DataBinding on PostBack?

[Krista Lemieux]

I'm new to ASP.NET and I'm not use to the way things are handled with
this technology. I've been told that when I have a control, I should
only bind the data to it once, and not on each post back (basically
have the data binding done in the If NOT IsPostBack Then statement).
How come? How does this information get preserved?

Which raises another question. Becuase I want to get away from the
spaghetti code approach, I would like to create some of the controls
programatically in the code-behind, not the aspx file. Where would I
create that. Well for instance I want to create a table using for
loops (for rows and then for columns), and then bind some data from a
DataTable to this dynamically created table. Would I create the Table
(not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only once (not on
each postback)??? How does that work.

Any suggestions, or explanations greatly appreciated. Thank you so
much in advance.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

[Raterus]

"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...

...How does this information get preserved? ViewState!
Would I create the Table
(not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only once (not on
each postback)??? How does that work.

Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the information in a datatable to it. No need to create your own table. You would bind this initially when the page first loads, and if something every changed in it (selected a record, went to the next page of results, sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the new changes.

It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
--Michael

[Krista Lemieux]

Thanks for the quick reply Michael

You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with it
currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I don't
remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was
something on each postback they waren't appearing
correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a specific
place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no
problems on post back. I mean should I add them in the
Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't
want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx file).

Thank You so much in advance for help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----

"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...

...How does this information get preserved?

ViewState!

Would I create the Table
(not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only once (not on each postback)??? How does that work.

Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the

information in a datatable to it. No need to create your
own table. You would bind this initially when the page
first loads, and if something every changed in it
(selected a record, went to the next page of results,
sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the
new changes.
It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
--Michael
.

[Kyril Magnos]

Hi Krista,

Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is actually pretty easy to
do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's AutoGenerateColumns property? It will
dynamically create columns based on the data source that you use. It's a
nice feature, but does not give much in terms of customization or control.
To dynamically add columns, what you should do is something like below:

<pseudo-code>
private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
}

private void BindData()
{
//here we will add two columns to our data grid.
//assume the name of the grid is dg

ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);

BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
boundCol.DataField = "Author";
boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);

dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
dg.DataBind();
}
</pseudo-code>

Now, this will fire only on the first page load because of the
"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up the datagrid events
so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the click of one of the link
buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in the data grid. Either
the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged event. All you have to do
is make sure that anything in your page that will trigger a post back (a
button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData() method to rebuild
and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of other places that you
can put the column creation code. You can put it in the Page_Load event
handler, before the check for a postback. You can also place it in the
overridden OnInit method.

Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data grid in no time. It
is one of the most flexible (and most complicated) controls in the .NET
Framework, but it pays off. :)

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Thanks for the quick reply Michael

You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with it
currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I don't
remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was
something on each postback they waren't appearing
correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a specific
place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no
problems on post back. I mean should I add them in the
Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't
want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx file).

Thank You so much in advance for help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----

"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...

...How does this information get preserved?

ViewState!

Would I create the Table
(not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only once (not on each postback)??? How does that work.

Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the

information in a datatable to it. No need to create your
own table. You would bind this initially when the page
first loads, and if something every changed in it
(selected a record, went to the next page of results,
sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the
new changes.

It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
--Michael
.

[Krista Lemieux]

Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything worked
great except one thing... I tried combining your code
with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a
row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link
it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes),
but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error in
the Update button function. It is as if the columns no
longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read the
value from the textbox by getting the CType(e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after retrieving
the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of this
is in the Update button function). Am I doing something
wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?

Thank you very much for the help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is actually pretty easy todo. Have you looked at the DataGrid's AutoGenerateColumns property? It willdynamically create columns based on the data source that you use. It's anice feature, but does not give much in terms of customization or control.To dynamically add columns, what you should do is something like below:
<pseudo-code>
private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
}

private void BindData()
{
//here we will add two columns to our data grid.
//assume the name of the grid is dg

ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);

BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
boundCol.DataField = "Author";
boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);

dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
dg.DataBind();
}
</pseudo-code>

Now, this will fire only on the first page load because of the"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up the datagrid eventsso that you can interact with the grid. To trap the click of one of the linkbuttons for instance, you can use one of two events in the data grid. Eitherthe ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged event. All you have to dois make sure that anything in your page that will trigger a post back (abutton or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData () method to rebuildand rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of other places that youcan put the column creation code. You can put it in the Page_Load eventhandler, before the check for a postback. You can also place it in theoverridden OnInit method.

Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data grid in no time. Itis one of the most flexible (and most complicated) controls in the .NETFramework, but it pays off. :)

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in messagenews:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Thanks for the quick reply Michael

You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with it currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I don't remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was
something on each postback they waren't appearing
correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a specific place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no problems on post back. I mean should I add them in the
Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't
want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx file).
Thank You so much in advance for help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----

"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...

...How does this information get preserved?
ViewState!

Would I create the Table
(not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only

once (not on

each postback)??? How does that work.
Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the

information in a datatable to it. No need to create your own table. You would bind this initially when the page
first loads, and if something every changed in it
(selected a record, went to the next page of results,
sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the
new changes.

It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
--Michael
.

.

[Kyril Magnos]

Hi Krista,

Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the beginning of the
Controls collection. ;) Often times, especially if there is text in the cell
or it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at position 1 or further down
the chain.

