Develop Reference

How to disable a control inside a User Control

I thought this would be a simple thing to accomplish but am having some issue. My initial asp.net markup for the server control looks like this:
<ucTextArea:UserControlTextArea ID="taRemarks" runat="server" />
However, in the code behind, I have a conditional statement that checks for user rights in order to enable this text field or not, something like this:
if (CurrentUser.AccountTypeID == 4 || CurrentUser.AccountTypeID == 6)
taRemarks.Attributes.Add("enabled", "");
else
taRemarks.Attributes["disabled"] = "true";
Above are two ways I have tried to accomplish this, but haven't worked when rendered in the browser. How can I disable this server control?
Edit: The UserControlTextArea.ascx is defined below:
<%# Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="UserControlTextArea.ascx.cs" Inherits="stuff....UserControlTextArea" %>
<script type="text/jscript" language="javascript">
$(document).ready(function () {
var counterLabel = $('#<%=lblCounter.ClientID %>');
var textArea = $('#<%=tbTextArea.ClientID %>');
var maxNumber = parseInt('<%=txtMaxCharacters.Value%>');
FieldCounter(textArea, counterLabel, maxNumber);
$(textArea).keyup(function () {
CheckFieldLength($(textArea), maxNumber);
FieldCounter(textArea, $(counterLabel), maxNumber);
});
});
</script>
<div id="OuterContainer" runat="server">
<asp:TextBox ID="tbTextArea" runat="server" TextMode="MultiLine" Width="100%"></asp:TextBox>
<span class="fieldLengthCounter">
characters left:
<asp:Label ID="lblCounter" runat="server"></asp:Label>
</span>
<input type="hidden" runat="server" id="txtMaxCharacters" />
</div>

Your question is unclear, but definitely its a UserControl and not a ASP.Net Textbox. So you can disable the textbox inside your UC like this:-
Approach 1 (Preferred):
Add a public property in your UserControl code-behind:-
public bool DisableMyTextbox
{
set { tbTextArea.Enabled = value; }
}
Then you can simply use this property to disable your textbox in Webform:-
UserControlTextArea.DisableMyTextbox = false; //or true to enable back.
Approach 2:
Find your textbox in UserControl class and then disable it:-
TextBox txt1 = (TextBox)SimpleUserControl1.FindControl("tbTextArea");
txt1.Enabled = false;

hiding an asp.net generated <span> breaks my javascript form validation

so I am using javascript to validate an address field simply to pull the zip code off the end.
I have two asp:Labels that I show and hide to inform the user. It works great, the labels show when needed and the validation works how I want it, the problem comse when I try to hide them. One of the labels shows and hides just fine, but whenever I try to hide the other the script breaks
<script>
function isvalid()
{
var zip = MainContent_tbx_Appt_Address.value.slice(-5);
if (zip == "") {
MainContent_lbl_Add_validate2.hidden = true;
MainContent_lbl_Add_Validate.hidden = false;
}
else if (!zip.match('[0-9]{5}')) {
//MainContent_lbl_Add_validate.hidden = true;
MainContent_lbl_Add_validate2.hidden = false;
}
else
{
//MainContent_lbl_Add_validate.hidden = true;
MainContent_lbl_Add_validate2.hidden = true;
}
}
</script>
<asp:Label ID="lbl_Add_Validate" style="z-index:100;" Name="lbl_Add_Validate" DataPoint="dp_Add_Validate" runat="server" hidden="true" Text="Address is required"></asp:Label>
<asp:Label ID="lbl_Add_validate2" style="z-index:100;" Name="lbl_Add_Validate2" DataPoint="dp_Add_Validate2" runat="server" hidden="true" Text="Invalid address format"></asp:Label>
<br />
<asp:TextBox ID="tbx_Appt_Address" onblur="isvalid()" style="z-index:100;" Name="tbx_Appt_Address" DataPoint="dp_Appt_Address" runat="server" Rows="4" TextMode="MultiLine" Height="65px" Width="200px" value="Address" onFocus="if (this.value == this.defaultValue) { this.value = ''; }" placeholder="Address">Address</asp:TextBox>
this is my code in my asp file and when it hits the client side it spits out this
<span id="MainContent_lbl_Add_Validate" name="lbl_Add_Validate" datapoint="dp_Add_Validate" hidden="true" style="z-index:100;">Address is required</span>
<span id="MainContent_lbl_Add_validate2" name="lbl_Add_Validate2" datapoint="dp_Add_Validate2" hidden="true" style="z-index:100;">Invalid address format</span>
<br/>
<textarea name="ctl00$MainContent$tbx_Appt_Address" rows="4" cols="20" id="MainContent_tbx_Appt_Address" datapoint="dp_Appt_Address" value="Address" onfocus="if (this.value == this.defaultValue) { this.value = ''; }" placeholder="Address" onblur="return isvalid()" style="height:65px;width:200px;z-index:100;">Address</textarea>
everything else works as long as I have MainContent_lbl_Add_validate.hidden = true; commented out, but if I have ether of them run it breaks

In aspx pages if you are not using jQuery, try to get elements using document.getElementById('MainContent_tbx_Appt_Address'), and if you are using microsoft ajax frameworks you can use $get('MainContent_lbl_Add_validate'), these are the right ways to refer elements on DOM.
Editing: ok, looking your code with more accuracy I saw that you made a mistake on span ids, specifically at 'V' char. Check the case on ids and your script will run.

