Cell Editors

Overview

Cell Editors provide custom interfaces for editing cell values when users enter edit mode. Use cell editors to:

Create specialized input controls (dropdowns, date pickers, etc.)
Implement custom validation logic
Build multi-field editors for complex data types
Add rich editing experiences with autocomplete, suggestions, or formatting
Control when editing starts and stops

Editing is triggered by double-clicking a cell, pressing F2, or typing a printable character. You can customize this behavior using editType and singleClickEdit column properties.

ICellEditorParams Interface

The grid provides cell editors with comprehensive parameters:

interface ICellEditorParams<TData = any, TValue = any, TContext = any>
  extends ICellEditorParamsShared<TData, TValue, TContext> {
  /** Current value of the cell */
  value: TValue | null | undefined;
  
  /** Key that started the edit (e.g., 'Enter', 'F2', or printable character) */
  eventKey: string | null;
  
  /** Grid column */
  column: Column<TValue>;
  
  /** Column definition */
  colDef: ColDef<TData, TValue>;
  
  /** Row node for the cell */
  node: IRowNode<TData>;
  
  /** Row data */
  data: TData;
  
  /** Editing row index */
  rowIndex: number;
  
  /** True if this cell started the edit (user double-clicked or pressed key) */
  cellStartedEdit: boolean;
  
  /** Pass key events back to grid (tab, arrows, etc.) */
  onKeyDown: (event: KeyboardEvent) => void;
  
  /** Stop editing and optionally suppress navigation */
  stopEditing: (suppressNavigateAfterEdit?: boolean) => void;
  
  /** Reference to the grid cell DOM element */
  eGridCell: HTMLElement;
  
  /** Parse a string value using the column's valueParser */
  parseValue: (value: string) => TValue | null | undefined;
  
  /** Format a value using the column's valueFormatter */
  formatValue: (value: TValue | null | undefined) => string;
  
  /** Custom validation callback */
  getValidationErrors?: (
    params: IErrorValidationParams<TData, TValue, TContext>
  ) => string[] | null;
  
  /** Run editor validation */
  validate(): void;
}

ICellEditor Interface

Implement this interface to create a custom cell editor:

interface ICellEditor<TValue = any> extends BaseCellEditor {
  /**
   * Mandatory - Return the final value.
   * Called by the grid once after editing is complete.
   */
  getValue(): TValue | null | undefined;

  /**
   * Optional: Called when cell editor params update
   */
  refresh?(params: ICellEditorParams<any, TValue>): void;

  /**
   * Optional: Called after the GUI is attached to the DOM.
   * Use for operations that require attachment (e.g., focus).
   */
  afterGuiAttached?(): void;

  /**
   * Optional: Return true for popup editors.
   * Default is false (inline editing).
   */
  isPopup?(): boolean;

  /**
   * Optional: Return 'over' or 'under' for popup position.
   * Only called if isPopup() returns true.
   */
  getPopupPosition?(): 'over' | 'under' | undefined;
}

BaseCellEditor Interface

interface BaseCellEditor {
  /**
   * Optional: Return true to cancel editing before it starts.
   * Useful for conditional editing based on the key pressed.
   */
  isCancelBeforeStart?(): boolean;

  /**
   * Optional: Return true to cancel editing and discard the value.
   * Called after editing is complete.
   */
  isCancelAfterEnd?(): boolean;

  /**
   * Optional: Called when focus should be put into the editor
   * (full row edit mode)
   */
  focusIn?(): void;

  /**
   * Optional: Called when focus is leaving the editor
   * (full row edit mode)
   */
  focusOut?(): void;

  /**
   * Optional: Return the element for validation feedback.
   * @param tooltip - True for tooltip anchor, false for CSS styling
   */
  getValidationElement?(tooltip: boolean): HTMLElement;

  /**
   * Optional: Return validation error messages
   */
  getValidationErrors?(): string[] | null;
}

Basic Examples

Vanilla JS
React
Angular
Vue

class NumericCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.type = 'number';
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
    this.eInput.style.width = '100%';
    
