ASP.NET binding to a UserControl property - asp.net

This should be really easy but I can't figure out how to make it work...
I have an ASP.NET UserControl (.ascx) with the following property:
public string LabelCssClass
{
get
{
return _labelCssClass;
}
set
{
_labelCssClass = value;
}
}
I want to bind that property into the HTML of the UserControl at run time, using the <%# syntax. I imagine it must be something along these lines:
<td class="<%# Eval("LabelCssClass") %>" >
I've tried all different versions of Eval() and so on ... I'm not getting errors but the binding isn't working, and my breakpoints show that the property is not being accessed.
Whats the correct syntax? cheers

I think what you might want is this:
<td class="<%=LabelCssClass%>">

Kevin's answer is probably closer to what you are trying to achieve; however, you can successfully use the <%# %> syntax in the standard markup if you call DataBind() on the Page itself.

Related

Call a function on result of ListView Eval call

i have a list view in my pages and i want to display some statistics, my Restaurant class has a Reservations property public List<Reservation> Reservations { get; private set; }, in my ListView, i would like to display number of reservations, but without making a new property like "ReservationsCount", nothing like this <%#Eval("Reservations")%>.Count doesn´t work
<td id="Td10" runat="server">
<%#Eval("Reservations")%>
</td>
Result of this <%#Eval("Reservations")%> is in the aspx page considered object, not a list of Restaurants, i don´t really know why, i am just beggining with asp.net so please help, maybe the solution is ridiculously easy:)
Try applying the count() directly after the Eval():
<%# ((List<Reservation>)Eval("Reservations")).Count() %>
As far as I know you would need to reference System.Linq for this to work. Without Linq you could try using the Count property of List<T>:
<%# ((List<Reservation>)Eval("Reservations")).Count %>

Asp.net binding a property in ascx not updating on postback

In my aspx file i have this:
addServiceOption(list, {
ID: null,
Name: '<%# SelectItemText ?? "[Select a service..]" %>'
});
and in my code-behind i have of course this property:
public string SelectItemText { get; set; }
When i change the language on my page, it causes a postback and the new language cookie is set, but that code is irrelevant here, it works.
With breakpoints i've seen that the setter of SelectItemText gets the string in the new language. However, i see that the getter is not called on postback.
I'm pretty sure the <%# %> syntax (which is impossible to search more info about if you don't know the name of the construct) means: only bind this data once, then never again.
The simple solution would be to make a which i databind the text value to on each postback, but that's a bit too hardcoded and specific for me. Is there a more general solution?
Cheers!
Change <%# to <%=
Does that work for you?

How to pass value to javascript from code behind page?

I have web application where i want to call one method on body onload method.
I have method like this
<body id="pageid1" onload="SetupFeaturedProperty(1,['http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/918-1.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/918-2.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/918-3.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/918-4.jpg']);SetupFeaturedProperty(2,['http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/665-1.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/665-2.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/665-3.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/665-4.jpg']);SetupFeaturedProperty(3,['http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/38-1.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/38-2.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/38-3.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/38-4.jpg']);SetupFeaturedProperty(4,['http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/122-1.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/122-2.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/122-3.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/122-4.jpg']);SetupFeaturedProperty(5,['http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/1076-1.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/1076-2.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/1076-3.jpg', 'http://www.brightlogic-estateagents.co.uk/MRUS/upload/1076-4.jpg']);">
And the arguments of these method can be change in after some time.
I want to pass the argument when my page is loaded.
I have tried lot of method to pass the argument from code behind page to this page but it's not working.
Please let me know a better solution for this.
Thanks
use this:
Page.ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "myScript",getScript(),true);
and then:
private string getScript()
{
return "SetupFeaturedProperty(etc,etc,etc);";
}
If you are using UpdatePanels use the ScriptManager class instead of Page.ClientScript
There are multiple ways to do this. You can register the scripts using the RegisterClientScript method. You can make the body tag a server control and set it's onload attribute in the code behind or you can use Literal tag. However the method I find most clean is creating a JS variable and assigning it's value with a serverside code then using this variable in your JS code:
<script> var someVariable = <%= SomeProperty %>;</script>
Make sure that you define properties in your page and not move all your code behind in the markup.
Another good approach is to define a function for your event that takes the element as an input (pass this as the argument) and then attach the actual arguments as different attributes to the element.
<body runat="server" id="body" onload="onLoad(this)" data-someArg="someValue">...
You can set the attributes from your code behind like this
body.Attributes["data-someArg"] = "someValue";
This will be invalid in HTML4 but will work fine in all browsers and it will be valid in HTML5 as long as you prefix the attribute name with data-
Use ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript. Check MSDN:
MSDN - Javascript and ASP.NET 2.0
MSDN - ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript
One way to do it is to setup a Literal tag in your javascript. For example:
function somemethod()
{
var number1 = 10;
var number2 = <asp:Literal ID="litNumberFromCode" runat="server"/>;
alert(number1 + number2);
}
Then in your code behind access that control like any other:
litNumberFromCode.Text = 15;
Try using inline c# <% %> with your values printing

How can I replicate If...Then logic as a Web control?

