Is there a right way to do a data entry form?

[needin4mation]

I have a set of textboxes. If it is a new record the textboxes are
empty and there is a save button. If this is an existing record, I
have a search form, a datagrid and the user selects form the datagrid
and the same set of textboxes now populates for editing with an update
button.

I know I can set up a datalist or datagrid to do this "automatically,"
but I want two things. I want the search list to look like a datagrid,
that is the rows, datasheet look, and a nice form. I don't see a way
to have both of them except to do it the way described above.

It just feels wrong to do a select for my search results and then go to
a whole other page (or maybe the same page different panel) and bind
data back to a set of textboxes for data entry, when the various
controls will do that for me.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated. I am concerned I am still
thinking in classic asp terms. I cannot find any good examples on the
Internet other than what I have already described. Thank you.

[Terry Olsen]

Are you saying that you don't want to use the Datagrid for the actual
editing of a record? I've done it both ways. Some pages I edit the records
directly in the DataGrid, and others, I select the item from the Datagrid
and send the data to an edit page filled with various textboxes,
dropdownlists, etc. I get the data to the edit page using an ArrayList and
passing through a Session.Item("MyArrayList").
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I have a set of textboxes. If it is a new record the textboxes are
empty and there is a save button. If this is an existing record, I
have a search form, a datagrid and the user selects form the datagrid
and the same set of textboxes now populates for editing with an update
button.

I know I can set up a datalist or datagrid to do this "automatically,"
but I want two things. I want the search list to look like a datagrid,
that is the rows, datasheet look, and a nice form. I don't see a way
to have both of them except to do it the way described above.

It just feels wrong to do a select for my search results and then go to
a whole other page (or maybe the same page different panel) and bind
data back to a set of textboxes for data entry, when the various
controls will do that for me.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated. I am concerned I am still
thinking in classic asp terms. I cannot find any good examples on the
Internet other than what I have already described. Thank you.

[needin4mation]

I've done it both ways too. I juse feel like that isn't correct of
that I'm missing something.

[needin4mation]

Maybe there is not standard way to doing it.

[Jon Paal]

I usually have the search parameter options available at the top of the page. If the user submits parameters then a search is
conducted on the page postback and the results displayed in the datagrid on the same page. search parametrs are redisplayed for the
user's reference.
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Tax the churches so the poor can eat

[needin4mation]

What about the editing part?

[Jon Paal]

Each record displayed has a link which posts back with the record id. that id is used to look up record and display it in a form to
allow modifications.
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Tax the churches so the poor can eat.