    // Focus and select on attach
    this.eInput.addEventListener('focus', () => {
      this.eInput.select();
    });
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eInput.focus();
  }

  getValue() {
    const value = this.eInput.value;
    return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
  }

  destroy() {
    // Cleanup if needed
  }
}

// Column definition
const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'price',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: NumericCellEditor
  }
];

import { forwardRef, useRef, useEffect, useImperativeHandle } from 'react';

const NumericCellEditor = forwardRef((props, ref) => {
  const inputRef = useRef(null);

  useImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({
    getValue() {
      const value = inputRef.current.value;
      return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
    }
  }));

  useEffect(() => {
    // Focus and select on mount
    inputRef.current.focus();
    inputRef.current.select();
  }, []);

  return (
    <input
      ref={inputRef}
      type="number"
      defaultValue={props.value ?? ''}
      style={{ width: '100%' }}
    />
  );
});

export default NumericCellEditor;

// Column definition
const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'price',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: NumericCellEditor
  }
];

import { Component, ViewChild, AfterViewInit } from '@angular/core';
import { ICellEditorAngularComp } from 'ag-grid-angular';
import { ICellEditorParams } from 'ag-grid-community';

@Component({
  selector: 'numeric-cell-editor',
  template: `
    <input
      #input
      type="number"
      [value]="params.value ?? ''"
      style="width: 100%;"
    />
  `
})
export class NumericCellEditor implements ICellEditorAngularComp, AfterViewInit {
  @ViewChild('input', { static: false }) input: any;
  public params: ICellEditorParams;

  agInit(params: ICellEditorParams): void {
    this.params = params;
  }

  ngAfterViewInit(): void {
    setTimeout(() => {
      this.input.nativeElement.focus();
      this.input.nativeElement.select();
    });
  }

  getValue(): any {
    const value = this.input.nativeElement.value;
    return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
  }
}

// Column definition
columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'price',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: NumericCellEditor
  }
];

<template>
  <input
    ref="input"
    type="number"
    :value="params.value ?? ''"
    style="width: 100%;"
  />
</template>

<script>
export default {
  data() {
    return {
      params: null
    };
  },
  mounted() {
    this.$nextTick(() => {
      this.$refs.input.focus();
      this.$refs.input.select();
    });
  },
  methods: {
    getValue() {
      const value = this.$refs.input.value;
      return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
    }
  }
};
</script>

// Column definition
const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'price',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: NumericCellEditor
  }
];

Advanced Examples

class SelectCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eGui = document.createElement('select');
    this.eGui.style.width = '100%';
    this.eGui.style.height = '100%';
    
    const options = params.values || [];
    options.forEach(option => {
      const optionEl = document.createElement('option');
      optionEl.value = option;
      optionEl.text = option;
      if (option === params.value) {
        optionEl.selected = true;
      }
      this.eGui.appendChild(optionEl);
    });
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eGui;
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eGui.focus();
  }

  getValue() {
    return this.eGui.value;
  }
}

// Usage
const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'country',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: SelectCellEditor,
    cellEditorParams: {
      values: ['USA', 'UK', 'Canada', 'Australia']
    }
  }
];

Date Picker Editor

class DateCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.type = 'date';
    this.eInput.style.width = '100%';
    
    // Convert value to ISO date string
    if (params.value) {
      const date = new Date(params.value);
      this.eInput.value = date.toISOString().split('T')[0];
    }
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eInput.focus();
  }

  getValue() {
    if (!this.eInput.value) return null;
    return new Date(this.eInput.value);
  }
}

class PopupCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eGui = document.createElement('div');
    this.eGui.style.padding = '20px';
    this.eGui.style.background = 'white';
    this.eGui.style.border = '1px solid #ccc';
    this.eGui.style.borderRadius = '4px';
    
    this.eGui.innerHTML = `
      <div>
        <label>Enter value:</label>
        <input type="text" class="editor-input" value="${params.value || ''}" />
        <div style="margin-top: 10px;">
          <button class="btn-ok">OK</button>
          <button class="btn-cancel">Cancel</button>
        </div>
      </div>
    `;
    
