DropDown Within Repeater

ninel · April 16th, 2008, 11:26 AM

I have a dropdown inside a repeater control that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to populate.
There are also a couple of other fields displayed in the repeater. These are bound by a datareader.
Although I would like to bind that dropdown from a value in the datareader right now I'd like to just understand how to bind the dropdown to some values I want to set on the onload event.

This is what I have so far:

Code:

    <asp:Repeater ID="Repeater1" runat="server">
          <HeaderTemplate>
            <table  border='0' width='100%' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='2'
                style='background:#DDDDDD; border-top: black 0.3pt solid; border-left: black 0.3pt solid; 
                        border-bottom: black 0.3pt solid; border-right: black 0.3pt solid'>
                <tr>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>&nbsp;</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>&nbsp;</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Question</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Type</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Presentation</th> 
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Ordinal Number</th>                                        
                </tr>
        </HeaderTemplate>
        <ItemTemplate>
                <tr>                    
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:20px"><asp:CheckBox ID="CheckBox1" runat="server" /><asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>'></asp:TextBox></td>
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:30px"><a href ='MapResponses.aspx?ProjectID=<%=ProjectID%>&SurveyID=<%=SurveyID2%>&QuestionID=<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>' class="BaseText">Edit</a></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ShortQuestion")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "TypeDescription")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "PresentationDescr")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlOrdinal"  DataTextField="OrdinalNumber" DataValueField="ID" runat="server" width="300px" ></asp:DropDownList></td>

                </tr>
        </ItemTemplate>
        <AlternatingItemTemplate>
                <tr bgcolor='#ffffff'>                    
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:20px"><asp:CheckBox ID="CheckBox1" runat="server" /><asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>'></asp:TextBox></td>
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:30px" ><a href ='MapResponses.aspx?ProjectID=<%=ProjectID%>&SurveyID=<%=SurveyID2%>&QuestionID=<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>' class="BaseText">Edit</a></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ShortQuestion")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "TypeDescription")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "PresentationDescr")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlOrdinal" DataTextField="OrdinalNumber" DataValueField="ID" runat="server" width="300px" ></asp:DropDownList></td>
                  </tr>        
        </AlternatingItemTemplate>
        <FooterTemplate>
            </table>
        </FooterTemplate>
</asp:Repeater>

I read somewhere that I have to use the ItemCreated event of the repeater, but it's not working. What am I doing wrong?:

Code:

Sub Repeater1_ItemCreated(ByVal Sender As Object, ByVal e As RepeaterItemEventArgs)

        If e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.Item Or e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.AlternatingItem Then
            Dim objDDL As DropDownList = CType(e.Item.FindControl("ddlOrdinal"), DropDownList)
            'objDDL.SelectedIndex = objDDL.Items.IndexOf(objDDL.Items.FindByValue(e.Item.DataItem.ToString))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("SELECT", "-1"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("1", "1"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("2", "2"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("3", "3"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("4", "4"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("5", "5"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("6", "6"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("7", "7"))
            objDDL.Items.Add(New ListItem("2", "2"))

        End If
    End Sub

Thanks,
Ninel

Imar · April 16th, 2008, 12:30 PM

Have you tried hooking up the event handler to the event like this:

Sub Repeater1_ItemCreated(ByVal Sender As Object, ByVal e As RepeaterItemEventArgs) Handles Repeater1.ItemCreated

Imar

---------------------------------------
Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
Everyone is unique, except for me.
Author of Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 : in C# and VB, ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results and Dreamweaver MX 2004
Want to be my colleague? Then check out this post.

ninel · April 16th, 2008, 12:50 PM

I actually got the dropdown to populate by adding OnItemCreated="Repeater1_ItemCreated" like this:

<asp:Repeater ID="Repeater1" runat="server" OnItemCommand="Repeater1_ItemCommand" OnItemCreated="Repeater1_ItemCreated">

Now my problem is capturing the value of the dropdown when an item is selected.
Any ideas?

Imar · April 16th, 2008, 01:21 PM

You could do that as well, but the "VB style" is to use the Handles keyword.

You could hook up an handler to the SelectedIndexChanged event of the drop down and then retrieve the value by casting the Sender to a DropDownList:

Dim myList As DropDownList = CType(sender, DropDownList)
...

Imar

---------------------------------------
Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
Everyone is unique, except for me.
Author of Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 : in C# and VB, ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results and Dreamweaver MX 2004
Want to be my colleague? Then check out this post.

ninel · April 16th, 2008, 01:43 PM

Thank you Imar for your help. I got that part figured out as well.

Now what I am trying to do is remove the hardcoded values that I used to populate the dropdown and populate it with values from a stored procedure. The stored proc that I am currently using populates the other items in the repeater, but also returns the values I need for the dropdown. Can I use that same stored proc or do I need to create a new one that returns values for the dropdown only?

Thank you.

Imar · April 16th, 2008, 01:53 PM

It all depends on your setup and personal preference. I prefer to have stored procedures that target one scenario, so you may be better off creating a new procedure that gets the relevant items.

Imar
---------------------------------------
Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
Everyone is unique, except for me.
Author of Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 : in C# and VB, ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results and Dreamweaver MX 2004
Want to be my colleague? Then check out this post.

ninel · April 16th, 2008, 02:07 PM

So I created a new stored proc that returns the values of the ID and values of field OrdinalNumber and I set it like this:

Code:

Dim dtr  As SqlDataReader = objCommand.ExecuteReader
objDDL.DataSource = dtr
objDDL.DataBind()

What should the dropdown look like? This is what I have:

Code:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlOrdinal" autopostback = "true" DataTextField="OrdinalNumber" DataValueField="ID" runat="server" width="100px" ></asp:DropDownList>

Is this correct?