If you hide an element that has "runat=server", you might think that ASP will render the control styled so that it is invisible-- meaning you can later unhide it using Javascript. That's not how it work. If you set hidden=true, the element isn't rendered at all. Your Javascript is gagging on the reference to the missing element and halting execution, so your valiator code doesn't ever get a chance to run.
To render a hidden element, mark it up like this:
<asp:Label ID="lbl_Add_Validate" style="z-index:100;" Name="lbl_Add_Validate" DataPoint="dp_Add_Validate" runat="server" style="visibility: hidden" Text="Address is required"></asp:Label>

Personally I would let JQuery handle this, which you can do in .aspx:
$(function () {
$('#tbx_Appt_Address').blur(function(){
var text_input = $('tbx_Appt_Address').val();
//additional logic with conditions
if (text_input=='')
{
$('lbl_Add_Validate').show();
}
//etc etc
});
});

Cannot find server control

I'm new at ASP.NET but something that continuously gives me trouble is finding nested server controls, especially when they are nested.
In this case, here is my registration page up until the server control I want:
<asp:CreateUserWizard runat="server" ID="RegisterUser" ViewStateMode="Disabled" OnCreatedUser="RegisterUser_CreatedUser">
<LayoutTemplate>
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="wizardStepPlaceholder" />
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="navigationPlaceholder" />
</LayoutTemplate>
<WizardSteps>
<asp:CreateUserWizardStep runat="server" ID="RegisterUserWizardStep">
<ContentTemplate>
<fieldset>
<ol>
<li>
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="firstName" />
</li>
For readability sake, the only things I've removed are some HTML elements. I am trying to access'firstName'. I've tried all of the following with no luck, (TextBox first is always coming up null).
TextBox first = (TextBox)Page.Master.FindControl("MainContent").FindControl("firstName");
TextBox first = (TextBox)Page.FindControl("firstName");
TextBox first = (TextBox)RegisterUserWizardStep.FindControl("firstName");
TextBox first = (TextBox)RegisterUser.FindControl("firstName");
Would appreciate help, thanks!

Often times you may need to do a recursive control search. First, add this method to your page:
private Control FindControlRecursive(Control Root, string Id)
{
if (Root.ID == Id)
return Root;
foreach (Control Ctl in Root.Controls)
{
Control FoundCtl = FindControlRecursive(Ctl, Id);
if (FoundCtl != null)
return FoundCtl;
}
return null;
}
Now, to find the control, call:
TextBox firstName = (TextBox)FindControlRecursive(this, "firstName");

Try this piece of code:
TextBox first = (TextBox) RegisterUser.CreateUserStep.ContentTemplateContainer.FindControl("firstName");

Bind serverside function with Hyperlink control in asp.net web form page

I have few controls on asp.net web form page and i want to link a code behind function to Hyperlink to resolve URL
HTML & Code Behind Example
<asp:HyperLink ID="hyplnkVideo" runat="server" NavigateUrl='<%# this.getVideoPageURL()%>'>
<div id="dAlbumCategory" class="AlbumCategoryIcon">
<asp:Image ID="Image1" ImageUrl='~/Images/gallery/Videos.png' runat="server" />
</div>
</asp:HyperLink>
protected String getVideoPageURL()
{
string url;
int PageID = Helper.GetPageIDbyName("Videos.aspx", Request["Language"]);
url = "~/en/Videos.aspx?PageID=" + PageID + "&Language=" + Request["Language"];
return url;
}
This Hyperlink control is not inside any grid view or repeater control. I tried several way but for some reason it doesn't call the function.
I would appreciate help in this regard

try in this way...
<% getVideoPageURL(); %>
<asp:HyperLink ID="hyplnkVideo" runat="server">
<div id="dAlbumCategory" class="AlbumCategoryIcon">
<asp:Image ID="Image1" ImageUrl='~/Images/gallery/Videos.png' runat="server" />
</div>
protected void getVideoPageURL()
{
string url;
int PageID = Helper.GetPageIDbyName("Videos.aspx", Request["Language"]);
url = "~/en/Videos.aspx?PageID=" + PageID + "&Language=" + Request["Language"];
hyplnkVideo.Attributes.Add("href", url);
}
This is running code.. so u can try it

Simply try this:
NavigateUrl="<%= getVideoPageURL() %>"
The appropriate tag would be <%=, not <%#, as the <%# and %> tags indicate that you want to run data binding code (as in, something you've returned from the database).