There are two ways that you can accomplish what you want to do. The first
would be to iterate through the Control collection of the cell and test each
control to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can use the FindControl
method to locate the textbox by ID.

Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#, my VB.NET is really
rusty!)

<pseudo-code>
//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
//collection and tests each control to see if it is a text box
foreach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
{
if(c is TextBox)
{
//grab the value of this text box...
string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
}
}

//This is the FindControl method at work
TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl("TextBoxName");
if(tempText != null)
{
//do something here...
}

In VB.NET, I think it would be
'This is the same loop as above.
For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
If c Is TextBox Then
Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
End If
Next

'This is the FindControl method at work
Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl("TextBoxName"),
TextBox)
If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
'Do something here
End if

</pseudo-code>

You could loop through all the cells this way and grab all the text box
values or you could just call FindControl for each textbox value that you
need.

HTH,

Kyril :)
"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything worked
great except one thing... I tried combining your code
with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a
row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link
it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes),
but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error in
the Update button function. It is as if the columns no
longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read the
value from the textbox by getting the CType(e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after retrieving
the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of this
is in the Update button function). Am I doing something
wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?

Thank you very much for the help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is

actually pretty easy to

do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's

AutoGenerateColumns property? It will

dynamically create columns based on the data source that

you use. It's a

nice feature, but does not give much in terms of

customization or control.

To dynamically add columns, what you should do is

something like below:

<pseudo-code>
private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
}

private void BindData()
{
//here we will add two columns to our data grid.
//assume the name of the grid is dg

ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);

BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
boundCol.DataField = "Author";
boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);

dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
dg.DataBind();
}
</pseudo-code>

Now, this will fire only on the first page load because

of the

"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up

the datagrid events

so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the

click of one of the link

buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in

the data grid. Either

the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged event.

All you have to do

is make sure that anything in your page that will

trigger a post back (a

button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData

() method to rebuild

and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of

other places that you

can put the column creation code. You can put it in the

Page_Load event

handler, before the check for a postback. You can also

place it in the

overridden OnInit method.

Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data

grid in no time. It

is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)

controls in the .NET

Framework, but it pays off. :)

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl.. .

Thanks for the quick reply Michael

You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with it currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I don't remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was
something on each postback they waren't appearing
correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a specific place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no problems on post back. I mean should I add them in the
Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't
want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx file).
Thank You so much in advance for help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----

"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...
> ...How does this information get preserved?
ViewState!

>Would I create the Table
> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only
once (not on
> each postback)??? How does that work.
Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the
information in a datatable to it. No need to create your own table. You would bind this initially when the page
first loads, and if something every changed in it
(selected a record, went to the next page of results,
sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the
new changes.

It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
--Michael
.

.

[Krista Lemieux]

Once again Kyril, Thank You for your help. I tried
exactly what you told me with the loop, but the
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls does not return any controls. I
checked the count on this line (e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls.Count) and it gave me 0, but after I do
BindData() (without trying to retrieve the value of the
TextBox), it creates the datagrid fine without any errors
and the same line returns the number of columns that I
programatically added. It seems as if I need to BindData
before I try to retrieve the textbox values, which from
my understanding should not be the case. Is it possible
that I need to create my columns of my DataGrid in a
different place? Becuase right now my created datagrid
columns disapear until I call BindData again. But I would
probably need to do that 2 times on each edit (BindData
before retrieving TextBox values, and the BindData after
modifying the DataTable with the TextBox values). Does
that make sense? Or am I completly off track?

Thank You for your help and time.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the beginning of theControls collection. ;) Often times, especially if there is text in the cellor it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at position 1 or further downthe chain.

There are two ways that you can accomplish what you want to do. The firstwould be to iterate through the Control collection of the cell and test eachcontrol to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can use the FindControlmethod to locate the textbox by ID.

Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#, my VB.NET is reallyrusty!)

<pseudo-code>
//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
//collection and tests each control to see if it is a text boxforeach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
{
if(c is TextBox)
{
//grab the value of this text box...
string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
}
}

//This is the FindControl method at work
TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl ("TextBoxName");if(tempText != null)
{
//do something here...
}

In VB.NET, I think it would be
'This is the same loop as above.
For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
If c Is TextBox Then
Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
End If
Next

'This is the FindControl method at work
Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl ("TextBoxName"),TextBox)
If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
'Do something here
End if

</pseudo-code>

You could loop through all the cells this way and grab all the text boxvalues or you could just call FindControl for each textbox value that youneed.

HTH,

Kyril :)
"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in messagenews:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything worked
great except one thing... I tried combining your code
with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a
row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link
it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes),
but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error in the Update button function. It is as if the columns no
longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read the value from the textbox by getting the CType (e.Item.Cells (1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after retrieving the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of this is in the Update button function). Am I doing something
wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?

Thank you very much for the help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is

actually pretty easy to

do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's

AutoGenerateColumns property? It will

dynamically create columns based on the data source that

you use. It's a

nice feature, but does not give much in terms of

customization or control.