    this.eInput = this.eGui.querySelector('.editor-input');
    this.eGui.querySelector('.btn-ok').addEventListener('click', () => {
      params.stopEditing();
    });
    this.eGui.querySelector('.btn-cancel').addEventListener('click', () => {
      this.cancelled = true;
      params.stopEditing();
    });
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eGui;
  }

  isPopup() {
    return true;
  }

  getPopupPosition() {
    return 'over';
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eInput.focus();
    this.eInput.select();
  }

  getValue() {
    return this.cancelled ? this.params.value : this.eInput.value;
  }

  isCancelAfterEnd() {
    return this.cancelled;
  }
}

Conditional Editing

Control when editing starts using isCancelBeforeStart():

class NumericOnlyCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.type = 'number';
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  getValue() {
    return Number(this.eInput.value);
  }

  isCancelBeforeStart() {
    // Only allow editing if a number key was pressed
    const key = this.params.eventKey;
    return key && !/^[0-9]$/.test(key);
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    // If a number was typed, append it
    if (this.params.eventKey && /^[0-9]$/.test(this.params.eventKey)) {
      this.eInput.value = this.params.eventKey;
    }
    this.eInput.focus();
  }
}

Validation

Built-in Validation

Implement getValidationErrors() to provide validation:

class ValidatedCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.type = 'number';
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
    
    // Validate on input
    this.eInput.addEventListener('input', () => {
      params.validate();
    });
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  getValue() {
    const value = this.eInput.value;
    return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
  }

  getValidationErrors() {
    const value = this.getValue();
    const errors = [];
    
    if (value === null || value === undefined) {
      errors.push('Value is required');
    } else if (value < 0) {
      errors.push('Value must be positive');
    } else if (value > 1000) {
      errors.push('Value must be less than 1000');
    }
    
    return errors.length > 0 ? errors : null;
  }

  getValidationElement(tooltip) {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eInput.focus();
  }
}

Custom Validation Callback

Use cellEditorParams.getValidationErrors for validation:

const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'age',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agNumberCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      getValidationErrors: (params) => {
        const { value } = params;
        const errors = [];
        
        if (value < 18) {
          errors.push('Must be 18 or older');
        }
        if (value > 100) {
          errors.push('Invalid age');
        }
        
        return errors.length > 0 ? errors : null;
      }
    }
  }
];

Built-in Cell Editors

AG Grid provides several built-in editors:

Text Editor

columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'name',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agTextCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      maxLength: 50,
      useFormatter: false
    }
  }
];

Number Editor

columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'price',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agNumberCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      min: 0,
      max: 10000,
      precision: 2
    }
  }
];

Date Editor

columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'birthDate',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agDateCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      min: '1900-01-01',
      max: '2100-12-31'
    }
  }
];

Select Editor

columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'country',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agSelectCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      values: ['USA', 'UK', 'Canada', 'Australia']
    }
  }
];

Large Text Editor

columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'description',
    editable: true,
    cellEditor: 'agLargeTextCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: {
      maxLength: 1000,
      rows: 10,
      cols: 50
    }
  }
];

Handle keyboard events to improve user experience:

class KeyboardAwareCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
    
    this.eInput.addEventListener('keydown', (event) => {
      // Stop editing on Enter
      if (event.key === 'Enter') {
        params.stopEditing();
      }
      // Cancel on Escape
      else if (event.key === 'Escape') {
        this.cancelled = true;
        params.stopEditing();
      }
      // Pass Tab to grid for navigation
      else if (event.key === 'Tab') {
        params.onKeyDown(event);
      }
    });
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  getValue() {
    return this.cancelled ? this.params.value : this.eInput.value;
  }

  isCancelAfterEnd() {
    return this.cancelled;
  }

  afterGuiAttached() {
    this.eInput.focus();
    this.eInput.select();
  }
}

Full Row Editing

Implement focusIn() and focusOut() for full row edit mode:

class FullRowCellEditor {
  init(params) {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
  }

  getGui() {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  getValue() {
    return this.eInput.value;
  }

  focusIn() {
    this.eInput.focus();
    this.eInput.select();
  }

  focusOut() {
    // Optional cleanup when focus leaves
  }
}

// Enable full row editing
const gridOptions = {
  editType: 'fullRow',
  columnDefs: [
    { field: 'name', editable: true, cellEditor: FullRowCellEditor },
    { field: 'age', editable: true, cellEditor: FullRowCellEditor }
  ]
};

