In this article I will explain with an example, how to add RowSpan to GridView in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
This article will illustrate how to dynamically merge common Cells of GridView using RowSpan property in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
 
 
Database
Here I am making use of Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
 
 
HTML Markup
The HTML Markup consists of an ASP.Net GridView with three BoundField columns. The GridView has been assigned OnDataBound event handler which will be later used for merging the GridView Rows.
<asp:GridView ID="GridView1" HeaderStyle-BackColor="#3AC0F2" HeaderStyle-ForeColor="White"
    runat = "server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" OnDataBound="OnDataBound">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="City" HeaderText="City" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="ContactName" HeaderText="Name" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
 
 
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Configuration;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Configuration
 
 
Binding the GridView
Inside the Page Load event handler, the GridView is populated with the records from the Customers Table of the Northwind Database.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
        GridView1.DataSource = GetData("SELECT ContactName, Country, City FROM Customers GROUP BY Country, City, ContactName");
        GridView1.DataBind();
    }
}
private DataTable GetData(string query)
{
    DataTable dt = new DataTable();
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(query))
        {
            using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter())
            {
                cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
                cmd.Connection = con;
                sda.SelectCommand = cmd;
                sda.Fill(dt);
            }
        }
        return dt;
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Dim dt As New DataTable()
        GridView1.DataSource = GetData("SELECT ContactName, Country, City FROM Customers GROUP BY Country, City, ContactName")
        GridView1.DataBind()
    End If
End Sub
 
Private Function GetData(query As String) As DataTable
    Dim dt As New DataTable()
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As New SqlConnection(constr)
        Using cmd As New SqlCommand(query)
            Using sda As New SqlDataAdapter()
                cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
                cmd.Connection = con
                sda.SelectCommand = cmd
                sda.Fill(dt)
            End Using
        End Using
        Return dt
    End Using
End Function
 
 
Add RowSpan to GridView in ASP.Net
Inside the OnDataBound event handler, a reverse loop is executed over the GridView Rows and then the common Cells are identified and merged into single Cell.
C#
protected void OnDataBound(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    for (int i = GridView1.Rows.Count - 1; i > 0; i--)
    {
        GridViewRow row = GridView1.Rows[i];
        GridViewRow previousRow = GridView1.Rows[i - 1];
        for (int j = 0; j < row.Cells.Count; j++)
        {
            if (row.Cells[j].Text == previousRow.Cells[j].Text)
            {
                if (previousRow.Cells[j].RowSpan == 0)
                {
                    if (row.Cells[j].RowSpan == 0)
                    {
                        previousRow.Cells[j].RowSpan += 2;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        previousRow.Cells[j].RowSpan = row.Cells[j].RowSpan + 1;
                    }
                    row.Cells[j].Visible = false;
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub OnDataBound(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    For i As Integer = GridView1.Rows.Count - 1 To 1 Step -1
        Dim row As GridViewRow = GridView1.Rows(i)
        Dim previousRow As GridViewRow = GridView1.Rows(i - 1)
        For j As Integer = 0 To row.Cells.Count - 1
            If row.Cells(j).Text = previousRow.Cells(j).Text Then
                If previousRow.Cells(j).RowSpan = 0 Then
                    If row.Cells(j).RowSpan = 0 Then
                        previousRow.Cells(j).RowSpan += 2
                    Else
                        previousRow.Cells(j).RowSpan = row.Cells(j).RowSpan + 1
                    End If
                    row.Cells(j).Visible = False
                End If
            End If
        Next
    Next
End Sub
 
 
Screenshots
GridView without merged Rows
Add RowSpan to GridView in ASP.Net
 
GridView with merged Rows
Add RowSpan to GridView in ASP.Net
 
 
Demo
 
 
Downloads