Column menu in EJ2 JavaScript Grid control

6 Mar 202424 minutes to read

The column menu in the Syncfusion EJ2 JavaScript Grid control provides options to enable features such as sorting, grouping, filtering, column chooser, and autofit. When users click on the column header’s menu icon, a menu will be displayed with these integrated features. To enable the column menu, you need to set the showColumnMenu property to true in the Grid configuration.

To use the column menu, inject the ColumnMenu module in the grid.

The default column menu items are displayed in following table.

Item Description
SortAscending Sort the current column in ascending order.
SortDescending Sort the current column in descending order.
Group Group the current column.
Ungroup Ungroup the current column.
AutoFit Auto fit the current column.
AutoFitAll Auto fit all columns.
ColumnChooser Choose the column visibility.
Filter Show the filter option as given in filterSettings->type 
ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Page, ej.grids.Group, ej.grids.Sort, ej.grids.Filter, ej.grids.ColumnMenu);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowGrouping: true,
    allowSorting: true,
    allowFiltering: true,
    filterSettings: { type: 'CheckBox' },
    allowPaging: true,
    groupSettings: { showGroupedColumn: true },
    showColumnMenu: true,
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', width: 140, textAlign: 'Right'},
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer Name' },
        { field: 'Freight', headerText: 'Freight', width: 150, format: 'C2', textAlign: 'Right' },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', visible: false, width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 }
    ]
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet"> 
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

You can disable column menu for a particular column by defining the columns->showColumnMenu as false.

You can customize the default items by defining the columnMenuItems with required items.

Add custom column menu item

The custom column menu item feature allows you to add additional menu items to the column menu in the Syncfusion Grid. These custom menu items can be defined using the columnMenuItems property, which accepts a collection of columnMenuItemModel objects. You can define the actions for these custom items in the columnMenuClick event.

Consider the following example, which demonstrates how to add a custom column menu item to clear the sorting of the Grid:

ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Page, ej.grids.Sort, ej.grids.ColumnMenu);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowPaging: true,
    allowSorting: true,
    showColumnMenu: true,
    columnMenuItems:[{text:'Clear Sorting', id:'gridclearsorting'}],
    columnMenuClick: function(args){
        if(args.item.id === 'gridclearsorting'){
            grid.clearSorting();
        }
    },
    sortSettings:{
        columns:[{direction: "Ascending", field: "OrderID"}]
    },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', width: 140, textAlign: 'Right'},
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer Name', showInColumnChooser: false },
        { field: 'Freight',headerText: 'Freight', format: 'C2', textAlign: 'Right' },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', visible: false, width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 }
    ]
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
</script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Customize menu items for particular columns

Sometimes, you have a scenario that to hide an item from column menu for particular columns. In that case, you need to define the columnMenuOpenEventArgs.hide as true in the columnMenuOpen event.

The following sample, Filter item was hidden in column menu when opens for the OrderID column.

ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Page, ej.grids.Group, ej.grids.Sort, ej.grids.Filter, ej.grids.ColumnMenu);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowPaging: true,
    showColumnMenu: true,
    filterSettings: {type: 'Menu'},
    allowFiltering: true,
    allowGrouping: true,
    allowSorting: true,
    columnMenuOpen: function (args) {
        for (var item of args.items) {
            if (item.text === 'Filter' && args.column.field === 'OrderID') {
                item.hide = true;
            } else {
                item.hide = false;
            }
        }
    },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', width: 140, textAlign: 'Right'},
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer Name', showInColumnChooser: false },
        { field: 'Freight',headerText: 'Freight', format: 'C2', textAlign: 'Right' },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', visible: false, width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 }
    ]
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Render nested column menu

The nested column menu feature provides an extended menu option in the grid column headers, allows you to access additional actions and options related to the columns.

To enable the nested column menu feature, you need to define the columnMenuItems property in your control. The columnMenuItems property is an array that contains the items for the column menu. Each item can be a string representing a built-in menu item or an object defining a custom menu item.

