Data Grid - Editing

The data grid has built-in support for cell and row editing.

Full-featured CRUD

The data grid is not only a data visualization tool. It offers built-in editing features for you to manage your data set. The following demo shows a full-featured CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) typically found in enterprise applications.

Making a column editable

You can make a column editable by enabling the editable property in its column definition.

This lets the user edit any cell from the specified columns. For example, with the code snippet below, users can edit cells in the name column, but not in the id column.

<DataGrid columns={[{ field: 'id' }, { field: 'name', editable: true }]} />

The following demo shows an example of how to make all columns editable. Play with it by double-clicking or pressing Enter on any cell.

Row editing

By default, only one cell can be editable at a time. But you can let your user edit all cells in a row simultaneously.

To enable this behavior, set the editMode prop on the Data Grid to "row". Note that you still need to set the editable property in each column definition to specify which of them are editable; the same basic rules for cell editing also apply to row editing.

<DataGrid editMode="row" columns={[{ field: 'name', editable: true }]} />

The following demo illustrates how row editing works. The user can start and stop editing a row using the same actions as those provided for cell editing (e.g. double-clicking a cell).

Switching between edit and view modes

Each cell and row has two modes: edit and view. When in edit mode, users can directly change the content of a cell or a row.

Start editing

When a cell is in view mode, users can start editing a cell (or row if editMode="row") with any of the following actions:

• Double-clicking a cell

• Pressing Enter, Backspace or Delete—note that the latter two options both delete any existing content

• Pressing any printable key, such as a, E, 0, or $

• Calling apiRef.current.startCellEditMode passing the row ID and column field of the cell to be edited

  apiRef.current.startCellEditMode({ id: 1, field: 'name' });
  

  (or $keyC)

• Calling apiRef.current.startRowEditMode passing the ID of the row (only available if editMode="row").

  apiRef.current.startRowEditMode({ id: 1 });
  

  (or $keyC)

Stop editing

When a cell is in edit mode, the user can stop editing with any of the following interactions:

• Pressing Escape—this also reverts any changes made

• Pressing Tab—this also saves any changes made

• Pressing Enter—this also saves any changes made and moves the focus to the next cell in the same column

• Clicking outside the cell or row—this also saves any changes made

• Calling apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode({ id, field }) passing the row ID and column field of the cell that's been edited

  apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode({ id: 1, field: 'name' });
  
  // or
  
  apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode({
    id: 1,
    field: 'name',
    ignoreModifications: true, // will also discard the changes made
  });
  

  (or $keyC)

• Calling apiRef.current.stopRowEditMode passing the ID of the row (only possible if editMode="row").

  apiRef.current.stopRowEditMode({ id: 1 });
  
  // or
  
  apiRef.current.stopRowEditMode({
    id: 1,
    ignoreModifications: true, // will also discard the changes made
  });
  

  (or $keyC)

Editing events

The interactions that start and stop trigger 'cellEditStart' and 'cellEditStop' events, respectively. For row editing, the events are 'rowEditStart' and 'rowEditStop'. You can control how these events are handled to customize editing behavior.

For convenience, you can also listen to these events using their respective props:

• onCellEditStart
• onCellEditStop
• onRowEditStart
• onRowEditStop

These events and props are called with an object containing the row ID and column field of the cell that is being edited. The object also contains a reason param that specifies which type of interaction caused the event to be fired—for instance, 'cellDoubleClick' when a double-click initiates edit mode.

The following demo shows how to prevent the user from exiting edit mode when clicking outside of a cell. To do this, the onCellEditStop prop is used to check if the reason is 'cellFocusOut'. If that condition is true, it disables the default event behavior. In this context, the user can only stop editing a cell by pressing Enter, Escape or Tab.

Disable editing of specific cells within a row

The editable property controls which cells are editable at the column level. You can use the isCellEditable callback prop to define which individual cells the user can edit in a given row. It is called with a GridCellParams object and must return true if the cell is editable, or false if not.

In the following demo, only the rows with an even Age value are editable. The editable cells have a green background for better visibility.

Server-side persistence

The processRowUpdate callback

When the user performs an action to stop editing, the processRowUpdate callback is triggered. Use it to send the new values to the server and save them into a database or other storage method. The callback is called with two arguments:

1. The updated row with the new values returned by the valueSetter.
2. The original values of the row before editing.

Please note that the processRowUpdate must return the row object to update the Data Grid internal state. The value returned is used later as an argument on a call to apiRef.current.updateRows.

<DataGrid
  rows={rows}
  columns={columns}
  processRowUpdate={(updatedRow, originalRow) =>
    mySaveOnServerFunction(updatedRow);
  }
  onProcessRowUpdateError={handleProcessRowUpdateError}
/>

Server-side validation

If you need to cancel the save process on processRowUpdate—for instance, when a database validation fails, or the user wants to reject the changes—there are two options:

1. Reject the promise so that the internal state is not updated and the cell remains in edit mode.
2. Resolve the promise with the second argument (original row before editing), so that the internal state is not updated, and the cell exits edit mode.

