UI Automation Support
With the Q3 2025 version of our controls, RadGridView supports UI Automation. The current implementation of UI Automation for RadGridView is similar to the MS WinForms RadGridView Control Type implementation with some extended functionality. The main goal of this implementation is to ensure compliance with accessibility standards and to provide a common practice for automated testing.
Figure 1: RadGridView UI Automation Tree Structure
| Control View |
|---|
| ├─ DataGrid (RadGridView Control ) |
| ├─ Header (Table Header Row) |
| └─ HeaderItem (Header Cells) |
| ├─ DataItem (New Row) |
| └─ DataItem (New Row Cells) |
| ├─ DataItem (Data Row) |
| ├─ HeaderItem (Row Header Cells) |
| ├─ CheckBox (Row Select Cells) |
| ├─ Edit (TextBox Column Data Cell) |
| └─ Edit (Cell TextBox Editor) |
| ├─ Spinner (Decimal Column Data Cell) |
| └─ Spinner (Cell Spin Editor) |
| ├─ ComboBox (ComboBox Column Data Cell) |
| └─ ComboBox (DropDownList Editor) |
| ├─ CheckBox (CheckBox Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ Button (Command Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ Image (Image Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ Hyperlink (Hyperlink Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (DateTime Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (Color Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (TimeSpan Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (MultiColumnComboBox Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (Rating Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ DataItem (Sparkline Column Data Cell) |
| └─ DataItem (Calculator Column Data Cell) |
| ├─ ScrollBar (Vertical ScrollBar) |
| └─ ScrollBar (Horizontal ScrollBar) |
This functionality is enabled by default. To disable it, you can set the EnableUIAutomation property to false.
this.radGridView1.EnableUIAutomation = false;
Relevant Properties
The table below outlines the UI Automation properties most important for understanding and interacting with RadGridView control.
Rows
This table describes the UI Automation support for different types of rows within RadGridView. Each row type is associated with a corresponding provider implementation, making them accessible to screen readers and automation tools.
| Row Element | Telerik UIA Row Provider | UIA Control Type |
|---|---|---|
| Data Row | DataRowHeaderItemUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| New Row | NewRowUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| Table Header Row | TableHeaderRowUIAutomationProvider | Header |
DataRowUIAutomationProvider
This provider supports automation for standard data rows.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.DataItem.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "data item"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.OrientationProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.HasKeyboardFocusProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsSelectionItemPatternAvailableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsScrollItemPatternAvailableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsGridItemPatternAvailableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsTableItemPatternAvailableProperty.Id
The following items outlines the supported automation patterns by the DataRowUIAutomationProvider.
NewRowUIAutomationProvider
This provider targets the "Add New Row" functionality.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.DataItem.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "data item"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id => "TableAddNewRow"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.OrientationProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.HasKeyboardFocusProperty.Id
TableHeaderRowUIAutomationProvider
This provider targets the table header row.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.Header.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "header"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id => "TableHeaderRow"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.OrientationProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.HasKeyboardFocusProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsKeyboardFocusableProperty.Id
Cells
This section provides a breakdown of the supported cell types in RadGridView and their corresponding UI Automation providers. Each cell type is linked to a provider responsible for handling its accessibility representation and available patterns.
Several provider classes in this list: DataRowHeaderItemUIAutomationProvider, DataCellSpinnerUIAutomationProvider, DataRowSelectCellUIAutomationProvider, and DataCellEditUIAutomationProvider — derive from the base DataCellUIAutomationProvider class. This base class defines the core automation behavior that these providers extend for their specific cell types.
| Column Cells | Telerik UIA Cell Provider | UIA Control Type |
|---|---|---|
| GridViewRowHeaderColumn | DataRowHeaderItemUIAutomationProvider | HeaderItem |
| GridViewSelectColumn | DataRowSelectCellUIAutomationProvider | CheckBox |
| GridViewTextBoxColumn | DataCellEditUIAutomationProvider | Edit |
| GridViewDecimalColumn | DataCellSpinnerUIAutomationProvider | Spinner |
| GridViewDateTimeColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewCheckBoxColumn | DataCellCheckboxUIAutomationProvider | CheckBox |
| GridViewHyperlinkColumn | DataCellHyperLinkUIAutomationProvider | Hyperlink |
| GridViewCommandColumn | DataCellCommandUIAutomationProvider | Button |
| GridViewComboBoxColumn | DataCellComboBoxUIAutomationProvider | ComboBox |
| GridViewBrowseColumn | DataCellEditUIAutomationProvider | Edit |
| GridViewCalculatorColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewColorColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewTimeSpanColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewImageColumn | DataCellImageUIAutomationProvider | Image |
| GridViewMaskBoxColumn | DataCellEditUIAutomationProvider | Edit |
| GridViewColorColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| RadMultiColumnComboBoxElement | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewRatingColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
| GridViewSparklineColumn | DataCellUIAutomationProvider | DataItem |
DataRowHeaderItemUIAutomationProvider
Used primarily for row header cells, this provider ensures that header elements are correctly announced and interactable through assistive technologies.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => "header item"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "header item"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsOffscreenProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsControlElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsKeyboardFocusableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsInvokePatternAvailableProperty.Id
The following items outlines the supported automation patterns by the DataRowHeaderItemUIAutomationProvider.
DataRowSelectCellUIAutomationProvider
this provider enables UI Automation support for selection cells, typically rendered as checkboxes.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.CheckBox.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "check box"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsOffscreenProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsControlElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsKeyboardFocusableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsInvokePatternAvailableProperty.Id
The following items outlines the supported automation patterns by the DataRowSelectCellUIAutomationProvider.
DataCellUIAutomationProvider
A general-purpose provider used for various content cells.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.AutomationIdProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.CheckBox.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "data item"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsOffscreenProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.NameProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsContentElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsControlElementProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsKeyboardFocusableProperty.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsInvokePatternAvailableProperty.Id
The following items outlines the supported automation patterns by the base DataCellUIAutomationProvider.
- Invoke Pattern
- Value Pattern
- Selection Item Pattern
- Scroll Item Pattern
- Grid Item Pattern
- Table Item Pattern
DataCellEditUIAutomationProvider
This provider handles editable cells and reports them as ControlType.Edit.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.Edit.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "edit"
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.IsControlElementProperty.Id => true
DataCellSpinnerUIAutomationProvider
Spinner cells, such as those in numeric columns, are handled by this provider.
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.ControlTypeProperty.Id => ControlType.Spinner.Id
- AutomationElementIdentifiers.LocalizedControlTypeProperty.Id => "spinner"