# Data Formatting

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| RELATED VIDEOS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| [Formatting Data In RadGridView for WinForms. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmIHjRHudIw)<br>In this RadTip, John Kellar demonstrates how you can apply custom formatting to data within a RadGridView for Windows Forms. (Runtime: 09:14) |

[GridViewDataColumn](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/gridviewdatacolumn) allows you to format the data displayed in it. You can control that by setting the **FormatString**, **FormatInfo** and **NullValue** properties of the column.

The **FormatString** property determines how the cell values are formatted as strings. The property is applicable with Microsoft Formatting Syntax. For more information, see the [Formatting Overview chapter in MSDN.](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/26etazsy.aspx)

The **FormatInfo** property provides the culture in which the string formatting is applied.

By setting the **NullValue** property, you determine the value that appears if the cell value is null.

Here is a sample covering these properties:

#### Formatting data

```C#
GridViewDecimalColumn unitPriceColumn = this.radGridView1.Columns["UnitPrice"] as GridViewDecimalColumn;
unitPriceColumn.FormatString = "Price: {0:C}";
unitPriceColumn.FormatInfo = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");
unitPriceColumn.NullValue = 0;
```

```VB.NET
Dim unitPriceColumn As GridViewDecimalColumn = TryCast(Me.RadGridView1.Columns("UnitPrice"), GridViewDecimalColumn)
unitPriceColumn.FormatString = "Price: {0:C}"
unitPriceColumn.FormatInfo = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB")
unitPriceColumn.NullValue = 0
```

> caption Figure 1: The data in the middle is formated.

![WinForms RadGridView Formated Middle Data](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/assets/99f620e9daeb644f564df8993bf46cd8/gridview-columns-data-formatting001.png)

> note Note that the value of the NullValue property should be the same as its column data type.

The **WrapText** property wraps text if the text is wider than the column width.

The **TextAlignment** property defines the text alignment for the column.

#### Using the column text properties

```C#
GridViewDataColumn productNameColumn = this.radGridView1.Columns["ProductName"];
productNameColumn.WrapText = true;
productNameColumn.TextAlignment = ContentAlignment.BottomRight;
```

```VB.NET
Dim productNameColumn = Me.RadGridView1.Columns("ProductName")
productNameColumn.WrapText = True
productNameColumn.TextAlignment = ContentAlignment.BottomRight
```

## See Also

* [Accessing and Iterating through Columns](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/accessing-and-iterating-through-columns)

* [Calculated Columns (Column Expressions)](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/calculated-column-expressions)

* [Converting Data Types](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/converting-data-types)

* [Generating Columns](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/generating-columns)

* [GridViewColumn](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/gridviewcolumn)

* [GridViewDataColumn](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/gridviewdatacolumn)

* [Pinning and Unpinning Columns](https://www.telerik.com/products/winforms/documentation/controls/gridview/visual-elements/columns/pinning-and-unpinning-columns)