ASP.NET Find DropDown Value Inside Repeater Control Part II - asp.net

Question

ive had a few questions on this subject, still having problems.
I want to find the values from a number of dropdown and textbox controls inside a repeater control.
db.ConnectionString = SystemConnString
db.Open()
Dim selectedAdTitle As String = ""
Dim enteredAdFullName As String = ""
cmd.Parameters.Add(New SqlParameter("#TransactionID", TransactionID))
cmd.Parameters.Add(New SqlParameter("#AdTitle", selectedAdTitle))
cmd.Parameters.Add(New SqlParameter("#AdFullName", enteredAdFullName))
For i As Integer = 0 To myRepeater.Items.Count - 1
Dim AdTitle As DropDownList = DirectCast(myRepeater.Items(i).FindControl("AdTitle"), DropDownList)
Dim AdFullName As TextBox = DirectCast(myRepeater.Items(i).FindControl("AdFullName"), TextBox)
selectedAdTitle = AdTitle.Text
enteredAdFullName = AdFullName.Text
cmd.Parameters("#AdTitle").Value = selectedAdTitle
cmd.Parameters("#AdFullName").Value = enteredAdFullName
SQL = ""
SQL = SQL & "INSERT INTO InsuredPersons (TransactionID,Title,FullName) VALUES ("
SQL = SQL & "#TransactionID,"
SQL = SQL & "#AdTitle,"
SQL = SQL & "#AdFullName"
SQL = SQL & ")"
cmd.CommandText = SQL
cmd.Connection = db
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery()
Next
AdTitle and AdFullName dont seem to be bringing across the values. There is no error so they have found the control ok. Below is the ASPX file code.
<asp:Repeater ID="myRepeater" runat="server">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:DropDownList ID="AdTitle" runat="server">
<asp:ListItem Selected="True" Value="" Text=""/>
<asp:ListItem Selected="False" Value="Miss" Text="Miss"/>
<asp:ListItem Selected="False" Value="Ms" Text="Ms"/>
<asp:ListItem Selected="False" Value="Mrs" Text="Mrs"/>
<asp:ListItem Selected="False" Value="Mr" Text="Mr"/>
<asp:ListItem Selected="False" Value="Other" Text="Other"/>
</asp:DropDownList>
<asp:TextBox ID="AdFullName" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
</ItemTemplate>
Edit:
Repeater is constructed on page load
Dim repeatTimes((TotalAdInsured - 1)) As Integer
myRepeater.DataSource = repeatTimes
myRepeater.DataBind()
DirectCast is done on button click
Protected Sub continueButtonDetails_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles continueButtonDetails.Click
Answer: Had to put IsPostback around Repeater Construction.
If Not IsPostBack() Then
Dim repeatTimes((TotalAdInsured - 1)) As Integer
myRepeater.DataSource = repeatTimes
myRepeater.DataBind()
End If

Answer 1

First off I think you want:
myDropDown.SelectedItem.Text
Rather Than
myDropDown.Text
Also why do you have two ItemTemplates? I didn't know you could even do that...
Are you interacting with any of the TextBoxes or DropDowns at any other point during the page lifecycle?
Try putting a PostBack check around the repeater databinding. I think whats happening is your loading the controls dynamically, therefore they have no viewstate, therefore the values will always be empty.

Answer 2

Make sure your are running your code at the correct point in the page life cycle. If you are doing it too early (for example in the OnInit) then it won't have the values from the client yet. Try moving it to your OnCommand()/OnSubmit() event and see what happens. Here are some references on ASP.NET Page Life Cycle:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178472.aspx
http://www.15seconds.com/issue/020102.htm
http://www.beansoftware.com/ASP.NET-Tutorials/Page-Life-Cycle.aspx
Picture of asp.net page life cycle