The Web Form Controls

The Web Form Controls In this section, you'll see a summary of the various Web form controls that you can pick from the Toolbox's Web Forms Section. Table 15.1 summarizes the controls. Table 15.1: WEB FORM CONTROLS CONTROL DESCRIPTION Label Displays text. You set the text that you want to display using the Text property. TextBox A box containing text that the user of your form may edit at runtime. The TextMode property may be set to SingleLine (text appears on one line), MultiLine (text appears over multiple lines), and Password (text appears as asterisk characters). The Text property contains the TextBox text. Button A clickable button. The Text property determines the text shown on the button. LinkButton Similar to a Button, except that a LinkButton appears as a hypertext link. You set the link using the Text property. ImageButton Similar to a Button, except that an ImageButton shows an image. You set the image using the ImageUrl property. HyperLink A hyperlink. You set the hyperlink using the NavigateUrl property. DropDownList A list of options that drops down when clicked. You set the list of options using the Items property. The user can select only one option from the DropDownList when the form is run. ListBox A list of options. You set the list of options using the Items property. The user can select multiple options from the ListBox if the SelectionMode property is set to Multiple. The other value is Single, in which case the user can select only one option. DataGrid A grid containing data retrieved from a data source, such as a database. You set the data source using the DataSource property. DataList A list containing data retrieved from a data source. You set the data source using the DataSource property. Repeater A list containing data retrieved from a data source that you Table 15.1: WEB FORM CONTROLS CONTROL DESCRIPTION set using the DataSource property. Each item in the list may be displayed using a template. A template defines the content and layout of the items in the list. CheckBox A check box contains a Boolean true/false value that is set to true by the user if they check the box. The Checked property indicates the Boolean value currently set in the check box. CheckBoxList A multiple-selection check box. You set the list of check boxes using the Items property. RadioButton A radio button contains a Boolean true/false value that is set to true by the user if they press the button. The Checked property indicates the Boolean value currently set in the radio button. RadioButtonList A group of radio buttons. You set the list of radio buttons using the Items property. Image Displays an image that you set using the ImageUrl property. Panel A container for other controls. PlaceHolder A container for controls that you can create at runtime; these are known as dynamic controls. Calendar Displays a calendar for a month and allows a user to select a date and navigate to the previous and next month. You use the SelectedDate property to get or set the selected date, and you use the VisibleDate property to get or set the month currently displayed. AdRotator Displays banner advertisements. Details on the advertisements, such as the image, URL when clicked, and frequency of display, are set in an XML file that you set using the AdvertisementFile property. Table Displays a table of rows, which you set using the Rows property. RequiredFieldValidator Used to ensure that the user has specified some input for a control. You set the control to validate using the ControlToValidate property. You'll see an example that uses a validation control shortly. CompareValidator Used to compare an entry made by a user in one control with another control or a constant value. You set the control Table 15.1: WEB FORM CONTROLS CONTROL DESCRIPTION to validate using the ControlToValidate property (this control contains the value entered by the user). You set the control to compare against using the ControlToCompare property or the ValueToCompare property. You set the operator for the comparison using the Operator property. RangeValidator Used to ensure that the user has entered a value within a specified range in a control. You set the control to validate using the ControlToValidate property, and the range of values using the MinimumValue and MaximumValue properties. RegularExpressionValidator Used to ensure that the user has entered a value that satisfies a specified regular expression. You set the control to validate using the ControlToValidate property, and the regular expression using the ValidationExpression property. CustomValidator Used to perform your own custom validation for the value entered by a user. You set the control to validate using the ControlToValidate property, and your function to use in the validation using the ClientValidationFunction property. ValidationSummary Used to display a summary of all validation errors on the Web form and/or a message box. You set whether you want to show the errors on your Web form using the ShowSummary property and whether you want to show the errors in a message box using the ShowMessageBox property. XML Displays the contents of an XML file. You set the XML file to display using the DocumentSource property. Literal Displays static text. You set the text to display using the Text property. You'll see how to use some of these controls in the rest of this chapter. . The Web Form Controls In this section, you'll see a summary of the various Web form controls that you can pick from the Toolbox's Web Forms. errors on the Web form and/or a message box. You set whether you want to show the errors on your Web form using the ShowSummary property and whether you