Imar · April 16th, 2008, 02:11 PM

Does it work? Then I guess it is correct....

In other words: impossible for me to say without a description of the situation and relevant sample code....

Imar

---------------------------------------
Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
Everyone is unique, except for me.
Author of Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 : in C# and VB, ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results and Dreamweaver MX 2004
Want to be my colleague? Then check out this post.

ninel · April 16th, 2008, 02:30 PM

No, it doesn't work. Here's the code:

Code:

    <asp:Repeater ID="Repeater1" runat="server"  OnItemCreated="Repeater1_ItemCreated">
          <HeaderTemplate>
            <table  border='0' width='100%' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='2'
                style='background:#DDDDDD; border-top: black 0.3pt solid; border-left: black 0.3pt solid; 
                        border-bottom: black 0.3pt solid; border-right: black 0.3pt solid'>
                <tr>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>&nbsp;</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>&nbsp;</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Question</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Type</th>
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Presentation</th> 
                    <th align='left' class='TableHeader'>Ordinal Number</th>                                        
                </tr>
        </HeaderTemplate>
        <ItemTemplate>
                <tr>                    
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:20px"><asp:CheckBox ID="CheckBox1" runat="server" /><asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>'></asp:TextBox></td>
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:30px"><a href ='MapResponses.aspx?ProjectID=<%=ProjectID%>&SurveyID=<%=SurveyID2%>&QuestionID=<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>' class="BaseText">Edit</a></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ShortQuestion")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "TypeDescription")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "PresentationDescr")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlOrdinal"  autopostback = "true" DataTextField="OrdinalNumber" DataValueField="ID"  runat="server" width="100px" ></asp:DropDownList></td>

                </tr>
        </ItemTemplate>
        <AlternatingItemTemplate>
                <tr bgcolor='#ffffff'>                    
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:20px"><asp:CheckBox ID="CheckBox1" runat="server" /><asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>'></asp:TextBox></td>
                    <td class='BaseText' style="width:30px" ><a href ='MapResponses.aspx?ProjectID=<%=ProjectID%>&SurveyID=<%=SurveyID2%>&QuestionID=<%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ID")%>' class="BaseText">Edit</a></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "ShortQuestion")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(container.DataItem , "TypeDescription")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "PresentationDescr")%></td>
                    <td class='BaseText'><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlOrdinal"  autopostback = "true" DataTextField="OrdinalNumber" DataValueField="ID" runat="server" width="100px" ></asp:DropDownList></td>
                  </tr>        
        </AlternatingItemTemplate>
        <FooterTemplate>
            </table>
        </FooterTemplate>
    </asp:Repeater>

Code:

  Sub Repeater1_ItemCreated(ByVal Sender As Object, ByVal e As RepeaterItemEventArgs)
        If e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.Item Or e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.AlternatingItem Then
            Dim objDDL As DropDownList = CType(e.Item.FindControl("ddlOrdinal"), DropDownList)

            objDDL.SelectedIndex = objDDL.Items.IndexOf(objDDL.Items.FindByValue(e.Item.DataItem.ToString))

            Dim objConn As nsSqlClient.SqlConnection
            Dim returnValue As Int32
            Dim objCommand As nsSqlClient.SqlCommand

            objConn = New nsSqlClient.SqlConnection
            objConn.ConnectionString = m_strConnection
            objConn.Open()

            objCommand = New nsSqlClient.SqlCommand("rspGetOrdinalAllQuestionsBySurvey", objConn)
            objCommand.CommandType = nsData.CommandType.StoredProcedure
            objCommand.CommandTimeout = 1320

            'Creating parameter for Procedure
            objCommand.Parameters.Add(CreateParam("@RETURN_VALUE", nsData.SqlDbType.Int, 0, nsData.ParameterDirection.ReturnValue, returnValue))
            objCommand.Parameters.Add(CreateParam("@ClientID", nsData.SqlDbType.VarChar, 10, nsData.ParameterDirection.Input, ClientID))
            objCommand.Parameters.Add(CreateParam("@SurveyID", nsData.SqlDbType.VarChar, 20, nsData.ParameterDirection.Input, surveyID))
            objCommand.ExecuteNonQuery()

            returnValue = DirectCast(objCommand.Parameters("@RETURN_VALUE").Value, Int32)
            If returnValue <> 0 Then
                Exit Sub
            Else
                Dim dtr As SqlDataReader = objCommand.ExecuteReader
                'Repeater1.DataSource = dtr
                'Repeater1.DataBind()
                objDDL.DataSource = dtr
                objDDL.DataBind()
            End If
            AddHandler objDDL.SelectedIndexChanged, AddressOf ddlordinal_SelectedIndexChanged

        End If
end sub

The stored proc returns the following:
ID OrdinalNumber --> This is the text I want to see in the dropdown
140 NULL
103 1
5 1
4 4
100 6

Imar · April 16th, 2008, 02:56 PM

And what exactly isn't working?

This would be so much easier if you:

a) Posted only the relevant pieces of code. No need to post long blocks of HeaderTemplates for example

b) Added a few line breaks in your code so the code doesn't get 10 feet wide forcing me to scroll in all directions to see what's going on.

c) Added a specific description of "does not work", including any error messages you get, the values that your variables contain during debugging and so on.

Imar

---------------------------------------
Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
Everyone is unique, except for me.
Author of Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 : in C# and VB, ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results and Dreamweaver MX 2004
Want to be my colleague? Then check out this post.