I have a designer working at the ASPX level. He doesn't do C#, doesn't do code-behinds, doesn't compile, etc. He's a pure designer, working with HTML and server controls.
I need a conditional control -- an If...Then-ish type thing. Normally, I would do this:
<asp:Placeholder Visible='<%# DateTime.Now.Day == 1 %>' runat="server">
It's the first day of the month!
</asp:PlaceHolder>
Is there any way to do something like this without the databinding syntax? Something like:
<asp:If test="DateTime.Now.Day == 1" runat="server">
It's the first day of the month!
</asp:If>
Is there some kind of way to extend a placeholder to allow this? I've fiddled around a bit, but in the end, I have a conditional that I essentially have to compile.
Now, there's nothing wrong with the databinding syntax, but's just one more bit of...weirdness, the a designer is going to have to understand. Additionally, it doesn't give me "else" statements. Something like this would be great...
<asp:If test="DateTime.Now.Day == 1" runat="server">
It's the first day of the month!
<asp:Else>
It's not the first day of the month!
</asp:Else>
</asp:If>
Instead of writing control
asp:If
why not use:
<% if expression
{ %>
Yellow
<% } %>
<% else
{%>
Red
<% } %>
Taking into account that codebehind files are out as the designer probably not got VS, I think a simpler solution with less code may be more preferential:
<%# Page Language="C#"%>
<script runat="server">
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (DateTime.Now.Day == 1)
{
DateTestPanelFirst.visible = true;
DateTestPanelOther.visible = false;
}
}
</script>
<html>
<body>
<asp:panel runat="server" id="DateTestPanelFirst" visible="false">
It's the first day of the month!
<asp:panel>
<asp:panel runat="server" id="DateTestPanelOther">
It's not the first day of the month!
<asp:panel>
</body>
</html>
the <asp:panel> could be changed to another type of web control, like <asp:label> etc. I think almost all dot net controls have the visible property, so you can hide/show them at any time.
The data-binding syntax has two problems: first it's a little weirder for your designer vs. using plain text, and second it requires the designer to remember to invert the "if" test in your "else" block.
The first problem may annoy your designer a little, but the second problem is much more severe, because it forces your designer to think like a programmer (inverting boolean logic!) and makes every if/else block into a possible bug you need to test for after your designer hands over a template.
My suggestion: use data-binding syntax, but fix the more severe problem by creating custom controls that only require data-binding test code on the If control, but not on the Else control. Sure your designers will have to type a few more characters, but the other more severe problems won't apply and your performance won't suffer as it would if you had to dynamically compile code each time your page ran.
Here's an example I coded up to illustrate:
<%# Page Language="C#"%>
<%# Register Assembly="ElseTest" TagPrefix="ElseTest" Namespace="ElseTest"%>
<script runat="server">
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
DataBind();
}
</script>
<html>
<body>
<ElseTest:IfControl runat="server" visible="<%#1 == 1 %>">
This should be visible (in "if" area)
</ElseTest:IfControl>
<ElseTest:ElseControl runat="server">
This should not be visible (in "else" area)
</ElseTest:ElseControl>
<br /><br />
<ElseTest:IfControl runat="server" visible="<%#0 == 1 %>">
This should not be visible (in "if" area)
</ElseTest:IfControl>
<ElseTest:ElseControl runat="server">
This should be visible (in "else" area)
</ElseTest:ElseControl>
</body>
</html>
Here's the underlying controls, which are simply wrappers around asp:Literal:
using System;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
[assembly: TagPrefix("ElseTest", "ElseTest")]
namespace ElseTest
{
// simply renames a literal to allow blocks of data-bound-visibility
[ToolboxData("<{0}:IfControl runat=\"server\"></{0}:IfControl>")]
public class IfControl : Literal
{
}
[ToolboxData("<{0}:ElseControl runat=\"server\"></{0}:ElseControl>")]
public class ElseControl : Literal
{
public override bool Visible
{
get
{
// find previous control (which must be an IfControl).
// If it's visible, we're not (and vice versa)
for (int i = Parent.Controls.IndexOf(this)-1; i >= 0; i--)
{
Control c = Parent.Controls[i];
if (c is IfControl)
return !c.Visible; // found it! render children if the if control is not visible
else if (c is Literal)
{
// literals with only whitespace are OK. everything else is an error between if and then
Literal l = c as Literal;
string s = l.Text.Trim();
if (s.Length > 0)
throw new ArgumentException("ElseControl must be immediately after an IfControl");
}
}
throw new ArgumentException("ElseControl must be immediately after an IfControl");
}
set
{
throw new ArgumentException("Visible property of an ElseControl is read-only");
}
}
}
}
If you want it more concise, you can easily shorten the tag name (by changing the class names and/or tag prefix). You can also create a new property (e.g. "test") to use instead of "Visible".
If you really want to get rid of the <%# %>, there are likley many different tricks you can use to leverage CodeDOM or other ways to dynamically compile code, although performance will be a challenge since you'll probably end up dynamically compiling code each time the page runs, it may introduce pesky security issues, and more. I'd stay away from that.