To dynamically add columns, what you should do is

something like below:

<pseudo-code>
private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
}

private void BindData()
{
//here we will add two columns to our data grid.
//assume the name of the grid is dg

ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);

BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
boundCol.DataField = "Author";
boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);

dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
dg.DataBind();
}
</pseudo-code>

Now, this will fire only on the first page load because

of the

"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up

the datagrid events

so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the

click of one of the link

buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in

the data grid. Either

the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged

event. All you have to do

is make sure that anything in your page that will

trigger a post back (a

button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData

() method to rebuild

and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of

other places that you

can put the column creation code. You can put it in the

Page_Load event

handler, before the check for a postback. You can also

place it in the

overridden OnInit method.

Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data

grid in no time. It

is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)

controls in the .NET

Framework, but it pays off. :)

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl. ..
Thanks for the quick reply Michael

You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with

it

currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I

don't

remember what the exact problem was, but I think it

was something on each postback they waren't appearing
correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a

specific

place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no

problems on post back. I mean should I add them in

the Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx

file).

Thank You so much in advance for help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

>-----Original Message-----
>
>"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...>> ...How does this information get preserved?
>ViewState!
>
>>Would I create the Table
>> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only once (not on
>> each postback)??? How does that work.
>Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the information in a datatable to it. No need to create

your

own table. You would bind this initially when the page first loads, and if something every changed in it
(selected a record, went to the next page of results,
sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the new changes.
>
>It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
>--Michael
>.
>
.

.

[Kyril Magnos]

You are most welcome, Krista.

To the problem at hand:

You have 3 basic options available to you. You can either create the columns
for the data grid in the HTML/ASPX code by using tags (or the visual
designer, which isn't all that bad. Kind of nice to use, actually ;) ), you
can have the columns created in the Page_Load event (by placing the column
generating code before the check for IsPostBack), or in the OnInit() method.
I would dare say that creating the columns in the HTML code is by far the
easiest, but it is also the worst when it comes to maintenance.

Try moving the column generating code to the Page_Load first and see what
happens. Make sure that the columns are created before you check for post
back. I think you should get different results. Sorry if I steered you down
the wrong path earlier... Hindsight is always 20/20... lol

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Once again Kyril, Thank You for your help. I tried
exactly what you told me with the loop, but the
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls does not return any controls. I
checked the count on this line (e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls.Count) and it gave me 0, but after I do
BindData() (without trying to retrieve the value of the
TextBox), it creates the datagrid fine without any errors
and the same line returns the number of columns that I
programatically added. It seems as if I need to BindData
before I try to retrieve the textbox values, which from
my understanding should not be the case. Is it possible
that I need to create my columns of my DataGrid in a
different place? Becuase right now my created datagrid
columns disapear until I call BindData again. But I would
probably need to do that 2 times on each edit (BindData
before retrieving TextBox values, and the BindData after
modifying the DataTable with the TextBox values). Does
that make sense? Or am I completly off track?

Thank You for your help and time.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the

beginning of the

Controls collection. ;) Often times, especially if there

is text in the cell

or it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at

position 1 or further down

the chain.

There are two ways that you can accomplish what you want

to do. The first

would be to iterate through the Control collection of

the cell and test each

control to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can

use the FindControl

method to locate the textbox by ID.

Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#,

my VB.NET is really

rusty!)

<pseudo-code>
//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
//collection and tests each control to see if it is a

text box

foreach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
{
if(c is TextBox)
{
//grab the value of this text box...
string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
}
}

//This is the FindControl method at work
TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl

("TextBoxName");

if(tempText != null)
{
//do something here...
}

In VB.NET, I think it would be
'This is the same loop as above.
For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
If c Is TextBox Then
Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
End If
Next

'This is the FindControl method at work
Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl

("TextBoxName"),

TextBox)
If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
'Do something here
End if

</pseudo-code>

You could loop through all the cells this way and grab

all the text box

values or you could just call FindControl for each

textbox value that you

need.

HTH,

Kyril :)
"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl.. .

Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything worked
great except one thing... I tried combining your code
with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a
row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link
it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes),
but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error in the Update button function. It is as if the columns no
longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read the value from the textbox by getting the CType (e.Item.Cells (1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after retrieving the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of this is in the Update button function). Am I doing something
wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?

Thank you very much for the help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux
-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is
actually pretty easy to
do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's
AutoGenerateColumns property? It will
dynamically create columns based on the data source that you use. It's a
nice feature, but does not give much in terms of
customization or control.
To dynamically add columns, what you should do is
something like below:

<pseudo-code>
private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
}

private void BindData()
{
//here we will add two columns to our data grid.
//assume the name of the grid is dg

ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);

BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
boundCol.DataField = "Author";
boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);

dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
dg.DataBind();
}
</pseudo-code>

Now, this will fire only on the first page load because
of the
"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up
the datagrid events
so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the
click of one of the link
buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in
the data grid. Either
the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged event. All you have to do
is make sure that anything in your page that will
trigger a post back (a
button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData
() method to rebuild
and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of
other places that you
can put the column creation code. You can put it in the
Page_Load event
handler, before the check for a postback. You can also
place it in the
overridden OnInit method.

Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data
grid in no time. It
is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)
controls in the .NET
Framework, but it pays off. :)

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl.. .
> Thanks for the quick reply Michael
>
> You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with
it
> currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it
> programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I
don't
> remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was> something on each postback they waren't appearing
> correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a
specific
> place where I should add the dynamic columns so I have no
> problems on post back. I mean should I add them in the> Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or don't> want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx
file).
>
> Thank You so much in advance for help.
>
> Merci,
> Krista Lemieux
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>
>>"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
> message
> news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...>>> ...How does this information get preserved?
>>ViewState!
>>
>>>Would I create the Table
>>> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it only> once (not on
>>> each postback)??? How does that work.
>>Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the> information in a datatable to it. No need to create
your
> own table. You would bind this initially when the page> first loads, and if something every changed in it
> (selected a record, went to the next page of results,
> sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the> new changes.
>>
>>It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me
>>--Michael
>>.
>>
.

.

[Krista Lemieux]

Hello Kyril,

I don't think you led me the wrong way, I think I may not
have been clear enough with some things because of lack
of my ASP.NET knowledge... So I appologize for that.

As for the three options I experimented with the three
suggested way, and I had no luck :(... I get the same
error. Basically At first I tried to put the code in the
Page_Load (so that it executes on each postback) and then
only bind the datasource to the datagrid once (not on
each postback)... That didn't work. So then I tried
putting the same code in the Init section, and again no
luck.

In the aspx code, I added few columns by hardcoding them
(in the like HTML syntax), but I still need to add other
columns dynamically, because the number can change down
the road and I do not want to hard code them. So when I
did that, it also worked fine, until when I tried to
access the textbox values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls. The only ones I was able to access is the
ones that I defined in the aspx page, but I was not able
to access the ones I created programatically. The
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls.Count returned the number of
columns I created in aspx page. So what I did is, in the
Page_Load I BindData() on each postback (bad practice
from what I heard), and now in the Update function I can
access the text box values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls(i), and they are the ones that I entered.
But when I retrieve the Textbox values from the columns I
created in the aspx file, I get the old values (the ones
loaded from the database, not the ones entered in the
textbox). So by calling BindData on each postback I lose
the values from the hardcoded columns. So there is no
winning with this thing... I sure hope that what You and
Mike said is true, that with practice this will become
clearer, cause at this point its fairly discouraging.

Eventhough; I greatly appretiate your help, as you made
awsome suggestions that I learned from. So once again
thank you,
Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
You are most welcome, Krista.

To the problem at hand:

You have 3 basic options available to you. You can either create the columnsfor the data grid in the HTML/ASPX code by using tags (or the visualdesigner, which isn't all that bad. Kind of nice to use, actually ;) ), youcan have the columns created in the Page_Load event (by placing the columngenerating code before the check for IsPostBack), or in the OnInit() method.I would dare say that creating the columns in the HTML code is by far theeasiest, but it is also the worst when it comes to maintenance.
Try moving the column generating code to the Page_Load first and see whathappens. Make sure that the columns are created before you check for postback. I think you should get different results. Sorry if I steered you downthe wrong path earlier... Hindsight is always 20/20... lol
HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in messagenews:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Once again Kyril, Thank You for your help. I tried
exactly what you told me with the loop, but the
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls does not return any controls. I checked the count on this line (e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls.Count) and it gave me 0, but after I do
BindData() (without trying to retrieve the value of the
TextBox), it creates the datagrid fine without any errors and the same line returns the number of columns that I
programatically added. It seems as if I need to BindData before I try to retrieve the textbox values, which from
my understanding should not be the case. Is it possible
that I need to create my columns of my DataGrid in a
different place? Becuase right now my created datagrid
columns disapear until I call BindData again. But I would probably need to do that 2 times on each edit (BindData
before retrieving TextBox values, and the BindData after modifying the DataTable with the TextBox values). Does
that make sense? Or am I completly off track?

Thank You for your help and time.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the

beginning of the

Controls collection. ;) Often times, especially if there

is text in the cell

or it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at

position 1 or further down

the chain.

There are two ways that you can accomplish what you

want to do. The first

would be to iterate through the Control collection of

the cell and test each

control to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can

use the FindControl

method to locate the textbox by ID.

Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#,

my VB.NET is really

rusty!)

<pseudo-code>
//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
//collection and tests each control to see if it is a

text box

foreach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
{
if(c is TextBox)
{
//grab the value of this text box...
string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
}
}

//This is the FindControl method at work
TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl

("TextBoxName");

if(tempText != null)
{
//do something here...
}

In VB.NET, I think it would be
'This is the same loop as above.
For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
If c Is TextBox Then
Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
End If
Next

'This is the FindControl method at work
Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl

("TextBoxName"),

TextBox)
If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
'Do something here
End if

</pseudo-code>

You could loop through all the cells this way and grab

all the text box

values or you could just call FindControl for each

textbox value that you

need.

HTH,

Kyril :)
"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl. ..
Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything

worked great except one thing... I tried combining your code
with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes), but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error

in

the Update button function. It is as if the columns no longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read

the

value from the textbox by getting the CType

(e.Item.Cells

(1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after

retrieving

the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of

this

is in the Update button function). Am I doing something wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?
Thank you very much for the help.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi Krista,
>
>Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is
actually pretty easy to
>do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's
AutoGenerateColumns property? It will
>dynamically create columns based on the data source

that

you use. It's a
>nice feature, but does not give much in terms of
customization or control.
>To dynamically add columns, what you should do is
something like below:
>
><pseudo-code>
>private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
>{
> if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
>}
>
>private void BindData()
>{
> //here we will add two columns to our data grid.
> //assume the name of the grid is dg
>
> ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
> btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
> btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
> btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
> btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
> dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);
>
> BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
> boundCol.DataField = "Author";
> boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
> dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);
>
> dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
> dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
> dg.DataBind();
>}
></pseudo-code>
>
>Now, this will fire only on the first page load because of the
>"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up the datagrid events
>so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the
click of one of the link
>buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in the data grid. Either
>the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged

event.

