Data Grid Options Overview – BridgeWorks Help Center

Use VDM’s Data Grid right-click menus to sort, group, filter, format, summarize, and add calculated columns to your View results. The menu you see depends on where you right-click and which grid you are using.

For an introduction to the Details, Summary, and Pivot grids, see How to Use Data Grids in VDM.

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Before using grid options

Open your View and select Run View to load results.
Select Details, Summary, or Pivot under Data Grids.
Right-click the grouping area, a column header, a data cell, or a footer to open the corresponding menu.

Many options affect the displayed grid rather than the SQL query. However, Speed Filter and Update Filter/Group relate to View-level criteria. Review those changes before saving or rerunning the View.

Menu availability can vary by VDM version, grid type, selected column, and View configuration.

Grid menus by location

Grid header: grouping and layout

Right-click the grouping area above the column headers to control the grouped display.

Option	What it does
Full Expand	Expands all groups to show their rows.
Full Collapse	Collapses all groups to hide their rows while keeping the grouping.
Clear Grouping	Removes the grid’s column groupings.
Hide Group By Box	Hides the area where you drag column headers to create groups.

Column header: sorting, filtering, and columns

Right-click the name of a column to work with that column or the grid’s displayed layout.

Option	What it does
Sort Ascending / Sort Descending	Sorts the displayed rows. A grid sort does not change the View’s Sort Criteria.
Group By This Column	Groups the displayed rows by the selected column.
Hide Group By Box	Hides the grouping area above the column headers.
Hide This Column	Hides the selected column from the displayed grid. The field remains in the View’s returned data.
Column Chooser	Opens the list of available columns so you can restore hidden columns.
Best Fit / Best Fit (All Columns)	Resizes the selected column or all columns to fit their displayed contents.
Filter Editor	Creates a temporary filter on the data already returned to the grid.
Show Find Panel	Displays a text-search panel for finding data in the grid.
Show Auto Filter Row	Displays a filter row where you can enter criteria beneath individual column headers.
Conditional Formatting	Applies display rules that highlight values meeting specified conditions.

Grid filtering narrows the displayed results; it does not retrieve records that were excluded by the View’s query. Change the View filters or Advanced Query SQL and run the View again when you need different source records.

Grid body: cell actions, formatting, and expressions

Right-click a data cell inside the grid. Some commands use the selected cell’s value or column.

Option	What it does
Ask Bridgit	Opens Bridgit chat.
Add Equal / Not Equal Speed Filter	Creates a View filter using the selected cell’s value. Review the resulting filter before rerunning or saving.
Update Filter/Group	Reapplies View-level filter and grouping conditions. Review the View’s criteria after using this command.
Enable Group Footer	Shows a footer beneath each group so you can add group calculations.
Create List	Creates a text list from the selected column’s data.
Format Column	Changes how values display, such as currency or percent. It does not change the stored database values.
Edit Expression	Opens an existing unbound expression for editing.
Add New Expression	Adds a calculated column to the grid.
Expression Data Type	Sets the data type used for an expression column.

Pivot body: calculations and data sources

Right-click inside the Pivot grid to access its analysis options.

Option	What it does
Format Column	Changes the display format of pivoted values.
Sum / Count / Avg / Max / Min	Selects the summary calculation for the relevant Pivot data field.
Add Unbound Field	Adds a custom calculated field.
Edit Fields	Opens the unbound-field configuration.
Use Summary Totals	Uses summary totals in the Pivot calculation. Review the resulting totals for your layout.
Reload	Reloads the Pivot display. Review your layout before using it.
Use Summary Datatable	Uses the View’s Summary dataset as the Pivot source instead of the default Details dataset.
Hide Filter Bar	Hides the Pivot filter bar.
Reload Fields (Preserve Pivot)	Refreshes the available fields after query changes while retaining the existing layout where possible. Available in versions that include this feature.

Use Summary Totals and Use Summary Datatable serve different purposes. The latter changes the source dataset. Confirm that your View has meaningful Summary results before selecting it.

See Using the Summary Data Table in a Pivot Grid and Refreshing Pivot Grid Fields While Preserving Layout.

Grid footer: totals and other summaries

Right-click the footer beneath the column you want to summarize. Use a numeric column for Sum or Average.

Option	What it does
Sum	Adds the values in the column.
Min / Max	Displays the lowest or highest value.
Count	Displays a record count.
Average	Displays the average value.
None	Removes the selected summary calculation.

Group totals versus grid totals

Drag a column header into the Group By Box to group the displayed records.
Right-click the grid body and select Enable Group Footer if group footers are not visible.
Right-click the group footer beneath the desired column and select a calculation to summarize each group.
Right-click the grid footer beneath the desired column to add a calculation for the grid.

For example, group by a category field and apply Sum to a numeric amount field to compare totals for each group. Adding grid groups or footer calculations does not by itself configure the View’s separate Summary dataset.

For more information, see Using Group and Report Summaries in the Data Grid.

Create a grid expression: ClientAccount

This example combines the Client and ACCOUNT_NUM fields into one calculated column named ClientAccount. For example, Client 1000 and account 7143809 produce 1000: 7143809.

The expression is calculated in VDM after the query returns data. It does not add a column to the database. Use a View that returns both fields, and run the View before creating the expression.

1. Open the Expression Builder

In the Details grid, right-click a data cell and select Add New Expression.

2. Create the ClientAccount expression

In the Expression Builder, enter ClientAccount as the expression’s alias (the name of the new calculated column). Use the field list to insert Client and ACCOUNT_NUM, placing the text separator ': ' between them:

[Client] + ': ' + [ACCOUNT_NUM]

This example assumes both fields contain text. If your fields are numeric, convert them to text using the functions available in the Expression Builder before combining them. Use the exact field names returned by your View.

Select OK to add the expression to the grid.

3. Verify the new column

Locate the new @VDMEX.ClientAccount column in the grid. Check that each row combines its Client and account number with a colon and space.

Expected result

Client	ACCOUNT_NUM	@VDMEX.ClientAccount
1000	7143809	1000: 7143809
2000	7038320	2000: 7038320

After verifying the result, adjust the column width, position, and display format as needed. This example produces a text label, so currency or percentage formatting is not appropriate.

For more information, see How to Create and Use Data Grid Expressions in VDM. Advanced Query Views require additional consideration for grid expressions; see Referencing Grid Level Expressions in Advanced Queries.

Save and verify your changes

Save the View when you want to retain your configuration, then reopen it to check the layout and expressions. To package returned records with the View, run it first and use Save With Data.

If rows appear to be missing, check grid filters and collapsed groups. If totals look unexpected, check the grouping, field data type, and Pivot source. Review any export before sharing it.