WebGrid introduces a new concept in DataGrid paging that allow users to retrieve data when it is needed. The feature called 'VirtualLoad' enables true data "load on demand" mechanism which automatically retrieves data as users scroll forward. The new concept has replaced the old data paging mechanism in web applications that use navigation bar which is less effective since that there is need to refresh page in order to get more data and become unfeasible when data grows larger as business growth.

The implementation of the new paging concept - VirtualLoad - provides an effective approach for users as more data will retrieve from server transparently. WebGrid will initially load a number of rows specified in VirtualPageSize. This results in faster page rendering to client, less bandwidth taken and reduce server's workload. Integrated with Intersoft® WebCommonControl architecture that allow data to be retrieved without page postback has fully supported the feature to work perfectly in web-based environment. The combination of the VirtualLoad feature and WebCommonControl architecture resulting in a major performance improvement since that the architecture uses its own ViewState implementation that only send required information to server and only pass back the UI elements that need to be rendered.

The VirtualLoad paging mode works in following ways:

• When no group columns exist in top level Table, more rows can be retrieved by clicking on "Load More Data" icon or by scrolling the vertical scrollbars to the bottom edge of the Grid.
• When group columns exist in top level Table, all parent group rows will be rendered to clients but only a number of defined rows are rendered counted from the first parent group row. Therefore, it is able to keep server's bandwidth usage as minimal as possible, while displaying all necessary information. When users click on + to expand group row, the control will transparently and virtually load the child rows of that group row.

The key design of the feature is to enable a fast, effective and efficient data presentation when work in large DataSource's web applications. Developers are recommended to turn on VirtualLoad paging mode most of the times.

To enable VirtualLoad, simply follow the steps on How-to: Enable load more data. The default value of VirtualPageSize is 50 which you can customize to fit your application's needs. Note that you do not need to write any additional codes since the feature works in conjunction with automated data processing and other key's features.

For best performance of Column Freezing, you can set the VirtualLoad on PagingMode to limit the RootTable rows to a reasonable maximum number of rows. 

Target Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 family

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