All you have to do
>is make sure that anything in your page that will
trigger a post back (a
>button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData () method to rebuild
>and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of
other places that you
>can put the column creation code. You can put it in the Page_Load event
>handler, before the check for a postback. You can also place it in the
>overridden OnInit method.
>
>Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data grid in no time. It
>is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)
controls in the .NET
>Framework, but it pays off. :)
>
>HTH,
>
>Kyril
>
>"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
>news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl. ..
>> Thanks for the quick reply Michael
>>
>> You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with it
>> currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it>> programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I
don't
>> remember what the exact problem was, but I think it

was

>> something on each postback they waren't appearing
>> correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a
specific
>> place where I should add the dynamic columns so I

have

no
>> problems on post back. I mean should I add them in

the

>> Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or

don't

>> want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx
file).
>>
>> Thank You so much in advance for help.
>>
>> Merci,
>> Krista Lemieux
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>
>>>"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in>> message
>>

news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...

>>>> ...How does this information get preserved?
>>>ViewState!
>>>
>>>>Would I create the Table
>>>> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it

only

>> once (not on
>>>> each postback)??? How does that work.
>>>Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind

the

>> information in a datatable to it. No need to create your
>> own table. You would bind this initially when the

page

>> first loads, and if something every changed in it
>> (selected a record, went to the next page of results,>> sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect

the

>> new changes.
>>>
>>>It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me>>>--Michael
>>>.
>>>
>
>
>.
>
.

.

[Kyril Magnos]

Hi Krista,

Well, after talking to a few experts here, and also trying quite a few
different things, it looks like your best bet is going to be to go with the
HTML/ASPX option. There is another option, which is deriving a new user
control that inherits from DataGrid and building the columns in the control
with some advanced features. I don't know what your skill level is, so I
can't recommend that as an option.

I would say hard code the columns in the HTML at least until ASP.NET 2.0
comes out. You will have a functional product and if the number of columns
change, that should be a relatively easy thing to maintain. Especially if
your code is written cleanly. You could also do some other advanced features
to help make the maintenance easier, but we can get into those later if you
decide that you would want to do that.

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Hello Kyril,

I don't think you led me the wrong way, I think I may not
have been clear enough with some things because of lack
of my ASP.NET knowledge... So I appologize for that.

As for the three options I experimented with the three
suggested way, and I had no luck :(... I get the same
error. Basically At first I tried to put the code in the
Page_Load (so that it executes on each postback) and then
only bind the datasource to the datagrid once (not on
each postback)... That didn't work. So then I tried
putting the same code in the Init section, and again no
luck.

In the aspx code, I added few columns by hardcoding them
(in the like HTML syntax), but I still need to add other
columns dynamically, because the number can change down
the road and I do not want to hard code them. So when I
did that, it also worked fine, until when I tried to
access the textbox values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls. The only ones I was able to access is the
ones that I defined in the aspx page, but I was not able
to access the ones I created programatically. The
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls.Count returned the number of
columns I created in aspx page. So what I did is, in the
Page_Load I BindData() on each postback (bad practice
from what I heard), and now in the Update function I can
access the text box values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls(i), and they are the ones that I entered.
But when I retrieve the Textbox values from the columns I
created in the aspx file, I get the old values (the ones
loaded from the database, not the ones entered in the
textbox). So by calling BindData on each postback I lose
the values from the hardcoded columns. So there is no
winning with this thing... I sure hope that what You and
Mike said is true, that with practice this will become
clearer, cause at this point its fairly discouraging.

Eventhough; I greatly appretiate your help, as you made
awsome suggestions that I learned from. So once again
thank you,
Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
You are most welcome, Krista.

To the problem at hand:

You have 3 basic options available to you. You can

either create the columns

for the data grid in the HTML/ASPX code by using tags

(or the visual

designer, which isn't all that bad. Kind of nice to use,

actually ;) ), you

can have the columns created in the Page_Load event (by

placing the column

generating code before the check for IsPostBack), or in

the OnInit() method.

I would dare say that creating the columns in the HTML

code is by far the

easiest, but it is also the worst when it comes to

maintenance.

Try moving the column generating code to the Page_Load

first and see what

happens. Make sure that the columns are created before

you check for post

back. I think you should get different results. Sorry if

I steered you down

the wrong path earlier... Hindsight is always 20/20...

lol

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl.. .

Once again Kyril, Thank You for your help. I tried
exactly what you told me with the loop, but the
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls does not return any controls. I checked the count on this line (e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls.Count) and it gave me 0, but after I do
BindData() (without trying to retrieve the value of the
TextBox), it creates the datagrid fine without any errors and the same line returns the number of columns that I
programatically added. It seems as if I need to BindData before I try to retrieve the textbox values, which from
my understanding should not be the case. Is it possible
that I need to create my columns of my DataGrid in a
different place? Becuase right now my created datagrid
columns disapear until I call BindData again. But I would probably need to do that 2 times on each edit (BindData
before retrieving TextBox values, and the BindData after modifying the DataTable with the TextBox values). Does
that make sense? Or am I completly off track?