The following demo implements the first option: rejecting the promise. Instead of validating while typing, it simulates validation on the server. If the new name is empty, the promise responsible for saving the row will be rejected, and the cell will remain in edit mode.

The demo also shows that processRowUpdate can pre-process the row model that will be saved into the internal state.

Additionally, onProcessRowUpdateError is called to display the error message.

To exit edit mode, press Escape or enter a valid name.

Confirm before saving

The second option—resolving the promise with the second argument—lets the user cancel the save process by rejecting the changes and exiting the edit mode. In this case, processRowUpdate is resolved with the original value(s) of the row.

The following demo shows how this approach can be used to ask for confirmation before sending the data to the server. If the user accepts the change, the internal state is updated with the values. But if the changes are rejected, the internal state remains unchanged, and the cell is reverted back to its original value. The demo also employs validation to prevent entering an empty name.

Value parser and value setter

You can use the valueParser property in the column definition to modify the value entered by the user—for example, to convert the value to a different format:

const columns: GridColDef[] = [
  {
    valueParser: (value: any, params: GridCellParams) => {
      return value.toLowerCase();
    },
  },
];

You can use the valueSetter property of the column definition to customize how the row is updated with a new value. This lets you insert a value from a nested object. It is called with an object containing the new cell value to be saved as well as the row that the cell belongs to. If you are already using a valueGetter to extract the value from a nested object, then the valueSetter will probably also be necessary.

const columns: GridColDef[] = [
  {
    valueSetter: (params: GridValueSetterParams) => {
      const [firstName, lastName] = params.value!.toString().split(' ');
      return { ...params.row, firstName, lastName };
    },
  },
];

In the following demo, both the valueParser and the valueSetter are defined for the Full name column. The valueParser capitalizes the value entered, and the valueSetter splits the value and saves it correctly into the row model:

Validation

If the column definition sets a callback for the preProcessEditCellProps property, then it will be called each time a new value is entered into a cell from this column. This property lets you pre-process the props that are passed to the edit component. The preProcessEditCellProps callback is called with an object containing the following attributes:

• id: the row ID
• row: the row model containing the value(s) of the cell or row before entering edit mode
• props: the props, containing the value after the value parser, that are passed to the edit component
• hasChanged: determines if props.value is different from the last time this callback was called

Data validation is one type of pre-processing that can be done in this way. To validate the data entered, pass a callback to preProcessEditCellProps checking if props.value is valid. If the new value is invalid, set props.error to a truthy value and return the modified props, as shown in the example below. When the user tries to save the updated value, the change will be rejected if the error attribute is truthy (invalid).

const columns: GridColDef[] = [
  {
    field: 'firstName',
    preProcessEditCellProps: (params: GridPreProcessEditCellProps) => {
      const hasError = params.props.value.length < 3;
      return { ...params.props, error: hasError };
    },
  },
];

The demo below contains an example of server-side data validation. In this case, the callback returns a promise that resolves to the modified props. Note that the value passed to props.error is passed directly to the edit component as the error prop. While the promise is not resolved, the edit component will receive an isProcessingProps prop with value equal to true.

Controlled model

You can control the active mode using the props cellModesModel and rowModesModel (only works if editMode="row").

The cellModesModel prop accepts an object containing the mode (and additional options) for a given column field, in a given row, as in the following example. The options accepted are the same available in apiRef.current.startCellEditMode and apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode.

// Changes the mode of field=name from row with id=1 to "edit"
<DataGrid
  cellModesModel={{ 1: { name: { mode: GridCellModes.Edit } } }}
/>

// Changes the mode of field=name from row with id=1 to "view", ignoring modifications made
<DataGrid
  cellModesModel={{ 1: { name: { mode: GridCellModes.View, ignoreModifications: true } } }}
/>

For row editing, the rowModesModel props work in a similar manner. The options accepted are the same available in apiRef.current.startRowEditMode and apiRef.current.stopRowEditMode.

// Changes the mode of the row with id=1 to "edit"
<DataGrid
  editMode="row"
  rowModesModel={{ 1: { mode: GridRowModes.Edit } }}
/>

// Changes the mode of the row with id=1 to "view", ignoring modifications made
<DataGrid
  editMode="row"
  rowModesModel={{ 1: { mode: GridRowModes.View, ignoreModifications: true } }}
/>

Additionally, the callback props onCellModesModelChange and onRowModesModelChange (only works if editMode="row") are available. Use them to update the respective prop.

In the demo below, cellModesModel is used to control the mode of selected cell using the external buttons. For an example using row editing check the full-featured CRUD component.

