Fixed column width for table created from database

[Davo256000]

hi there, i've recently started a student placement as a web developer and wondered if anyone could help me with the following problem:

I'm using an ashx file to access messages that are stored in a database and outputting the results into a string builder. The problem I'm having with this method is that depending on the varying length of user names, messages etc. That the end result can appear messy when output onto the web browser. I will submit the code for the ashx file that I am using:

<%@ WebHandler Language="C#" Class="AjaxHandler" %>
 
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Text;
using System.Web;
using ChatClassLibrary.DataAccess;
 
public class AjaxHandler : IHttpHandler {
 
    public void ProcessRequest (HttpContext context) {
        context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
        context.Response.Expires = 0;
        context.Response.Clear();
 
        int userID = Convert.ToInt32(context.Request.Params["uid"]);
        int lastRead = Messages.GetLastReceived(userID);
 
        DataTable results = Messages.GetLatestMessages(userID, lastRead);
 
        if (results.Rows.Count > 0)
        {
            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
            sb.Append("<table border='0' width= '750px' id='chatTable'  class='overflow' >");
           ;
 
            sb.Append("<tbody>");
            foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
            {
                sb.Append("<tr width='200px'>");
 
                sb.Append("<td style='width:50px' >");
                string userName = row["UserName"].ToString();
                sb.Append(userName);
                sb.Append("</td>");
 
                sb.Append("<td style='width:50px'>");
                string message = row["MsgContent"].ToString();
                sb.Append(message);
                sb.Append("</td>");
 
                sb.Append("<td style='width:50px'>");
                string time = row["TimeSent"].ToString();
                sb.Append(time);
                sb.Append("</td>");
 
                sb.Append("<td style='width:50px'>");
                string delete = "Del";
                sb.Append(delete);
                sb.Append("</td>");
 
                sb.Append("</tr>");
 
 
            }
            sb.Append("</tbody>");
            sb.Append("</table>");
            context.Response.Write(sb.ToString());
        }
        else
        {
            context.Response.Write("");
        }
    }
 
    public bool IsReusable {
        get {
            return false;
        }
    }
 
}
 

Can anyone offer me some advice on the best way to approach this problem? I've only just started the placement and am working with ASP.NET, C#, Javascript, Ajax, DotNetNuke, which are all new to me. I hope I've been reasonlably clear with my question, any replies appreciated.

Thanks,

Davo

[acoder]

Welcome to TSDN!

I am moving this to the .NET forum where you'll probably more likely to find someone who can help you solve your problem.

Please use CODE tags when posting code. Thanks!

Normally, you can specify a language too, but there doesn't seem to be one for C# at the moment.