Thank You for your help and time.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux
-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the
beginning of the
Controls collection. ;) Often times, especially if there is text in the cell
or it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at
position 1 or further down
the chain.

There are two ways that you can accomplish what you want to do. The first
would be to iterate through the Control collection of
the cell and test each
control to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can
use the FindControl
method to locate the textbox by ID.

Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#,
my VB.NET is really
rusty!)

<pseudo-code>
//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
//collection and tests each control to see if it is a
text box
foreach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
{
if(c is TextBox)
{
//grab the value of this text box...
string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
}
}

//This is the FindControl method at work
TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl
("TextBoxName");
if(tempText != null)
{
//do something here...
}

In VB.NET, I think it would be
'This is the same loop as above.
For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
If c Is TextBox Then
Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
End If
Next

'This is the FindControl method at work
Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl
("TextBoxName"),
TextBox)
If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
'Do something here
End if

</pseudo-code>

You could loop through all the cells this way and grab
all the text box
values or you could just call FindControl for each
textbox value that you
need.

HTH,

Kyril :)
"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl.. .
> Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your
> pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything worked> great except one thing... I tried combining your code
> with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit a> row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit link> it shows the selected row in the edit mode (textboxes),> but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
> Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error
in
> the Update button function. It is as if the columns no> longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read
the
> value from the textbox by getting the CType
(e.Item.Cells
> (1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after
retrieving
> the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of
this
> is in the Update button function). Am I doing something> wrong that I cannot access the values of the textboxes?>
> Thank you very much for the help.
>
> Merci,
> Krista Lemieux
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>Hi Krista,
>>
>>Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is
> actually pretty easy to
>>do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's
> AutoGenerateColumns property? It will
>>dynamically create columns based on the data source
that
> you use. It's a
>>nice feature, but does not give much in terms of
> customization or control.
>>To dynamically add columns, what you should do is
> something like below:
>>
>><pseudo-code>
>>private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
>>{
>> if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
>>}
>>
>>private void BindData()
>>{
>> //here we will add two columns to our data grid.
>> //assume the name of the grid is dg
>>
>> ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
>> btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
>> btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
>> btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
>> btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
>> dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);
>>
>> BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
>> boundCol.DataField = "Author";
>> boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
>> dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);
>>
>> dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
>> dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
>> dg.DataBind();
>>}
>></pseudo-code>
>>
>>Now, this will fire only on the first page load because> of the
>>"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook up> the datagrid events
>>so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the
> click of one of the link
>>buttons for instance, you can use one of two events in> the data grid. Either
>>the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged
event.
> All you have to do
>>is make sure that anything in your page that will
> trigger a post back (a
>>button or a drop down list changing) calls the BindData> () method to rebuild
>>and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of
> other places that you
>>can put the column creation code. You can put it in the> Page_Load event
>>handler, before the check for a postback. You can also> place it in the
>>overridden OnInit method.
>>
>>Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the data> grid in no time. It
>>is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)
> controls in the .NET
>>Framework, but it pays off. :)
>>
>>HTH,
>>
>>Kyril
>>
>>"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
> message
>>news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl ...
>>> Thanks for the quick reply Michael
>>>
>>> You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting with> it
>>> currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to it>>> programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I
> don't
>>> remember what the exact problem was, but I think it
was
>>> something on each postback they waren't appearing
>>> correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a
> specific
>>> place where I should add the dynamic columns so I
have
> no
>>> problems on post back. I mean should I add them in
the
>>> Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or
don't
>>> want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx
> file).
>>>
>>> Thank You so much in advance for help.
>>>
>>> Merci,
>>> Krista Lemieux
>>>
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>
>>>>"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote in>>> message
>>>
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...
>>>>> ...How does this information get preserved?
>>>>ViewState!
>>>>
>>>>>Would I create the Table
>>>>> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it
only
>>> once (not on
>>>>> each postback)??? How does that work.
>>>>Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind
the
>>> information in a datatable to it. No need to create> your
>>> own table. You would bind this initially when the
page
>>> first loads, and if something every changed in it
>>> (selected a record, went to the next page of results,>>> sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect
the
>>> new changes.
>>>>
>>>>It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust me>>>>--Michael
>>>>.
>>>>
>>
>>
>>.
>>
.

.

[Krista Lemieux]

Hello Kyril,

Ok... For now I'll take your advice to hard code the
columns. I guess DataGrid is not as flexible as Microsoft
says it is :(... Hopefully as I advance my knowledge
in .NET I will try to figure out a better workaround.
But before I do that, there might be one more thing I
would like to try. Michael said that everything on the
form is saved in the ViewState. So let's say I am editing
a row in the DataGrid, and then hit update. Before I call
the BindData function in the Page_Load, can I somehow get
the values of the TextBoxes of the DataGrid row I was
editing in there (Page_Load)? If I could, that would solve
the problem in a way. I would still need to BindData on
each postback, but at least it would work.
Thank you so much for all of your help and time,
Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
Hi Krista,

Well, after talking to a few experts here, and also trying quite a fewdifferent things, it looks like your best bet is going to be to go with theHTML/ASPX option. There is another option, which is deriving a new usercontrol that inherits from DataGrid and building the columns in the controlwith some advanced features. I don't know what your skill level is, so Ican't recommend that as an option.

