In this article I will explain how to copy / add / transfer rows (data) from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
 
 

Database

I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows.
Copy / Add / Transfer Rows from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net
 
I have already inserted few records in the table.
Copy / Add / Transfer Rows from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net
 
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
           Download SQL file
 
 

HTML Markup

The following HTML Markup consists of:
GridView – For displaying data.

Columns

The GridView consists of three BoundField column.
Button – For copy the DataTable.
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="CustomerId" HeaderText="CustomerId" ItemStyle-Width="30" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Name" HeaderText="Name" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<br />
<asp:Button runat="server" ID="btnCopy" OnClick="CopyToDataTable" Text="Copy to Datatable" /> 
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
 
 

Binding the GridView

Inside the Page Load event handler, the connection string is read from the Web.Config file.
Note: For more details on how to read connection string from Web.Config file, please refer my article Read or Write Connection Strings in Web.Config file using ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
 
Then, the records are fetched from the Customers Table of SQL Server database using SqlDataAdapter and copied to DataTable object using Fill method.
Finally, the DataTable is assigned to the DataSource property of GridView and the GridView is populated.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
        using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
        {
            using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers"))
            {
                cmd.Connection = con;
                using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd))
                {
                    DataTable dt = new DataTable();
                    sda.Fill(dt);
                    gvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
                    gvCustomers.DataBind();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
        Using con As New SqlConnection(constr)
            Using cmd As New SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers")
                cmd.Connection = con
                Using sda As New SqlDataAdapter(cmd)
                    Dim dt As New DataTable()
                    sda.Fill(dt)
                    gvCustomers.DataSource = dt
                    gvCustomers.DataBind()
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End If
End Sub
 
 

Copy (Add) Rows from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net

When the Copy Button is clicked, a new DataTable is created with columns same as that of the GridView.
Then a loop is executed and one by one each GridView Row is copied / added / transferred to the DataTable.
C#
protected void CopyToDataTable(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    //Create a new DataTable.
    DataTable dtCustomers = new DataTable("Customers");
 
    //Add columns to DataTable.
    foreach (TableCell cell in gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells)
    {
        dtCustomers.Columns.Add(cell.Text);
    }
 
    //Loop through the GridView and copy rows.
    foreach (GridViewRow row in gvCustomers.Rows)
    {
        dtCustomers.Rows.Add();
        for (int i = 0; i < row.Cells.Count; i++)
        {
            dtCustomers.Rows[row.RowIndex][i] = row.Cells[i].Text;
        }
    }
} 
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub CopyToDataTable(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    'Create a new DataTable.
    Dim dtCustomers As New DataTable("Customers")
 
    'Add columns to DataTable.
    For Each cell As TableCell In gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells
        dtCustomers.Columns.Add(cell.Text)
    Next
 
    'Loop through the GridView and copy rows.
    For Each row As GridViewRow In gvCustomers.Rows
        dtCustomers.Rows.Add()
        For i As Integer = 0 To row.Cells.Count - 1
            dtCustomers.Rows(row.RowIndex)(i) = row.Cells(i).Text
        Next
    Next
End Sub
 
 

Screenshots

GridView populated from Database

Copy / Add / Transfer Rows from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net
 

DataTable containing the rows copied / added / transferred from the GridView

Copy / Add / Transfer Rows from GridView to DataTable in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net
 
 

Downloads

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