShipCountry column.

import { NgModule, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule,  } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { GridModule, GridComponent, Column, ColumnModel } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { data } from './datasource';
import { ButtonModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'
import { DropDownListModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-dropdowns'

@Component({
    imports: [
        GridModule,
        ButtonModule,
        DropDownListModule
    ],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    template: `
    <button ejs-button id="button" cssClass="e-outline" (click)="addTemplateColumn()">Add Column</button>
    <ejs-grid style="margin-top: 10px" id='grid' #grid [dataSource]='dataSet' height='315px'>
        <e-columns>
            <e-column field='OrderID' headerText='Order ID' width=80></e-column>
            <e-column field='CustomerID' headerText='Customer Name' width=100>
            </e-column>
            <e-column field='Freight' headerText='Freight' width=80></e-column>
            <ng-template let-data #template>
                <ejs-dropdownlist id="data.OrderID" [dataSource]="dataSet" [value]="data.ShipCountry" [fields]='fields' index=0></ejs-dropdownlist>
            </ng-template>
            <ng-template #headerTemplate let-data>
                <div>
                <span class="e-icons e-location"></span> Ship Country
                </div>
            </ng-template>
        </e-columns>
    </ejs-grid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public dataSet?: object[];
    @ViewChild('grid')
    public grid: GridComponent;
    @ViewChild('template')
    public template: object;  
    @ViewChild('headerTemplate')
    public headerTemplate: object;
    public fields: Object = { text: 'ShipCountry', value: 'ShipCountry'};

    public addTemplateColumn() {
        var templateColumnValues = {field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', width: 100, headerTemplate: this.headerTemplate, template: this.template};
        this.grid.columns.push(templateColumnValues as Column & string & ColumnModel);
        this.grid.refreshColumns();
    }

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.dataSet = data;
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));