I would say hard code the columns in the HTML at least until ASP.NET 2.0comes out. You will have a functional product and if the number of columnschange, that should be a relatively easy thing to maintain. Especially ifyour code is written cleanly. You could also do some other advanced featuresto help make the maintenance easier, but we can get into those later if youdecide that you would want to do that.

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in messagenews:2c*****************************@phx.gbl...

Hello Kyril,

I don't think you led me the wrong way, I think I may not have been clear enough with some things because of lack
of my ASP.NET knowledge... So I appologize for that.

As for the three options I experimented with the three
suggested way, and I had no luck :(... I get the same
error. Basically At first I tried to put the code in the
Page_Load (so that it executes on each postback) and then only bind the datasource to the datagrid once (not on
each postback)... That didn't work. So then I tried
putting the same code in the Init section, and again no
luck.

In the aspx code, I added few columns by hardcoding them
(in the like HTML syntax), but I still need to add other
columns dynamically, because the number can change down
the road and I do not want to hard code them. So when I
did that, it also worked fine, until when I tried to
access the textbox values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls. The only ones I was able to access is the
ones that I defined in the aspx page, but I was not able
to access the ones I created programatically. The
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls.Count returned the number of
columns I created in aspx page. So what I did is, in the Page_Load I BindData() on each postback (bad practice
from what I heard), and now in the Update function I can
access the text box values through e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls(i), and they are the ones that I entered.
But when I retrieve the Textbox values from the columns I created in the aspx file, I get the old values (the ones
loaded from the database, not the ones entered in the
textbox). So by calling BindData on each postback I lose
the values from the hardcoded columns. So there is no
winning with this thing... I sure hope that what You and
Mike said is true, that with practice this will become
clearer, cause at this point its fairly discouraging.

Eventhough; I greatly appretiate your help, as you made
awsome suggestions that I learned from. So once again
thank you,
Merci,
Krista Lemieux

-----Original Message-----
You are most welcome, Krista.

To the problem at hand:

You have 3 basic options available to you. You can

either create the columns

for the data grid in the HTML/ASPX code by using tags

(or the visual

designer, which isn't all that bad. Kind of nice to use,

actually ;) ), you

can have the columns created in the Page_Load event (by

placing the column

generating code before the check for IsPostBack), or in

the OnInit() method.

I would dare say that creating the columns in the HTML

code is by far the

easiest, but it is also the worst when it comes to

maintenance.

Try moving the column generating code to the Page_Load

first and see what

happens. Make sure that the columns are created before

you check for post

back. I think you should get different results. Sorry if

I steered you down

the wrong path earlier... Hindsight is always 20/20...

lol

HTH,

Kyril

"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in

message

news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl. ..
Once again Kyril, Thank You for your help. I tried
exactly what you told me with the loop, but the
e.Item.Cells(1).Controls does not return any controls.

I

checked the count on this line (e.Item.Cells
(1).Controls.Count) and it gave me 0, but after I do
BindData() (without trying to retrieve the value of the TextBox), it creates the datagrid fine without any

errors

and the same line returns the number of columns that I
programatically added. It seems as if I need to

BindData

before I try to retrieve the textbox values, which from my understanding should not be the case. Is it possible that I need to create my columns of my DataGrid in a
different place? Becuase right now my created datagrid
columns disapear until I call BindData again. But I

would

probably need to do that 2 times on each edit (BindData before retrieving TextBox values, and the BindData

after

modifying the DataTable with the TextBox values). Does
that make sense? Or am I completly off track?

Thank You for your help and time.

Merci,
Krista Lemieux
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi Krista,
>
>Never assume that the TextBox in EditMode is at the
beginning of the
>Controls collection. ;) Often times, especially if

there

is text in the cell
>or it is a TemplateColumn, the text box may be at
position 1 or further down
>the chain.
>
>There are two ways that you can accomplish what you

want

to do. The first
>would be to iterate through the Control collection of
the cell and test each
>control to see if it is a textbox. Otherwise, you can
use the FindControl
>method to locate the textbox by ID.
>
>Something like this: (forgive me for doing this in C#,
my VB.NET is really
>rusty!)
>
><pseudo-code>
>//This code snippet loops through the cell's controls
>//collection and tests each control to see if it is a
text box
>foreach(Control c in e.Item.Cells[1].Controls)
>{
> if(c is TextBox)
> {
> //grab the value of this text box...
> string text = ((TextBox)c).Text;
> }
>}
>
>//This is the FindControl method at work
>TextBox tempText = (TextBox)dataGrid.FindControl
("TextBoxName");
>if(tempText != null)
>{
> //do something here...
>}
>
>In VB.NET, I think it would be
>'This is the same loop as above.
>For Each c In e.Item.Cells[1].Controls
> If c Is TextBox Then
> Dim text As String = (CType(c, TextBox)).Text
> End If
>Next
>
>'This is the FindControl method at work
>Dim tempText as TextBox = CType(dataGrid.FindControl
("TextBoxName"),
>TextBox)
>If tempText IsNot Nothing Then
> 'Do something here
>End if
>
></pseudo-code>
>
>You could loop through all the cells this way and grab
all the text box
>values or you could just call FindControl for each
textbox value that you
>need.
>
>HTH,
>
>Kyril :)
>
>
>"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in
message
>news:2c*****************************@phx.gbl. ..
>> Thank you for your help Kyril. I tried the code (your>> pseudo) on my page with my datagrid. Everything

