accessing HtmlTable inside a placeHolder - asp.net

I'm working with a website written in aspx.net over vb.
I have a placeHolder, and I create a table of names inside this PlaceHolder, each name has an HtmlInputCheckBox next to it.
Im doing this in the aspx.vb file, when the page is uploading.
Then, when the user wants to send mail, he presses a button and than I need to access the checkboxes, and I'm having problems with this, the Sub doesn't know the checkBox object.
I would love for some help,
Thank you!

I understand that you're creating those checkboxes dynamically?
In such case, store them as global member of the class, most simple way is to have List of them:
List<HtmlInputCheckBox> arrCheckboxes = new List<HtmlInputCheckBox>();
...
...
HtmlInputCheckBox myCheckbox = new HtmlInputCheckBox();
arrCheckboxes.Add(myCheckbox);
...
This is C# but should be easy to translate to VB - anyhow having this, you can access the List and it should work.
Worst case as "last resort" you can simply iterate the whole Request.Form collection and look for Keys with name matching to the checkbox name.

Put this in the procedure...
Dim chkValue1 As New CheckBox
Dim chkValue2 As New CheckBox
'Find the Checkbox Controls in the PlaceHolder and cast them to the checkboxes we just made.
chkValue1 = CType(YourPlaceHolder.FindControl("Checkbox1ControlId"), CheckBox)
chkValue2 = CType(YourPlaceHolder.FindControl("Checkbox2ControlId"), CheckBox)
'Now you can do this...
Dim bolIsValue1Checked As Boolean = chkValue1.Checked

Related

Issue binding a DataTable to an ASP.Net GridView control

I'm trying to allow my users to enter in large lists of data using an ASP.Net GridView control. The affect I'm trying to create is to make the GridView control act like a spreadsheet. The user can freely enter data and tab from column to column and row to row. The user can use a button at the bottom of the page to add rows as needed. There is also a button at the bottom of the form to save as needed.
To do this, I created a DataTable with a bunch of empty rows and bound it to a GridView. The GridView's columns are template columns that contain textboxes. So, when the page opens, it actually looks like a spread sheet. When the user hits the add rows button, I just add another ten rows to the DataTable the GridView is bound to and it works like a charm.
The issue I'm running into is reading the data that the user entered. When the user hits the paging link or the update button, I would like to update the DataTable with the data the user typed in. Here is what I have.
Private Sub UpdateDataTable()
Dim objCatRow As clsCategoriesRow = Session("gvCategoriesRow")
Dim drQuery() As DataRow = Nothing
Dim drRow As DataRow = Nothing
Dim objRow As GridViewRow = Nothing
Dim intRecNo As Integer = 0
Dim txt As TextBox = Nothing
Dim lbl As Label = Nothing
'Loop through all of the rows in the grid view control
For Each objRow In Me.gvCategories.Rows
'Get the label that contains the identity column
lbl = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.Category).FindControl("lblItemRecNo")
intRecNo = lbl.Text
'Update the datarow bound to this grid view row
'First, query the datarow from the data table
drQuery = objCatRow.Table.Select("recno = " & intRecNo)
'Make sure our query returned a row
If Not IsNothing(drQuery) AndAlso drQuery.Count > 0 Then
'Get the value from the textbox in the grid view
txt = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.Category).FindControl("txtItemCategory")
'Upadte the data row with the value the user entered
'THE VALUE IN txt.Text IS EMPTY. HOW CAN I GET THE VALUE THE USER TYPED IN?
drQuery(0)("Category") = txt.Text
'Get the value from the textbox in the grid view
txt = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.SortORder).FindControl("txtItemSortOrder")
'Upadte the data row with the value the user entered
drQuery(0)("sortorder") = txt.Text
End If
Next
End Sub
The issue is that this is not returning what the user typed in. The line
txt = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.Category).FindControl("txtItemCategory")
returns a reference to the textbox in the templated column. But, it contains the previous value, the value from the view state, not the value the user typed in.
How can I get the value the user typed into the grid?
I want to mention that I know how to add EDIT and UPDATE buttons to each row. I would like to avoid doing that way if I can. My users have huge lists of data to enter in and that approach would make the application unusable.
Thanks in advance,
Mike
The form data posted by the user is found in the Page.Request.Form.Item collection. The Page.Request.Form.AllKeys lists the "keys" associated with all of the form item values.
If Page.Request.Form.HasKeys Then
For Each key as String In Page.Request.Form.AllKeys
' step through the keys and use Page.Request.Form.Item(key) to get the data entered
Next
end If
After testing, I was able to get the data from the Request.Form data or the GridView control during page.load on postback, as long as you don't bind the control on postback, but only during the initial request ("GET").
Keep in mind, controls have to be re-created for each request to the page. The Request data posted is used by ASP.NET to repopulate form data controls only after the controls are re-created on the page and the ViewState for the controls is processed, etc.
Request.Form collection
ASP.NET Page Life Cycle
You should replace this:
txt = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.Category).FindControl("txtItemCategory")
with this
txt = objRow.Cells(GridColumns.Category).FindControl("txtItemCategory").Value

