Column chooser in Angular TreeGrid component

19 Sep 202422 minutes to read

The column chooser feature in the Syncfusion Angular TreeGrid component allows you to dynamically show or hide columns. This feature can be enabled by defining the showColumnChooser property as true.

To use the column chooser, you need to inject the ColumnChooserService in the provider section of AppModule.

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';

@Component({
    imports: [TreeGridModule],
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: `<ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [toolbar]="toolbar" [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks'>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' width=180></e-column>
                        <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                        </e-column>
                        <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-treegrid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
    public data: object[] = [];
    @ViewChild('treegrid')

    public treegrid?: TreeGridComponent;
    public toolbar?: string[];
    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = sampleData;
        this.toolbar = ['ColumnChooser'];
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

The column chooser dialog displays the header text of each column by default. If the header text is not defined for a column, the corresponding column field name is displayed instead.

Hide column in column chooser dialog

You can hide the column names in column chooser by defining the column.showInColumnChooser as false. This feature is useful when working with a large number of columns or when you want to limit the number of columns that are available for selection in the column chooser dialog.

In this example, the column.showInColumnChooser property is set to false for the Task Name column. As a result, the Task Name column will not be displayed in the column chooser dialog.

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';

@Component({
    imports: [TreeGridModule],
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: `<ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [toolbar]="toolbar" [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks'>
                  <e-columns>
                    <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                    <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' [showInColumnChooser]='false' width=180></e-column>
                    <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                    <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                    </e-column>
                    <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                  </e-columns>
             </ejs-treegrid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
    public data: object[] = [];
    @ViewChild('treegrid')

    public treegrid?: TreeGridComponent;
    public toolbar?: string[];
    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = sampleData;
        this.toolbar = ['ColumnChooser'];
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

The column.showInColumnChooser property is applied to each <e-column> element individually. By setting it to false, you can hide specific columns from the column chooser dialog.

Open column chooser by externally

The Syncfusion Angular Tree Grid provides the flexibility to open the column chooser dialog on a web page using an external button. By default, the column chooser button is displayed in the right corner of the TreeGrid component, and clicking the button opens the column chooser dialog below it. However, you can programmatically open the column chooser dialog at specific X and Y axis positions by using the openColumnChooser method.

Here’s an example of how to open the column chooser in the tree grid using an external button:

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule,ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService} from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import {ButtonModule} from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';

@Component({
imports: [TreeGridModule, ButtonModule ],
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: `<button id='show' ej-button class='e-flat' (click)='show()'> open Column Chooser </button>
              
                <ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks'>
                     <e-columns>
                          <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                          <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' width=180></e-column>
                          <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                          <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                          </e-column>
                          <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                     </e-columns>
                 </ejs-treegrid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {

    public data: object[] = [];
    @ViewChild('treegrid')

    public treegrid?: TreeGridComponent;
    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = sampleData;
    }
    show() {
        (this.treegrid as TreeGridComponent).columnChooserModule.openColumnChooser(200, 50); // give X and Y axis
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Customize column chooser dialog size

The column chooser dialog in Syncfusion Angular Tree Grid comes with default size, but you can modify its height and width as per your specific needs using CSS styles.

To customize the column chooser dialog size, you can use the following CSS styles:

.e-treegrid .e-dialog.e-ccdlg {
    height: 500px;
    width: 200px;
}
.e-treegrid .e-ccdlg .e-cc-contentdiv {
    height: 200px;
    width: 230px;
}

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule, ViewChild, ViewEncapsulation } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';

@Component({
    imports: [TreeGridModule,],
    encapsulation:ViewEncapsulation.None,
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: ` <ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [toolbar]="toolbar" [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks'>
                    <e-columns>
                            <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                            <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' width=180></e-column>
                            <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                            <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                            </e-column>
                            <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-treegrid>`,
    styles:[`.e-treegrid .e-dialog.e-ccdlg {
        height: 500px;
        width: 200px;
    }
    .e-treegrid .e-ccdlg .e-cc-contentdiv {
        height: 200px;
        width: 230px;
    }`]
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
    public data: object[] = [];
    public toolbar?: string[];

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

Change default search operator of the column chooser

The column chooser dialog in the Syncfusion Angular Tree Grid provides a search box that allows you to search for column names. By default, the search functionality uses the “startsWith” operator to match columns and display the results in the column chooser dialog. However, there might be cases where you need to change the default search operator to achieve more precise data matching.

To change the default search operator of the column chooser in Syncfusion Tree Grid, you need to use the operator property of the columnChooserSettings through grid property object of tree grid instance in load event of the tree grid.

Here’s an example of how to change the default search operator of the column chooser to contains in the tree grid:

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';

@Component({
    imports: [TreeGridModule],
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: `<ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [toolbar]="toolbarOptions" [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks' (load)=load($event)>
                   <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' width=180></e-column>
                        <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                          </e-column>
                        <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                 </ejs-treegrid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
    public data: object[] = [];
    @ViewChild('treegrid')
    public treegrid?: TreeGridComponent;
    public toolbarOptions?: string[];

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = sampleData;
        this.toolbarOptions = ['ColumnChooser'];
    }
    load(args: any) {
        (this.treegrid as TreeGridComponent).grid.columnChooserSettings = { operator: 'contains' };
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Diacritics searching in column chooser

By default, the tree grid ignores diacritic characters when performing a search in the column chooser. However, in some cases, you may want to include diacritic characters in the search. To enable this behavior, you can set the columnchoosersettings.ignoreAccent property to true through grid property object of tree grid instance with load event.

Here is an example that demonstrates the usage of the ignoreAccent property to include diacritic characters for searching in the column chooser:

app.component.ts
main.ts
import { NgModule, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { TreeGridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { PageService, SortService, FilterService, ColumnChooserService, ToolbarService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid'
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { sampleData } from './datasource';
import { TreeGridComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-treegrid';
import { ToolbarItems, GridComponent, ColumnChooserSettingsModel } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids';

@Component({
    imports: [TreeGridModule,],
    providers: [PageService, SortService, FilterService, ToolbarService, ColumnChooserService,],
    standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-container',
    template: `<ejs-treegrid #treegrid id="TreeGrid" [dataSource]='data' [toolbar]="toolbarOptions" [treeColumnIndex]='1' [showColumnChooser]='true' height='270' childMapping='subtasks' (load)=load($event)>
                    <e-columns>
                        <e-column field='taskID' headerText='Task ID' [isPrimaryKey]='true' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='taskName' headerText='Task Name' textAlign='Left' width=180></e-column>
                        <e-column field='priority' headerText='Priority' textAlign='Right' width=90></e-column>
                        <e-column field='startDate' headerText='Start Date' textAlign='Right' format='yMd' type='date' width=90>
                          </e-column>
                        <e-column field='duration' headerText='Duration' textAlign='Right' width=80></e-column>
                    </e-columns>
                </ejs-treegrid>`,
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
    public data: object[] = [];
    @ViewChild('treegrid')

    public treegrid?: TreeGridComponent;
    public toolbarOptions?: string[];
    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.data = sampleData;
        this.toolbarOptions = ['ColumnChooser'];
    }
    load(args: any) {
        (this.treegrid as TreeGridComponent).grid.columnChooserSettings = { ignoreAccent: true };
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));