AJAX autocomplete not working inside user control why? - asp.net

Question

My AJAX auto-complete function is not working with a user control but when I use it with a normal ASP.NET page it works fine:
[System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptMethod()]
[System.Web.Services.WebMethod]
public static List<string> GetCity(string prefixText, string contextKey)
{
DataTable dt = new DataTable();
string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["ERPConnection"].ToString();
SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr);
con.Open();
string CmdText = "select name+ '-' + ' ['+CONVERT(VARCHAR, custid) +']'as name from ht_cust where name like #City+'%' and EmpID =#EmpId";
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(CmdText, con);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#City", prefixText);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#EmpId", contextKey);
SqlDataAdapter adp = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
adp.Fill(dt);
List<string> CityNames = new List<string>();
for (int i = 0; i < dt.Rows.Count; i++)
{
CityNames.Add(dt.Rows[i][0].ToString());
}
return CityNames;
}
aspx code
<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel7" runat="server">
<ContentTemplate>
<asp:TextBox ID="txtCity" runat="server" UseContextKey="true" onkeyup="SetContextKey()" CssClass="input-1" Width="200px"></asp:TextBox>
<ajaxToolkit:AutoCompleteExtender ID="AutoCompleteExtender1" runat="server" TargetControlID="txtCity" MinimumPrefixLength="1" EnableCaching="true" CompletionSetCount="1" CompletionInterval="1000" ServiceMethod="GetCity" UseContextKey="true" CompletionListCssClass="autocomplete_completionListElement">
</ajaxToolkit:AutoCompleteExtender>
</ContentTemplate>
</asp:UpdatePanel>

Answer 1

You cannot call a webmethod through a user control because it will be automatically rendered inside the page. Move your webmethod to your aspx page.
If you want the logic inside the controller then you can call it from aspx page but your webmethod needs to be in aspx page.
Example:
In aspx page:
[System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptMethod()]
[System.Web.Services.WebMethod]
public static List<string> GetCity(string prefixText, string contextKey)
{
return mycontrol.GetCity(prefixText, contextKey);
}
In your user control :
public static List<string> GetCity(string prefixText, string contextKey)
{
DataTable dt = new DataTable();
string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["ERPConnection"].ToString();
SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr);
con.Open();
string CmdText = "select name+ '-' + ' ['+CONVERT(VARCHAR, custid) +']'as name from ht_cust where name like #City+'%' and EmpID =#EmpId";
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(CmdText, con);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#City", prefixText);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#EmpId", contextKey);
SqlDataAdapter adp = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
adp.Fill(dt);
List<string> CityNames = new List<string>();
for (int i = 0; i < dt.Rows.Count; i++)
{
CityNames.Add(dt.Rows[i][0].ToString());
}
return CityNames;
}