Forcing TargetControl Textbox to use a value in the AutocompleteExtender

I'm sure I'm going to have to write supporting javascript code to do this. I have an autocomplete extender set up that selects values from a database table, when a selection is made, i would like it to set the ID of the value selected to a hidden control. I can do that by handling a value change on the text box and making a select call to the database, Select idCompany from Companies Where CompanyName = "the text box value";
The most important thing is to constrain the values of the text box that is the targetcontrol for the autocomplete extender to ONLY use values from the autocomplete drop down. Is this possible with that control, is there examples somewhere? is there a better control to use (within the ajax control toolkit or standard .net framework - not a third party control)?
I'm going to be trying to work out some javascript, but I'll be checking back to this question to see if anyone has some useful links. I've been googling this last night for quite a while.
Update: I did not get an answer or any useful links, I've posted an almost acceptable user control that does what I want, with a few workable issues.
No one was able to give me an answer. This has been an ongoing saga. It started when I was trying to find a solution not using drop down lists for large amounts of data. I have run into issues with this so many times in previous projects. This seems to be workable code. Now I need to know how to supply a AutoPostBack Property, and allow for some events, such as SelectedValueChanged. And due to the javascript, it will conflict with another control, if I have more than one of them on the same page. Well, that's some of the known issues I'm looking at with the code, but it's a start and definately better than looking at a hung browser for 3 or 4 minutes while the drop down is loading 30k list items.
This code is assuming there is an asmx file with the script methods GetCompanyListBySearchString and GetCompanyIDByCompanyName.
ASPX FILE
<%# Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="SelectCompany.ascx.cs" Inherits="Controls_SelectCompany" %>
<%# Register TagPrefix="ajaxToolkit" Namespace="AjaxControlToolkit" Assembly="AjaxControlToolkit" %>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
var txtCompanyIDHiddenField = '<%= fldCompanyID.ClientID %>';
var txtCompanyIDTextBox = '<%= txtCompany.ClientID %>';
function getCompanyID() {
if (document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDTextBox).value != "")
CompanyService.GetCompanyIDByCompanyName(document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDTextBox).value, onCompanyIDSuccess, onCompanyIDFail);
}
function onCompanyIDSuccess(sender, e) {
if (sender == -1)
document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDTextBox).value = "";
document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDHiddenField).value = sender;
}
function onCompanyIDFail(sender, e) {
document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDTextBox).value = "";
document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDHiddenField).value = "-1";
}
function onCompanySelected() {
document.getElementById(txtCompanyIDTextBox).blur();
}
</script>
<asp:TextBox ID="txtCompany" runat="server" onblur='getCompanyID()'
/><ajaxToolkit:AutoCompleteExtender runat="server" ID="aceCompany" CompletionInterval="1000" CompletionSetCount="10"
MinimumPrefixLength="2" ServicePath="~/Company/CompanyService.asmx" ServiceMethod="GetCompanyListBySearchString"
OnClientItemSelected="onCompanySelected" TargetControlID="txtCompany" />
<asp:HiddenField ID="fldCompanyID" runat="server" Value="0" />
CODE BEHIND
[System.ComponentModel.DefaultProperty("Text")]
[ValidationProperty("Text")]
public partial class ApplicationControls_SelectCompany : System.Web.UI.UserControl
{
public string Text
{
get { return txtCompany.Text; }
set
{
txtCompany.Text = value;
//this should probably be read only and set the value based off of ID to
// make certain this is a valid Company
}
}
public int CompanyID
{
get
{
int ret = -1; Int32.TryParse(fldCompanyID.Value, out ret); return ret;
}
set
{
fldCompanyID.Value = value.ToString();
//Todo: should set code to set the Text based on the ID to keep things straight
}
}
}
Thanks for your post here. It is useful, however, it is assuming that everyone knows the setup to get the webservice called by a javascript function.
Sorry to be soo newbie, but I couldn't get the webservice called from client-side.
I read this documentation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163499.aspx
Furthermore, I found an interesting post that explains how to create/get a name value pair which is pretty much what you are expecting as far as I understood:
http://blogs.msdn.com/phaniraj/archive/2007/06/19/how-to-use-a-key-value-pair-in-your-autocompleteextender.aspx
Sorry if I misunderstood you, but I am just trying to guide other people that pass through the same situation.
Thanks a lot.
You can check the value of the selection by trapping on ClientItemSelected event and ensure that it is not blank.

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