NullReferenceException in usercontrol from class library, but not from web project - asp.net

Question

I have following project structure where web application may contain user controls from the same web project or from a separate class library. The issue is in Default.aspx.cs, when I execute usercontrol2.SetValues(); I receive NullReferenceException since for some reason textbox2 is null. I've tried using EnsureChildControls(); but it does not help either. Should I register or invoke these usercontrols in some other way? Why does not it work out-of-box?
User control in web project
WebUserControl1.ascx
<%# Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="WebUserControl1.ascx.cs" Inherits="WebApplication1.WebUserControl1" %>
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="textbox1"></asp:TextBox>
WebUserControl1.ascx.cs
namespace WebApplication1
{
public partial class WebUserControl1 : System.Web.UI.UserControl
{
public void SetValues()
{
textbox1.Text = "Hello";
}
}
}
User control in class library
WebUserControl2.ascx
<%# Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="WebUserControl2.ascx.cs" Inherits="ClassLibrary1.WebUserControl2" %>
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="textbox2"></asp:TextBox>
WebUserControl2.ascx.cs
namespace ClassLibrary1
{
public partial class WebUserControl2 : System.Web.UI.UserControl
{
public void SetValues()
{
textbox2.Text = "world";
}
}
}
Main page
Default.aspx
<%# Page Title="Home Page" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Site1.Master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="WebApplication1._Default" %>
<%# Register tagPrefix="web" tagName="WebUserControl1" src="WebUserControl1.ascx" %>
<%# Register TagPrefix="web" Namespace="ClassLibrary1" Assembly="ClassLibrary1" %>
<asp:Content ID="BodyContent" ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1" runat="server">
<web:WebUserControl1 runat="server" ID="usercontrol1"></web:WebUserControl1>
<web:WebUserControl2 runat="server" ID="usercontrol2"></web:WebUserControl2>
</asp:Content>
Default.aspx.cs
using System;
using System.Web.UI;
namespace WebApplication1
{
public partial class _Default : Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
usercontrol1.SetValues(); // OK
usercontrol2.SetValues(); // NullReferenceException
}
}
}

Answer 1

Using ascx usercontrols from a different assembly is not possible.
I think you should look at this problem this way. Your classlibrary is compiled into a dll-file. This is the only thing that is available for your webapplication. The ‘ascx’ doesn’t get compiled into the dll, and is not available.
If you really want to keep some controls separated from your web-project, I think there are a few options:
Convert your usercontrol to a customcontrol. Custom controls are a bit more difficult to create, but it is certainly not impossible. This way you really get a re-usable control.
See also this question; it addresses your problem and there’s also a link to an algorithm which ‘converts’ an ascx usercontrol to a custom control. (I didn’t test that)
Asp.NET user control referenced from another project/dll has NULL properties
Make sure your ascx files are available to the web-project, by publishing to a path in your output. Then use LoadControl to load them serverside. This could work, but I also think some of the reusability from your classlibrary is lost.