Best Practices

Always Focus the Editor

Implement afterGuiAttached() to focus your input element:

afterGuiAttached() {
  this.eInput.focus();
  this.eInput.select(); // Select text for easy replacement
}

Handle Initial Key Press

If the user starts editing by typing a character, use it as the initial value:

init(params) {
  this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
  // If a printable character was typed, use it as initial value
  if (params.eventKey && params.eventKey.length === 1) {
    this.eInput.value = params.eventKey;
  } else {
    this.eInput.value = params.value ?? '';
  }
}

Use parseValue and formatValue

Leverage the provided utility functions:

init(params) {
  this.params = params;
  this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
  // Use formatValue to display the initial value
  this.eInput.value = params.formatValue(params.value);
}

getValue() {
  // Use parseValue to convert back to the correct type
  return this.params.parseValue(this.eInput.value);
}

Implement Validation

Provide immediate feedback with validation:

getValidationErrors() {
  const value = this.getValue();
  if (!value) return ['Value is required'];
  return null;
}

TypeScript Support

Use generics for type-safe cell editors:

interface Product {
  name: string;
  price: number;
  category: string;
}

class TypedCellEditor implements ICellEditorComp<Product, number> {
  private eInput: HTMLInputElement;
  private params: ICellEditorParams<Product, number>;

  init(params: ICellEditorParams<Product, number>): void {
    this.params = params;
    this.eInput = document.createElement('input');
    this.eInput.type = 'number';
    
    // TypeScript knows params.data is Product and params.value is number
    this.eInput.value = String(params.value ?? 0);
  }

  getGui(): HTMLElement {
    return this.eInput;
  }

  getValue(): number | null {
    const value = this.eInput.value;
    return value === '' ? null : Number(value);
  }

  afterGuiAttached(): void {
    this.eInput.focus();
  }
}

Get Started

Framework Integration

Core Concepts

Features

Enterprise Features

Customization

Themes

Overview

ICellEditorParams Interface

ICellEditor Interface

BaseCellEditor Interface

Basic Examples

Advanced Examples

Date Picker Editor

Conditional Editing

Validation

Built-in Validation

Custom Validation Callback

Built-in Cell Editors

Text Editor

Number Editor

Date Editor

Select Editor

Large Text Editor

Keyboard Navigation

Full Row Editing

Best Practices

TypeScript Support

Next Steps

Cell Renderers

Filters

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Framework Integration

Core Concepts

Features

Enterprise Features

Customization

Themes

​Overview

​ICellEditorParams Interface

​ICellEditor Interface

​BaseCellEditor Interface

​Basic Examples

​Advanced Examples

​Dropdown Editor with Search

​Date Picker Editor

​Popup Editor

​Conditional Editing

​Validation

​Built-in Validation

​Custom Validation Callback

​Built-in Cell Editors

​Text Editor

​Number Editor

​Date Editor

​Select Editor

​Large Text Editor

​Keyboard Navigation

​Full Row Editing

​Best Practices

​TypeScript Support

​Next Steps

Cell Renderers

Filters

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

ICellEditorParams Interface

ICellEditor Interface

BaseCellEditor Interface

Basic Examples

Advanced Examples

Dropdown Editor with Search

Date Picker Editor

Popup Editor

Conditional Editing

Validation

Built-in Validation

Custom Validation Callback

Built-in Cell Editors

Text Editor

Number Editor

Date Editor

Select Editor

Large Text Editor

Keyboard Navigation

Full Row Editing

Best Practices

TypeScript Support

Next Steps