worked

>> great except one thing... I tried combining your code>> with a code that I saw in a book, so that I can edit

a

>> row and update it. Basically when I click the Edit

link

>> it shows the selected row in the edit mode

(textboxes),

>> but when I try to update my changes (by clicking the
>> Update Link) it gives me an Index out of bounds error in
>> the Update button function. It is as if the columns

no

>> longer exist. Like in the example I'm trying to read
the
>> value from the textbox by getting the CType
(e.Item.Cells
>> (1).Controls(0), TextBox).Text, and then after
retrieving
>> the values I'm caling the BindData function (all of
this
>> is in the Update button function). Am I doing

something

>> wrong that I cannot access the values of the

textboxes?

>>
>> Thank you very much for the help.
>>
>> Merci,
>> Krista Lemieux
>>
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>Hi Krista,
>>>
>>>Adding columns to the datagrid programmatically is
>> actually pretty easy to
>>>do. Have you looked at the DataGrid's
>> AutoGenerateColumns property? It will
>>>dynamically create columns based on the data source
that
>> you use. It's a
>>>nice feature, but does not give much in terms of
>> customization or control.
>>>To dynamically add columns, what you should do is
>> something like below:
>>>
>>><pseudo-code>
>>>private void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
>>>{
>>> if(!Page.IsPostBack) { BindData(); }
>>>}
>>>
>>>private void BindData()
>>>{
>>> //here we will add two columns to our data grid.
>>> //assume the name of the grid is dg
>>>
>>> ButtonColumn btnCol = new ButtonColumn();
>>> btnCol.ButtonType = ButtonColumnType.LinkButton;
>>> btnCol.CommandName = "Select";
>>> btnCol.HeaderText = "Select";
>>> btnCol.Text = "Select Item";
>>> dg.Columns.Add(btnCol);
>>>
>>> BoundColumn boundCol = new BoundColumn();
>>> boundCol.DataField = "Author";
>>> boundCol.HeaderText = "Authors";
>>> dg.Columns.Add(boundCol);
>>>
>>> dg.DataKeyField = "AuthorID";
>>> dg.DataSource = authorsDataTable;
>>> dg.DataBind();
>>>}
>>></pseudo-code>
>>>
>>>Now, this will fire only on the first page load

because

>> of the
>>>"if(!Page.IsPostBack)". What you will do now is hook

up

>> the datagrid events
>>>so that you can interact with the grid. To trap the
>> click of one of the link
>>>buttons for instance, you can use one of two events

in

>> the data grid. Either
>>>the ItemCommand event or the SelectedIndexChanged
event.
>> All you have to do
>>>is make sure that anything in your page that will
>> trigger a post back (a
>>>button or a drop down list changing) calls the

BindData

>> () method to rebuild
>>>and rebind the data grid. Now, there are a couple of
>> other places that you
>>>can put the column creation code. You can put it in

the

>> Page_Load event
>>>handler, before the check for a postback. You can

also

>> place it in the
>>>overridden OnInit method.
>>>
>>>Like Michael said, given time, you'll pick up the

data

>> grid in no time. It
>>>is one of the most flexible (and most complicated)
>> controls in the .NET
>>>Framework, but it pays off. :)
>>>
>>>HTH,
>>>
>>>Kyril
>>>
>>>"Krista Lemieux" <kr***********@hotmail.com> wrote in>> message
>>>news:2c*****************************@phx.gb l...
>>>> Thanks for the quick reply Michael
>>>>
>>>> You mentioned to use DataGrid. I'm experimenting

with

>> it
>>>> currently, but I had a hard time adding columns to

it

>>>> programatically (or dynamically) so I dropped it. I>> don't
>>>> remember what the exact problem was, but I think it was
>>>> something on each postback they waren't appearing
>>>> correcly or just not being re-added. Is there a
>> specific
>>>> place where I should add the dynamic columns so I
have
>> no
>>>> problems on post back. I mean should I add them in
the
>>>> Init section, or the Page_Load (since I can't, or
don't
>>>> want to put my while loop creating this in the aspx>> file).
>>>>
>>>> Thank You so much in advance for help.
>>>>
>>>> Merci,
>>>> Krista Lemieux
>>>>
>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>
>>>>>"Krista Lemieux" <ki***********@hotmail.com> wrote

in

>>>> message
>>>>
news:bc**************************@posting.google.c om...>>>>>> ...How does this information get preserved?
>>>>>ViewState!
>>>>>
>>>>>>Would I create the Table
>>>>>> (not the DataTable) in the Page_Load and bind it
only
>>>> once (not on
>>>>>> each postback)??? How does that work.
>>>>>Check out the DataGrid control, you can easily bind the
>>>> information in a datatable to it. No need to

create

>> your
>>>> own table. You would bind this initially when the
page
>>>> first loads, and if something every changed in it
>>>> (selected a record, went to the next page of

results,

>>>> sort, etc) you would rebind the contents to reflect the
>>>> new changes.
>>>>>
>>>>>It'll make sense if you work with it enough, trust

me

>>>>>--Michael
>>>>>.
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>.
>>>
>
>
>.
>
.

.