Validation for date with CompareValidator - asp.net

Question

I'm using a textbox with a calendar extender to input a date of birth. I'm validating the date to be today or older. I have the following code:
<asp:TextBox ID="txtDateOfBirth" runat="server" </asp:TextBox><ajaxToolkit:CalendarExtender ID="txtDateOfBirth_CalendarExtender" runat="server" Enabled="True" TargetControlID="txtDateOfBirth" Format="MM/dd/yyyy" </ajaxToolkit:CalendarExtender>
<asp:CompareValidator ID="cvDateOfBirth" runat="server" ControlToValidate="txtDateOfBirth" ErrorMessage="Must be today or older" Display="Dynamic" Operator="LessThanEqual"></asp:CompareValidator>
I have the following in my Page_Load
cvDateOfBirth.ValueToCompare = DateTime.Today.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy");
In the CompareValidator I have the Type set to string. If I set it to Date I get an error
The value '04/21/2013' of the ValueToCompare property of 'cvDateOfBirth' cannot be converted to type 'Date'.
I'm formatting the date as MM/dd/yyyy because if I don't format the date to have the MM first (and leave it default), it is inserted with the Day and Month reversed or out of range exception if the month is larger than 12 (SQL 2008 R2). If I leave the Type as String, the validation works correctly but only for this year. If I select a date like 12/31/2012 (Dec 31, 2012) the validation fails. Can anyone point out what I'm doing wrong. Also, I read some posts where they say the Type must be set to Date for the CompareValidator, but I get an error which I mentioned above. Also why would this be set to Date and not String when I'm comparing it to a string from the textbox. Thanks for help.

Answer 1

First you have to do (assign compare date with today date):
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!Page.IsPostBack)
{
cvDateOfBirth.ValueToCompare = DateTime.Today.Date.ToString("dd/MM/yyyy");
}
}
then 2 way to get results, that you want ::
First Way :
<asp:TextBox ID="txtDateOfBirth" runat="server"></asp:TextBox><ajaxtoolkit:CalendarExtender
ID="txtDateOfBirth_CalendarExtender" runat="server" Enabled="True" TargetControlID="txtDateOfBirth"
Format="dd/MM/yyyy">
</ajaxtoolkit:CalendarExtender>
<asp:CompareValidator ID="cvDateOfBirth" runat="server" ControlToValidate="txtDateOfBirth" SetFocusOnError="true"
Type="Date" Operator="LessThanEqual" ErrorMessage="Incorrect Date"
ForeColor="Red"></asp:CompareValidator>
then in code behind .cs file get selected date in MM-dd-yyy to save in database as::
protected void OnSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
DateTime selcetdDate=Convert.ToDateTime(txtDateOfBirth.Text);
string date = selcetdDate.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy");
}
Other way to achieve it:
<script type="text/javascript">
function getDOB() {
var selected = document.getElementById('lbl_date').value;
var txtDateOfBirth = document.getElementById('txtDateOfBirth');
if (selected != "") {
var st = selected.split('/');
txtDateOfBirth.value = st[1] + '/' + st[0] + '/' + st[2];
}
else
txtDateOfBirth.value = "";
}
</script>
<asp:TextBox ID="txtDateOfBirth" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
<asp:TextBox ID="lbl_date" runat="server" Text="" style="display:none;" onchange="getDOB()"></asp:TextBox>
<ajaxtoolkit:CalendarExtender
ID="txtDateOfBirth_CalendarExtender" runat="server" Enabled="True" TargetControlID="lbl_date" PopupButtonID="txtDateOfBirth"
Format="dd/MM/yyyy">
</ajaxtoolkit:CalendarExtender>
<asp:CompareValidator ID="cvDateOfBirth" runat="server" ControlToValidate="lbl_date" SetFocusOnError="true"
Type="Date" Operator="LessThanEqual" ErrorMessage="Incorrect Date"
ForeColor="Red"></asp:CompareValidator>
</div>
In codebehind .cs file
protected void OnSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string date = txtDateOfBirth.Text;
}
The CompareValidator property ValueToCompare for date having default format dd-MM-yyyy so we have to manually do this for comparing with other date formats. So you can use the above two options to get compare validation with date format MM/dd/yyyy.
Cheers !