Name

Find

Synopsis

Int32 rowIndex = DataView.Find(Object sortKey);

Int32 rowIndex = DataView.Find(Object[] sortKey);

Returns the index of a single matching row, using the current DataView sort order. For example, if you have a sort defined on the ContactName column of the Customers table, you can use the Find( ) method to search for a row with a specific ContactName. If no match is found, the Find( ) method returns -1. If there are multiple matches, only the first is returned.

The Find( ) method requires exact matches. You can’t perform a partial match (for example, by supplying just a first name for the ContactName) or use a wildcard.

Parameters

Object sortKey
Object[] sortKey

The sortKey specifies the value you are searching for. The data type you use should match the data type of the column used for the search criteria. If you create a sort expression that incorporates information from multiple columns, you must use the overloaded version of the Find( ) method that accepts an array with search values for all columns, in the same order.

Example

The following code snippet searches for an exact match of the ContactName field:

DataView view = new DataView(ds.Tables["Customers"]);

view.Sort = "ContactName";



int rowIndex = view.Find("Roland Mendel");



if (rowIndex == -1)

{

    Console.WriteLine("No match found.");

}

else

{

    Console.WriteLine(view[rowIndex]["CustomerID"].ToString() + 

                      " is a match.");



}

Notes

To use the Find( ) method, you must have defined a sort order for a DataView, either by setting the RowFilter property or the ApplyDefaultSort property. If it’s possible that your search will match more than one row, use the FindRows( ) method instead of the Find( ) method.

The case-sensitivity of search values for the Find( ) method is determined by the CaseSensitive property of the underlying DataTable.