Here is an example of how to configure the columnMenuItems property to include a nested menu:

ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Page, ej.grids.Group, ej.grids.Sort, ej.grids.Filter, ej.grids.ColumnMenu);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
  dataSource: data,
  allowPaging: true,
  allowSorting: true,
  allowFiltering: true,
  allowGrouping: true,
  showColumnMenu: true,
  filterSettings: { type: 'CheckBox' },
  groupSettings: { showGroupedColumn: true },
  columnMenuItems: [
    'SortAscending',
    'SortDescending',
    'Group',
    'Ungroup',
    'Filter',
    {
      text: 'Sub Menu',
      items: [
        { text: 'Option 1', id: 'option1' },
        { text: 'Option 2', id: 'option2' },
        { text: 'Option 3', id: 'option3' },
        {
          text: 'Nested Sub Menu',
          items: [
            { text: 'Nested Option 1', id: 'nestedoption1' },
            { text: 'Nested Option 2', id: 'nestedoption2' },
          ],
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
  columnMenuClick: function (args) {
    if (args.item.id === 'option1') {
      // custom function
    }
  },
  columns: [
    { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', textAlign: 'Right', width: 140 },
    { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer Name', textAlign: 'Right', width: 150, },
    { field: 'Freight', headerText: 'Freight', format: 'C2', textAlign: 'Right', width: 150 },
    { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', width: 150 },
    { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 }
  ]
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
</script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Customize the icon of column menu

To customize the column menu icon, you need to override the default grid class .e-icons.e-columnmenu with a custom CSS property called content. By specifying a Unicode character or an icon font’s CSS class, you can change the icon displayed in the column menu.

To customize the column menu icon, follow these steps:

1.Add the necessary CSS code to override the default grid class:

.e-grid .e-columnheader .e-icons.e-columnmenu::before {
    content: "\e799";
}

2.Import the required icon stylesheets. You can use either the material or bootstrap5 style, depending on your preference. Add the following code to import the stylesheets:

<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-icons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/ej2-icons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />

Here is an example that demonstrates how to customize the column menu icon in the Syncfusion Grid:

var grid= new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', width: 90 },
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 120 },
        { field: 'Freight', headerText: 'Freight', format:'C2', width: 90 },
        { field: 'ShipName', headerText: 'Ship Name', width: 120 }
    ],
    showColumnMenu: true,
    height: 315
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <style>
        .e-grid .e-columnheader .e-icons.e-columnmenu::before {
              content: "\e799";
         }
    </style>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>        
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Column menu events

The column menu in Syncfusion EJ2 JavaScript Grid provides a set of events that allow customization of behavior and performing actions when the column menu is opened or clicked. The below events are helpful for adding additional functionality or implementing specific actions based on user interactions with the column menu.

  1. The columnMenuOpen event triggers before the column menu opens.
  2. The columnMenuClick event triggers when the user clicks the column menu of the grid.
ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Page, ej.grids.Group, ej.grids.Sort, ej.grids.Filter, ej.grids.ColumnMenu);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowGrouping: true,
    allowSorting: true,
    allowFiltering: true,
    filterSettings: { type: 'CheckBox' },
    allowPaging: true,
    groupSettings: { showGroupedColumn: true },
    showColumnMenu: true,
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', width: 140, textAlign: 'Right'},
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer Name' },
        { field: 'Freight',headerText: 'Freight', width: 150, format: 'C2', textAlign: 'Right' },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', visible: false, width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 }
    ],
    columnMenuOpen: function() {
        document.getElementById('message').innerText ='columnMenuOpen event is Triggered';
    },
    columnMenuClick: function() {
        document.getElementById('message').innerText ='columnMenuClick event is Triggered';
    },
    height: 315,
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-calendars/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet"> 
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<style>
    .event-message {
      text-align: center;
      color: red;
      font-size: 16px;
    }
  </style>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>  
    <div id="container">
        <p class="event-message" id="message"></p>
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>