Discover how a bimodal integration strategy can address the major data management challenges facing your organization today.
Get the Report →Create Dynamic Facebook Ads Grids Using the Infragistics XamDataGrid
Learn how you can connect Facebook Ads to Infragistics XamDataGrid to build dynamic grids.
Using Infragistics WPF UI controls, you can build contemporary applications reminiscent of Microsoft Office for both desktop and touch-based devices. When coupled with the CData ADO.NET Provider for Facebook Ads, you gain the capability to construct interactive grids, charts, and various other visual elements while directly accessing real-time data from Facebook Ads data. This article will guide you through the process of creating a dynamic grid within Visual Studio using the Infragistics XamDataGrid control.
You will need to install the Infragistics WPF UI components to continue. Download a free trial here: https://www.infragistics.com/products/wpf.
Create a WPF Project
Open VisualStudio and create a new WPF project.
Add a TextBox for passing a SQL query to the CData ADO.NET Provider and a Button for executing the query.
![Adding a TextBox and Button to the App.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-1.png)
The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Height="44"/> < /Grid> < /Window>
Add and Configure a XamDataGrid
After adding the initial controls, add a XamDataGrid to the App. The component will appear in the Visual Studio toolbox.
![Adding the XamDataGrid to the App.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-2.png)
Arrange the component on the designer so that it is below the TextBox & Button and linked to the boundaries of the app.
![XamDataGrid Placement.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-3.png)
Once the XamDataGrid is placed, edit the XAML to set the XamDataGrid DataSource attribute to "{Binding}" and set the FieldSettings AllowRecordFiltering and AllowSummaries attributes to "true." Next, add an empty method as the Click event handler for the Button component. The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Click="Button_Click" Height="44"/> < igWPF:XamDataGrid Margin="10,59,10,10" DataSource="{Binding}"> < igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < igWPF:FieldSettings AllowSummaries="True" AllowRecordFiltering="True"/> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid> < /Grid> < /Window>
Connect to and Query Facebook Ads
The last step in building our WPG App with a dynamic DataGrid is connecting to and querying live Facebook Ads data. First add a reference to the CData ADO.NET Provider to the project (typically found in C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib).
![Adding the CData ADO.NET Provider as a Reference (Salesforce is shown.)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-4.png)
Next, add the Provider to the namespace, along with the standard Data library:
using System.Data.CData.FacebookAds; using System.Data;
Finally, add the code to connect to Facebook Ads and query using the text from the TextBox to the Click event handler.
Most tables require user authentication as well as application authentication. Facebook uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate to Facebook, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Facebook.
See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { //connecting to Facebook Ads string connString = ""; using (var conn = new FacebookAdsConnection(connString)) { //using the query from the TextBox var dataAdapter = new FacebookAdsDataAdapter(textBox.Text, conn); var table = new DataTable(); dataAdapter.Fill(table); //passing the DataRowCollection to the DataContext // for use in the XamDataGrid this.DataContext = table.Rows; } }
Run the Application
With the app fully configured, we are ready to display Facebook Ads data in our XamDataGrid. When you click "Execute," the app connects to Facebook Ads and submits the SQL query through the CData ADO.NET Provider.
![Querying Facebook Ads Data](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-5.png)
Live Facebook Ads data is displayed in the grid.
![Displying Facebook Ads Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-6.png)
Group the data by dragging and dropping a column name into the header.
![Grouping Facebook Ads Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-7.png)
As you add groupings and filters, the underlying SQL query is submitted directly to Facebook Ads, making it possible to drill down into live Facebook Ads data to find only the specific information you need.
![Grouped and filtered Facebook Ads Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-8.png)
Free Trial & More Information
At this point, you have created a dynamic WPF App with access to live Facebook Ads data. For more information, visit the CData ADO.NET Provider page. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working live Facebook Ads data in apps built using the Infragistics UI controls today.