It has been a while since this question was asked and marked as resolved.
However for the sake of providing a more appropriate resolution please call DataBind on your page code-behind in page load or render.This will inject the necessary href string.

ASP.NET : Possible to create a UserControl that include inside markup content?

I'm trying to achieve something google isn't able to give answer. I'm trying to create an asp.net usercontrol that when I put content into it's open close tag will include it for me to be still able to acess it's content by ID from the Parent. Here is an exemple of what I want to achieve.
Usercontrol:
<%# Control Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="ctrlGENE_CollapsiblePanel.ascx.cs"
Inherits="Controls_GenericsControls_ctrlGENE_CollapsiblePanel" %>
<asp:Panel ID="pnlHeader" CssClass="SnapPanelHeader" runat="server">
<h3>
<asp:Literal ID="litTitle" Text='<%# Text %>' runat="server" />
</h3>
<div class="SnapPanelHeader-img">
<img id="imgOpenClose" src="/images/application/close.jpg" alt="" />
</div>
</asp:Panel>
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="pnlContent">
// **HERE I WANT TO INCLUDE THE INSIDE MARKUP**
</asp:PlaceHolder>
<act:CollapsiblePanelExtender runat="server" TargetControlID="pnlContent" ImageControlID="imgOpenClose"
ExpandControlID="imgOpenClose" CollapseControlID="imgOpenClose" CollapsedImage="/images/application/open.jpg"
ExpandedImage="/images/application/close.jpg" CollapsedSize="0" TextLabelID="litTitle">
</act:CollapsiblePanelExtender>
Parent Page that include control :
<uc:MyUserControl ID="clpTest" runat="server">
<asp:Literal ID="litText" runat="server" />
</uc:MyUserControl>
Like this I would be able in the Parent.cs file to do :
litText.Text = "Anything";
I know we can achieve something similiar with the ITemplate interface as show here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/36574bf6.aspx
That would look like this:
<uc:MyUserControl ID="clpTest" runat="server">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:Literal ID="litText" runat="server" />
</ItemTemplate>
</uc:MyUserControl>
But If I do this I wouldn't be able to access the property of litText and the only way I could reach it is with a FindControl, which I want to avoid.
Anyone have a hint on this if I can reach my goal one way or another?
Thank you

Ok I fixed it here is the solution I used :
In MyUserConstrol.ascx file I have put a placeholder where I wanted innerHTML to show :
<asp:PlaceHolder runat="server" ID="plhContent" />
Then in the MyUserControl.ascx.cs file I added those attribute to the class:
[ParseChildren(false)]
[PersistChildren(true)]
And I added to the file this:
public void RegisterUpdatePanel(UpdatePanel panel)
{
MethodInfo m =
(from methods in typeof (ScriptManager).GetMethods(BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance)
where methods.Name.Equals("System.Web.UI.IScriptManagerInternal.RegisterUpdatePanel")
select methods).First();
m.Invoke(ScriptManager.GetCurrent(Page), new object[] {panel});
}
protected override void CreateChildControls()
{
for (int i = 0; i < Controls.Count; i++)
if (Controls[i] is MyLastControl)
while (i + 2 < Controls.Count)
{
// In cas there is an updatepanel in the control we are moving
// We are registering an event to register the updatepanel
// to the scriptmanager again
SearchUpdatePanel(Controls[i + 2]);
plhContent.Controls.Add(Controls[i + 2]);
}
base.CreateChildControls();
}
private void SearchUpdatePanel(Control control)
{
if (control is UpdatePanel)
control.Unload += updPnl_Unload;
foreach (Control childcontrol in control.Controls)
SearchUpdatePanel(childcontrol);
}
protected void updPnl_Unload(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
RegisterUpdatePanel((UpdatePanel) sender);
}
Note that I named my last control in the ascx file myLastContol to know what was the control before the innerHTML injection since I don't know what I'm receiving. The the procedure basically say loop in the controls in the UserControl, when you will reach the end of UserControl, everything after is innerHTML from parent so take those and move them to the placeholder where I want them.
I hope this will help someone.
Here is some sources I used to achieve my goal :
Registering UpdatePanel

Add a public property in the user control's code behind file. If you need design time support there's more work involved, but for simple scenarios like the one you outlined it should be enough.
Then just access it in the parent page to set the value and read it in the user control and use that value to render whatever you need there.