Don't display "null" in Grid

[Tak]

Hallo Kendo Team.
I have got incomming data, which contains null values. For example FirstName is empty (null).
Kendo grid display "null", but it is funny FirstName. I want to display "" (nothing) instead of "null".
Is there any way how to do it? ( without changing incoming data)
Thnx. uf.

[Alexander Valchev]

Hi Tak,

The functionality that you described could be achieved using a template. Since the template allows use of JavaScript code inside its definition, you could perform a simple check if the corresponding value is null and return an empty string. In this jsFiddle example you could see this approach in action.

Kind regards,
Alexander Valchev
the Telerik team

[Jakob Zetterström]

And for (batch) editing? Which kind of editor template do you propose?

[Alexander Valchev]

Hello Jakob,

The default editor for date fields is a date picker widget.
If you want to define your own editor I suggest to follow the example from our custom editor demo and implement a editor function that best fits in your requirements. In case you are asking how to prevent the displaying of null values in batch editing mode, you could use the approach described in my previous post.

All the best,
Alexander Valchev
the Telerik team

[Jakob Zetterström]

Hi Alexander,

Umm... no, I can't use the approach described in your previous post. I use a custom DatePicker editor, and even though the model value is null, I can't keep the editor from displaying a "null" string value in its textbox when it is activated. Could you please update the fiddle to show how this is done with the grid simply set to editable = true?

Thanks,
Jakob

[Alexander Valchev]

Hi Jakob,

I tested this scenario and everything seems to work as expected on my side.
Please check my sample page and let me know if I missed something.

Regards,
Alexander Valchev
the Telerik team

[Felipe Casanova]

Alexander, Are you suggesting that anywhere there is likely to be a null value that we have to use a template? This seems like more of a work-around than a way to solve the problem. Are there any plans to change this behaviour please? I can't think when displaying "null" to users is a good idea. Thanks Matt

[Jesper]

I absolutely agree with Matt. We should not have to resort to templates to prevent the user from seeing a null value.

[Alexander Valchev]

Hi guys,

I am afraid that at present we do not have plans to change the default behaviour, nevertheless be sure that I will forward your feedback to the team. What I can suggest at the moment, is to vote for this idea at Kendo user voice forum - if it turns out to be popular our team will look into it further.

Kind regards,
Alexander Valchev
the Telerik team

[Tim]

I totally agree with Matt and Jesper. This is not acceptable - especially for string values. Null strings should be displayed as '', not 'null'.

Additionally, there should be a property on the grid for a 'no-data' template.

[Muhanad]

Using template fixes the null issue but seems to create another issue in the cell where a null value exist. The column line on the left disappears on every cell that has a null value. This only happens ie....
Agree with everyone on this thread...I think this is a defect that needs some fixing :)

[Felipe Casanova]

Looks like enough votes were received. Following Alexanders vote link shows that this behaviour has been changed and it will be included in the next official release. Matt

[Rodney]

So how would you do this using a row template? 

[Dimo]

Hi Rodney,

You should use a template with an expression (IF statement) inside.

http://demos.kendoui.com/web/templates/expressions.html

("Using JS code in the template definition")

http://docs.kendoui.com/getting-started/using-kendo-with/aspnet-mvc/helpers/grid/faq

("How do I have conditional logic in a column client template?")

Regards,
Dimo
the Telerik team

[Kjell Ivar]

Hello.
I wonder what is the status for this issue.
Is this going to be included in the next release of KendoUI? And eventually when will that be? I totally agree with the other people here that this is a important issue to be fixed. It is not a good solution to include templates for all fields that need to display '' instead of null.

[Dimo]

Hello Kjell Ivar,

The fix is already available in the Q2 2012 SP1 release (2012.2.913).

Greetings,
Dimo
the Telerik team

[Jon]

....which still does not work if the value is set via ClientTemplate.

[Atanas Korchev]

Hello,

The grid give full control to the client template. Checks for null should be performed in the template.

Kind regards,
Atanas Korchev
the Telerik team

[Travis]

I too would be in favor of making '' the default behavior.  Still doesn't seem to be the default when using the web 2013 version.

[Atanas Korchev]

Hi Travis,

 Here is a live demo showing that null values are not displayed by default (using the latest official version): http://jsbin.com/obikoq/1/edit

 And here is the same example using the Q1 2013 beta version: http://jsbin.com/okopaz/1/edit

Kind regards,
Atanas Korchev
the Telerik team

[Travis]

My mistake.  I'm using an older version for the Kendo UI controls.  I confused this with another project I was working on.  Sorry!

[Brady]

That second example (Q1 2013 beta version) is utterly useless. It doesn't show the column or template definition.