Add New Item to Already Bound ListView in ASP Net (Unable to set DataKeys/FieldName)

My overall goal is to add fake/unbound items to a listview control (for final HTML Table output reasons). This is a code behind solution. Users will not be adding items as it will be outputted in a rigid table.
I have looked at several examples and while this is easy for a dropdown it is not for listview.
The code below works without error, but my item is not shown on runtime. I think the class is not setting the item fieldname correctly, but I can't figure out the right syntax to fix it.
ColumnNameAList.DataSource = PeriodDataView
ColumnNameAList.DataBind()
Dim test As New Example1("ColumnNameA")
Dim newItem As New ListViewDataItem(ColumnNameAList.Items.Count, ColumnNameAList.Items.Count)
newItem.DataItem = test
ColumnNameAList.Items.Insert(ColumnNameAList.Items.Count, newItem)
ColumnNameAList.Items.Add(newItem)
Here is the Example1 class that is supposed to set the DataValueField:
Public Class Example1
Public Sub New(ColumnNameA__1 As String)
ColumnNameA = ColumnNameA__1
End Sub
Private m_ColumnNameA As String
Public Property ColumnNameA() As String
Get
Return m_ColumnNameA
End Get
Set(value As String)
m_ColumnNameA = value
End Set
End Property
End Class
This outputs my original datasource list, but not the added item.
<ItemTemplate>
<td>
<%# Eval("ColumnNameA")%>
</td>
</ItemTemplate>
In the end I could only reliably solve this with a codebehind solution.
I made a copy of the original datasource, modified my copy and then databound to it.
Dim MyOriginalTableSource As Data.DataView = DataManager.example()
Dim ModifiedTable As DataTable = MyOriginalTableSource.ToTable
'do stuff here
Mylistbox.DataSource = ModifiedTable
Mylistbox.DataBind()
Won't work for everyone, but in this case it works fine for me.
There could be a couple of issues with the way you are approaching this, including that the ListView is already databound and that you are both adding and inserting the newItem.
When we have a scenario like this, we take one of two approaches:
1) Add the new item to the data source before the source is data bound.
2) Remove databinding and manually create each of the list view items, then add your new item at the beginning or end of the loop.
Another way to do it would be to inject it into the sql.
select col1, col2, col3 from table1 union select '1','2','3'
this would ensure that the item is always added, and asp.net doesn't need to know or care.
You can add this into the sql query or add it from the behind code before binding query. if you are not binding with sql, you can also do this to any list item with LINQ

How to reference dynamic textboxes created at run time?

I have an ASP project which references a WCF service. Does exactly half of what I need.
A button on the page calls a function from the WCF, which returns a list of objects (variable names). When returned, the vb code dynamically adds textboxes to a panel on the page. Like this:
For Each LetterVariables In LetterVarList
tb = New TextBox
lb = New Label
lb.Text = LetterVariables._key & " "
tb.ID = LetterVariables._key
pnlVars.Controls.Add(lb)
pnlVars.Controls.Add(tb)
Dim LineBreak As LiteralControl = New LiteralControl("<br />")
pnlVars.Controls.Add(LineBreak)
Next
Now the problem is, after this is finished the user will enter some values into those texboxes. I (somehow) need to reference those texboxes to snag the values when a user clicks another button.
How can I do this?
Thanks,
Jason
You can give the TextBox an ID which you could use FindControl to retrieve.
tb.ID = "txt" + LetterVariables._key.ToString();
Then when you want to reference it.
TextBox txtBox = (TextBox)FindControl("txt" + someKey);
Something like that might work for you.
Don't forget to recreate the controls on post back BEFORE the controls are loaded with the posted values.

