I built automatic filtering for WPF DataGrid because I was tired of doing it manually

Marko Männik — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:56:33 +0000

I built automatic filtering for WPF DataGrid because I was tired of doing it manually

dotnet #csharp #wpf #opensource #showdev

For years I’ve been working with WPF, and one thing that always slowed me down was adding proper filtering to a DataGrid.

Every project needed the same boilerplate again:

custom templates
converters
event handlers
manual filter UI
edge cases for string, dates, numbers, booleans, guids, timespans

At some point I realized I was rewriting the same thing for the 10th time.

So I finally decided to build a reusable solution.

What I built

AutoFilterWpfDataGrid is a WPF component that adds automatic, type‑aware filters to every DataGrid column with zero manual UI work.

It detects column types and generates the right filter:

string → contains / equals
numbers → range filters
dates → date pickers
booleans → tri‑state
enums → dropdown
nullable types → include/exclude blank values

No templates, no converters, no custom controls.

Just:

<AutoFilterDataGrid ItemsSource="{Binding MyItems}" />

…and the filters appear automatically.

Why I built it

I wanted something that:

works out of the box
looks clean
doesn’t require writing UI
handles common data types
is fast enough for real applications
doesn’t bring in huge dependencies

Most existing solutions were either too heavy, too old, or too complex.

I wanted something simple and modern.

How it works

The component inspects the DataGrid columns, determines the underlying property types, and injects filter controls into the column headers.

Filtering is applied through a lightweight expression engine that updates the view in real time.

It also supports optional numeric summaries (you can turn it off or use your custom map), custom header map also available.

Where to find it

GitHub: https://github.com/MarkoMannik/AutoFilterWpfDataGrid

NuGet: dotnet add package AutoFilterWpfDataGrid

The core functionality is free and open-source.

There’s also a small PRO version for advanced use cases.

Forem: Marko Männik

I built automatic filtering for WPF DataGrid because I was tired of doing it manually

I built automatic filtering for WPF DataGrid because I was tired of doing it manually

dotnet #csharp #wpf #opensource #showdev

What I built

Why I built it

How it works

Where to find it