FormView with a Paging Template

Download source code - 0.99 MB

FormViewModified

Introduction

I've seen several good GridView pager templates around, but very few FormView templates. I wanted to see what it would take to create a pager template that was similar to a good GridView paging template, and I think I've come up with one. I was surprised at how similar it actually was to creating a GridView paging template, but there are some distinct differences.

Background

The control I've created is called FormViewModified, and its paging template have the following characteristics:

DropDownList paging control
Arrows paging if you prefer to use them over the DropDownList
Total records count
Print button
Word export button

Using the Code

To create a pager template, you first must set the AllowPaging attribute to True. Next, for a server control, you must override the InitializePager method with the following statement:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _ 
   ByVal row As FormViewRow, _ 
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource )

If you've created a server control using the AllowPaging paging templates, you'll notice it looks similar to the Overrides statement used for creating a GridView pager template:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _
   ByVal row As GridViewRow, _
   ByVal columnSpan As Integer, _
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource)

In either instance, FormView or GridView, this is where you will create your interface for the paging template. For example, if you want to create a label, you would do that by using the following logic:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _ 
   ByVal row As FormViewRow, _ 
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource) 

    Dim cell As New TableCell() 
    Dim Label As New Label 
    Label.ID = "Label1" 
    MessageLabel.Text = "I am a Label: " 
    cell.Controls.Add(Label) 
End Sub

Next, you need to add your control functionality in the Formview_Databound event. A quick example would be if you wanted to add the page number to the Label that was created in the previous page. This would look similar to the following:

Private Sub FormViewModified_DataBound(ByVal sender As Object, _
  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.DataBound 

    Dim pageLabel As Label = _
        CType(pagerRow.FindControl("Label"), Label) 

    If pageLabel IsNot Nothing Then 
    Dim currentPage As Integer = Me.PageIndex + 1 
    pageLabel.Text = "Page " & currentPage.ToString() & _
                     " of " & Me.PageCount.ToString() 
    End If 

End Sub

Once this is complete with any controls you wish to add to handle the paging logic, the the pager is complete.

I have an example available for download, feel free to modify it to suit your needs. It adds a pager template to the FormView with the template displayed at the top of the FormView. It contains a few controls under the paging logic which I have found come in handy in almost all FormViews.

The full source code for this as well as other server controls that I've created, along with a sample website, is available for download from: http://www.joshuablackstone.com/Articles/JGBSolution.zip.

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Modification to Code
Joshua Blackstone

10:11 18 Jun '09

Wanted to modify to embed the images, cannot modify this article for some reason.

If you're interested, you can download the updated version by going to:

http://www.joshuablackstone.com/JGBSolution.zip .
Here, I simply changed the InitializePager method to read:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _
ByVal row As FormViewRow, _
ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource _
)

Dim cell As New TableCell()
cell.Controls.Add(New LiteralControl("<div class='none'>"))
Dim MessageLabel As New Label
MessageLabel.ID = "MessageLabel"
MessageLabel.Text = "Select a Page: "
cell.Controls.Add(MessageLabel)

Dim pageList As New DropDownList
pageList.ID = "PageDropDownList"
pageList.AutoPostBack = True
AddHandler pageList.SelectedIndexChanged, AddressOf PageDropDownList_SelectedIndexChanged
cell.Controls.Add(pageList)

Dim buttonFirst As New ImageButton
buttonFirst.ID = "ImageButtonFirst"
buttonFirst.CommandName = "Page"
buttonFirst.CommandArgument = "First"
buttonFirst.ImageUrl = Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(Me.[GetType](), "JGB.PgFirst.gif")
cell.Controls.Add(buttonFirst)

Dim spaceLabel3 As New Label
spaceLabel3.Text = "  "
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel3)

Dim buttonPrevious As New ImageButton
buttonPrevious.ID = "ImageButtonPrevious"
buttonPrevious.CommandName = "Page"
buttonPrevious.CommandArgument = "Prev"
buttonFirst.ImageUrl = Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(Me.[GetType](), "JGB.PgPrev.gif")
cell.Controls.Add(buttonPrevious)

Dim spaceLabel5 As New Label
spaceLabel5.Text = "  "
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel5)

Dim pageLabel As New Label
pageLabel.ID = "CurrentPageLabel"
cell.Controls.Add(pageLabel)

Dim spaceLabel4 As New Label
spaceLabel4.Text = "  "
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel4)

Dim buttonNext As New ImageButton
buttonNext.ID = "ImageButtonNext"
buttonNext.CommandName = "Page"
buttonNext.CommandArgument = "Next"
buttonFirst.ImageUrl = Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(Me.[GetType](), "JGB.PgNext.gif")
cell.Controls.Add(buttonNext)

Dim spaceLabel6 As New Label
spaceLabel6.Text = "  "
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel6)

Dim buttonLast As New ImageButton
buttonLast.ID = "ImageButtonLast"
buttonLast.CommandName = "Page"
buttonLast.CommandArgument = "Last"
buttonFirst.ImageUrl = Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(Me.[GetType](), "JGB.PgLast.gif")
cell.Controls.Add(buttonLast)

Dim spaceLabel7 As New Label
spaceLabel7.Text = "  "
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel7)

Dim ltrlSpan As New Label()
ltrlSpan.Text = pagedDataSource.DataSourceCount.ToString() & " record(s) found"
cell.Controls.Add(ltrlSpan)

Dim spaceLabel8 As New Label
spaceLabel8.Text = "<br />"
cell.Controls.Add(spaceLabel8)

Dim PrintButton As New LinkButton
PrintButton.Text = "Print"
PrintButton.ID = "PrintButton"
PrintButton.Attributes.Add("onclick", "javascript:window.print();")
cell.Controls.Add(PrintButton)

cell.Controls.Add(New LiteralControl(" | "))

Dim CloseButton As New LinkButton
CloseButton.Text = "Close"
CloseButton.ID = "CloseButton"
CloseButton.Attributes.Add("onclick", "window.close();")
cell.Controls.Add(CloseButton)

cell.Controls.Add(New LiteralControl("</div>"))
row.Cells.Add(cell)
End Sub

Also includes other server controls that you may or may not wish to use.
Josh