Get HTML dynamic input value ASP.NET - asp.net

Question

I'm using jQuery's AutoComplete on an ASP.NET DropDownList, the user can select a value and submit for entry into the DB. But they must also be able to type in a value, and I can't seem to be able to access that value in the code behind.
Heres the jQuery:
(function ($) {
$.widget("ui.combobox", {
_create: function () {
var self = this,
select = this.element.hide(),
selected = select.children(":selected"),
value = selected.val() ? selected.text() : "";
var input = this.input = $("<input id='txtOptValue'>")
.insertAfter(select)
.val(value)
.autocomplete({
delay: 0,
minLength: 0,
source: function (request, response) {
var matcher = new RegExp($.ui.autocomplete.escapeRegex(request.term), "i");
response(select.children("option").map(function () {
var text = $(this).text();
if (this.value && (!request.term || matcher.test(text)))
return {
label: text.replace(
new RegExp(
"(?![^&;]+;)(?!<[^<>]*)(" +
$.ui.autocomplete.escapeRegex(request.term) +
")(?![^<>]*>)(?![^&;]+;)", "gi"
), "<strong>$1</strong>"),
value: text,
option: this
};
}));
},
select: function (event, ui) {
ui.item.option.selected = true;
self._trigger("selected", event, {
item: ui.item.option
});
},
change: function (event, ui) {
if (!ui.item) {
var matcher = new RegExp("^" + $.ui.autocomplete.escapeRegex($(this).val()) + "$", "i"),
valid = false;
select.children("option").each(function () {
if ($(this).text().match(matcher)) {
this.selected = valid = true;
return false;
}
});
if (!valid) {
// remove invalid value, as it didn't match anything
//$(this).val("");
// select.val("");
// input.data("autocomplete").term = "";
return false;
}
}
}
})
.addClass("ui-widget ui-widget-content ui-corner-left");
input.data("autocomplete")._renderItem = function (ul, item) {
return $("<li></li>")
.data("item.autocomplete", item)
.append("<a>" + item.label + "</a>")
.appendTo(ul);
};
this.button = $("<button type='button'> </button>")
.attr("tabIndex", -1)
.attr("title", "Show All Items")
.insertAfter(input)
.button({
icons: {
primary: "ui-icon-triangle-1-s"
},
text: false
})
.removeClass("ui-corner-all")
.addClass("ui-corner-right ui-button-icon")
.click(function () {
// close if already visible
if (input.autocomplete("widget").is(":visible")) {
input.autocomplete("close");
return;
}
// work around a bug (likely same cause as #5265)
$(this).blur();
// pass empty string as value to search for, displaying all results
input.autocomplete("search", "");
input.focus();
});
},
destroy: function () {
this.input.remove();
this.button.remove();
this.element.show();
$.Widget.prototype.destroy.call(this);
}
});
})(jQuery);
So this takes my DropDownList, hides it, creates an input field acting as my select and also enables me to type in values.. This is my DropDownList:
<asp:FormView ID="frmCreateOptionValue" runat="server" DataKeyNames="OptionValueID"
DataSourceID="OptionSetValues_DS" DefaultMode="Insert"
oniteminserting="frmCreateOptionValue_ItemInserting">
<InsertItemTemplate>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="id-form">
<tr>
<th>
Add Option Set Value:
</th>
<td>
<div class="ui-widget" runat="server" id="addOptValue">
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlAddOptionValue" runat="server" ClientIDMode="Static" DataSourceID="OptionValues_DS"
DataTextField="Name" DataValueField="OptionValueID" AppendDataBoundItems="true"
SelectedValue='<%# Bind("OptionValueID") %>'>
<asp:ListItem Value="" Text="Select One..." />
</asp:DropDownList>
<asp:ObjectDataSource ID="OptionValues_DS" runat="server" OldValuesParameterFormatString="original_{0}"
SelectMethod="GetDataBy1" TypeName="PurekbbDataSetTableAdapters.tblOptionValueTableAdapter">
<SelectParameters>
<asp:QueryStringParameter Name="oID" QueryStringField="optionSetID" Type="Int32" />
</SelectParameters>
</asp:ObjectDataSource>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<asp:LinkButton ID="InsertButton" runat="server" CausesValidation="True" CommandName="Insert"
CssClass="form-submit" />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</InsertItemTemplate>
</asp:FormView>
And when the user inserts an item:
protected void OptionSetValues_DS_Inserting(object sender, ObjectDataSourceMethodEventArgs e)
{
// if the value doesn't already exist, create it
if (e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] == null)
{
// !!!! CANNOT FIND THE HTML INPUT AND SAVE THE VALUE
string ovName = ((TextBox)frmCreateOptionValue.FindControl("txtOptValue")).Text;
int ovOptionID = Convert.ToInt32(Request.QueryString["OptionSetID"]);
tblOptionValueTableAdapter t = new tblOptionValueTableAdapter();
int ovID = Convert.ToInt32(t.InsertQuery(ovOptionID, ovName, 0, ""));
e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] = ovID;
}
}
Is where I am stuck, how can I get the value from that HTML input field generated in jQuery?
How can this be achieved, it's killing me ;)