dynamically set control ID

i have few texboxt and dropdownlist, which their id would be something like "txtName1, txtName2, txtName3..." and "ddlAction1, ddlAction2, ddlAction3...."! I would to to dynamically set the textboxt and dropdownlist id into something like this:
for i as integer = 0 to 6
a = txtName+i.text
b = ddlAction+i.SelectedValue
next i
Need help from you guys to do this! thanks....
The key is FindControl, which looks up a control by its expected ID:
For i As Integer = 0 To 5
Dim txt As TextBox = TryCast(Me.Page.FindControl("txtName" & i.ToString()), TextBox)
Dim ddl As DropDownList = TryCast(Me.Page.FindControl("ddlAction" & i.ToString()), DropDownList)
If txt IsNot Nothing AndAlso ddl IsNot Nothing Then
Dim a As String = txt.Text
Dim b As String = ddl.SelectedValue
End If
Next
It will return null/nothing if a control with that ID isn't found.
Note that FindControl will only search the given control's (or Page's) immediate children, not the entire control tree. To search recursively, you need to use your own FindControl method.
Private Function FindControlRecursive(ByVal control As Control, ByVal id As String) As Control
Dim returnControl As Control = control.FindControl(id)
If returnControl Is Nothing Then
For Each child As Control In control.Controls
returnControl = child.FindControlRecursive(id)
If returnControl IsNot Nothing AndAlso returnControl.ID = id Then
Return returnControl
End If
Next
End If
Return returnControl
End Function
.Net requires you to resolve your variable names at compile time, rather than runtime like your code is trying to do. This is a good thing, as it prevents you from making certain kinds of errors. But it does mean you'll need to look at an alternative approach for this particular problem.
One option is a FindControl -based method. But odds are the controls you care about are grouped together on the page. If they aren't already, put them in a common container control, like a panel. Then you can do something like this (requires System.Linq):
For Each t As TextBox In MyContainer.Controls.OfType(Of TextBox)()
a = t.Text
Next t
For Each d As DropDownList In MyContainer.Controls.OfType(Of DropDownList)()
b = d.SelectedValue
Next d
Also, I hope you're really doing something other than assignment inside your loop. Otherwise, most of the work is for nothing as you will exit the loop having simply assigned the value from the last iteration to your variable.
Finally, it seems like these controls might work in pairs. To me, that's a situation that calls out for you to implement a user control.
I'm not a webforms expert, but I believe the page stores a reference to each control present in the page.
You can think of webforms like an n-ary tree... each control has a parent and can have 0 to many children. So, if these are static controls you should just be able to grab a reference to their parent and iterate over that... with no need for the children's ids.
Also, you can query for children based on their id... something like myControl["myID1"] so you can concat the number with the string and get the control that way.
Lastly, if these are purely dynamic controls, i.e. you don't know how many there are, just store references to them in an ordered collection and iterate over them that way.
EDIT:
Here we go:
WebControl myControl;
myControl.Controls.Add(someControlReference);
Then, to grab a control by ID:
WebControl someControl = myControl.FindControl("someControlID1");
From there you can do like:
string a = someControl.Text

previouspage.findcontrol getting variable from previous page

i am trying to retain the value of a variable from a previous page. i believe this is the C# way to do this, but i would like the vb.net way can someone please help:
TextBox myTxt = (TextBox)Page.PreviousPage.FindControl("previousPageTextBox");
currentPageTextBox.text = myTxt.Text;
i would like to know how to code this in vb.net
i tried this:
Dim myTxt As TextBox = CType(Page.PreviousPage.FindControl("Textbox1"), TextBox)
TextBox1.Text = myTxt.Text
but i got this error msg:
use the new keyword to create an object instance
This should do it, also make sure you are using Server.Transfer to go between pages.. but I am sure you already know this:
Dim myTxt as TextBox = CType(Page.PreviousPage.FindControl("previousPageTextBox"), TextBox)
currentPageTextBox.text = myTxt.Text
dim txt as TextBox =CType( Page.PreviousPage.FindControl("previousPageTextBox"),
TextBox)
currentPageTextBox.Text = txt.Text
PS:- You need to set the previous page in the page where you want to find the control.
<%# PreviousPageType VirtualPath="~/Test.aspx" %>
Also better way will be to create an function on previous page which returns the text in textbox.
internal function TextBoxText() as string
return myTextPage.Text
end function
and use this on next page like this:
currentPageTextbox.Text = Page.PrevousPage.TextBoxText
let me know if this works because I've not used vb for long long time.
PPS:- It is only available if you user Server.Transfer or go to currentPage using some asp.net contorl like LinkButton from simple href links PreviousPage is null

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