The Web Form Controls

You set the text that you want to display using the Text property.. You set the list of options using the Items property.. Details on the advertisements, such as the image, URL when clic

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

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

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