Answer 1

you can get the value of this text box using javascript and save it in a hidden field then read the hidden field value from code behind
put this inside javascript
$('#HiddenFieldID').val($('#txtOptValue').val());
then code behind will look like this
protected void OptionSetValues_DS_Inserting(object sender, ObjectDataSourceMethodEventArgs e)
{
// if the value doesn't already exist, create it
if (e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] == null)
{
// !!!! CANNOT FIND THE HTML INPUT AND SAVE THE VALUE
string ovName = ((HiddenField)frmCreateOptionValue.FindControl("HiddenFieldID")).Value;
int ovOptionID = Convert.ToInt32(Request.QueryString["OptionSetID"]);
tblOptionValueTableAdapter t = new tblOptionValueTableAdapter();
int ovID = Convert.ToInt32(t.InsertQuery(ovOptionID, ovName, 0, ""));
e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] = ovID;
}
}

Answer 2

Heres the solution to this one, using a HiddenField:
Add onblur to the dynamically created input:
(function ($) {
$.widget("ui.combobox", {
_create: function () {
var self = this,
select = this.element.hide(),
selected = select.children(":selected"),
value = selected.val() ? selected.text() : "";
var input = this.input = $("<input id='txtOptValue' onblur='JavaScript:copyValue()'>") ....
Add HiddenField and jQuery to the page:
<asp:HiddenField runat="server" ID="hfoValue" EnableViewState="true" ClientIDMode="Static" />
<div class="ui-widget" runat="server" id="addOptValue">
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
function copyValue() {
var theVal = $('#txtOptValue').val();
//alert('Copyng ' + theVal);
$('#hfoValue').val(theVal);
//alert('copied');
}
</script>
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlAddOptionValue" runat="server" ClientIDMode="Static" DataSourceID="OptionValues_DS"
DataTextField="Name" DataValueField="OptionValueID" AppendDataBoundItems="true"
SelectedValue='<%# Bind("OptionValueID") %>'>
<asp:ListItem Value="" Text="Select One..." />
</asp:DropDownList> ...
Finally access the value from the HiddenField:
protected void OptionSetValues_DS_Inserting(object sender, ObjectDataSourceMethodEventArgs e)
{
// if the value doesn't already exist, create it
if (e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] == null)
{
// !!!! FOUND THE VALUE :)
string ovName = ((HiddenField)frmCreateOptionValue.FindControl("hfoValue")).Value;
int ovOptionID = Convert.ToInt32(Request.QueryString["OptionSetID"]);
tblOptionValueTableAdapter t = new tblOptionValueTableAdapter();
int ovID = Convert.ToInt32(t.InsertQuery(ovOptionID, ovName, 0, ""));
e.InputParameters["OptionValueID"] = ovID;
}
}
Thanks to #Miroprocessor for helping to solve this one