> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ghiscoding.gitbook.io/aurelia-slickgrid/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ghiscoding.gitbook.io/aurelia-slickgrid/grid-functionalities/providing-grid-data.md).

# Providing data to the grid

### Overview

The data is passed to the grid via the constructor and can also be accessed using the `setData(data)` and `getData()` methods. Data itself can be either an array-like object with a `length` property and an indexer (`data[index]`) or a custom data provider implementing the following interface:

* `getLength()` - returns the number of data items in the set
* `getItem(index)` - returns the item at a given index
* `getItemMetadata(index)` - returns the metadata for the item at a given index (optional)

### Item Metadata

`getItemMetadata` provides a powerful way of specifying additional information about a data item that let the grid customize the appearance and handling of a particular data item. The method should return `null` if the item requires no special handling, or an object in the following general format:

```
{
  // properties describing metadata related to the item (i.e. grid row) itself
  "<property>": value,
  "<property>": value,

  // properties describing metadata related to individual columns
  "columns":  {
    "<column index>":  {
      // metadata indexed by column index
      "<property>": value,
      "<property>": value
    },

    "<column id>":  {
      // metadata indexed by column id
      "<property>": value,
      "<property>": value
    }
  }
}
```

#### Row-level properties

* `cssClasses` (string) - One or more (space-separated) CSS classes to be added to the entire row.
* `focusable` (boolean) - Whether or not any cells in the row can be set as "active".
* `selectable` (boolean) - Whether or not a row or any cells in it can be selected.

#### Column-level properties

* `focusable` (boolean) - Whether or not a cell can be set as "active".
* `selectable` (boolean) - Whether or not a cell can be selected.
* `formatter` (Function) - A custom cell formatter.
* `editor` (Function) - A custom cell editor.
* `colspan` (number|string) - Number of columns this cell will span. Can also contain "\*" to indicate that the cell should span the rest of the row.

#### Order of checks

When looking up a property, the grid checks in the following order:

1. Row-level item metadata.
2. Column-level item metadata by column id.
3. Column-level item metadata by column index.
4. Column definition.
5. Grid options.
6. Grid defaults.

### Examples

See [colspan example](https://ghiscoding.github.io/aurelia-slickgrid-demos/#/slickgrid/example14).


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