Create your own edit component

Each of the built-in column types provides a component to edit the value of the cells. To customize column types, or override the existing components, you can provide a new edit component through the renderEditCell property in the column definition. This property works like the renderCell property, with the difference that it is rendered while cells are in edit mode.

function CustomEditComponent(props: GridRenderEditCellParams) {
  return <input type="text" value={params.value} onChange={...} />;
}

const columns: GridColDef[] = [
  {
    field: 'firstName',
    renderEditCell: (params: GridRenderEditCellParams) => (
      <CustomEditComponent {...params} />
    ),
  },
];

The renderEditCell property receives all params from GridRenderEditCellParams, which extends GridCellParams. Additionally, the props added during pre-processing are also available in the params. These are the most important params to consider:

• value: contains the current value of the cell in edit mode, overriding the value from GridCellParams
• error: the error added during validation
• isProcessingProps: whether preProcessEditCellProps is being executed or not

Once a new value is entered into the input, it must be sent to the data grid. To do this, pass the row ID, the column field, and the new cell value to a call to apiRef.current.setEditCellValue. The new value will be parsed and validated, and the value prop will reflect the changes in the next render.

It's important to also handle the accessibility of custom edit components. When a cell enters edit mode, an element must be focused to provide access via keyboard and for screen readers. Since multiple cells may be in edit mode at the same time, the hasFocus prop will be true on the cell that should have focus. Use this prop to focus the appropriate element.

function CustomEditComponent(props: GridRenderEditCellParams) {
  const { id, value, field, hasFocus } = props;
  const apiRef = useGridApiContext();
  const ref = React.useRef();

  React.useLayoutEffect(() => {
    if (hasFocus) {
      ref.current.focus();
    }
  }, [hasFocus]);

  const handleValueChange = (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
    const newValue = event.target.value; // The new value entered by the user
    apiRef.current.setEditCellValue({ id, field, value: newValue });
  };

  return <input ref={ref} type="text" value={value} onChange={handleValueChange} />;
}

The following demo implements a custom edit component, based on the Rating component from @mui/material, for the Rating column.

With debounce

By default, each call to apiRef.current.setEditCellValue triggers a new render. If the edit component requires the user to type a new value, re-rendering the data grid too often will drastically reduce performance. One way to avoid this is to debounce the API calls. You can use apiRef.current.setEditCellValue to handle debouncing by setting the debounceMs param to a positive integer that defines a set time period in milliseconds. No matter how many times the API method is called, the data grid will only be re-rendered after that period of time has passed.

apiRef.current.setEditCellValue({ id, field, value: newValue, debounceMs: 200 });

When the data grid is only set to re-render after a given period of time has passed, the value prop will not be updated on each apiRef.current.setEditCellValue call. To avoid a frozen UI, the edit component can keep the current value in an internal state and sync it once value changes. Modify the edit component to enable this feature:

 function CustomEditComponent(props: GridRenderEditCellParams) {
-  const { id, value, field } = props;
+  const { id, value: valueProp, field } = props;
+  const [value, setValue] = React.useState(valueProp);
   const apiRef = useGridApiContext();

   const handleChange = (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     const newValue = event.target.value; // The new value entered by the user
-    apiRef.current.setEditCellValue({ id, field, value: newValue });
+    apiRef.current.setEditCellValue({ id, field, value: newValue, debounceMs: 200 });
+    setValue(newValue);
   };

+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    setValue(valueProp);
+  }, [valueProp]);
+
   return <input type="text" value={value} onChange={handleChange} />;
 }

With auto-stop

An edit component has "auto-stop" behavior when it stops edit mode as soon as the value is changed. To picture better, imagine an edit component with a combo, created following the normal steps. By default, it would require two clicks to change the value of the cell: one click inside the cell to select a new value, and another click outside the cell to save. This second click can be avoided if the first click also stops the edit mode. To create an edit component with auto-stop, call apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode after setting the new value. Since apiRef.current.setEditCellValue may do additional processing, you must wait for it to resolve before stopping the edit mode. Also, it is a good practice to check if apiRef.current.setEditCellValue has returned true. It will be false if preProcessEditProps set an error during validation.

const handleChange = async (event: SelectChangeEvent) => {
  const isValid = await apiRef.current.setEditCellValue({
    id,
    field,
    value: event.target.value,
  });

  if (isValid) {
    apiRef.current.stopCellEditMode({ id, field });
  }
};

The following demo implements an edit component with auto-stop, based on a native Select component for the Role column.

Advanced use cases

See Editing recipes for more advanced use cases.

apiRef

The grid exposes a set of methods that enables all of these features using the imperative apiRef. To know more about how to use it, check the API Object section.

API

• DataGrid
• DataGridPro
• DataGridPremium