DropDownList - Is it Possible to get at the TextField Contents

[mosscliffe]

Is it possible to get at the TextField Contents of a SelectedValue in a
DropDownList in ASP ?

Thank You

 

[Mark Rae]

Is it possible to get at the TextField Contents of a SelectedValue in a
DropDownList in ASP ?

SelectedItem.Text

 

[mosscliffe]

Many thanks, you can't imagine how long I have been searching for this.
I came across all sorts of solutions involving JAVASCRIPT.

Thanks Again

 

[Mark Rae]

Many thanks, you can't imagine how long I have been searching for this.
I came across all sorts of solutions involving JAVASCRIPT.

No disrespect intended (and because we've had quite a few lengthy
discussions on this recently), but you could have found the answer on Google
in under a minute...

http://www.google.com/search?source...:2005-48,GGLG:en&q=DropDownList+text+selected

 

[mosscliffe]

I take your point, but I can assure you that I did try, mainly in this
group. I obviously did not have the right query text.

You probably can not imagine how hard it is trying to learn all about
this ASP.NET, when the bottom line is unless you know all the events
and their sequence, you will be frustrated every day.

I have come to ASP.NET as a result of purchasing the VWD Express book.
I thought it was at long last my way into doing data based websites.

Well it can, but then you want to do something a bit different, because
you are programming for the real world and then your headaches begin.

To be very facetious PostBack happens if you look away from the screen.

Today I discoverd that using a button to go to another page goes
through PageLoad of the calling Page. There will be a reason for this,
but it is not something that would be obvious to a beginner.

Another frustration today - I am trying to use FilterExpression on a
DataSource, fine it works, when I end up having to programmatically
enter the expression - but guess what - it keeps getting cleared. It
is probably me, although I can't see where - but it is bound to have
something to do with PostBack.

And as for the 76 ways of either specyfying or entering parameters -
don't get me started. The answer is probably some sort of list hidden
in your own control, but that will be in October's list of new bits to
find out about.

I gave myself a mark out of a hundred about 3 weeks ago, based on my
competence level with all this VB2005, ASp.NET etc - it was 22% and
that was based on doing some VBASIC years ago and a working knowledge
of HTML 3. I would say I have progressed to about 26% That is a gain
of 4% in three weeks. Now I know I am not stupid, because in my day I
was a Senior System Programmer on IBM mainframes, but this is the
steepest learning curve I have ever encountered.

Remember when Windows first came to our knowledge it was Windows 3 and
about 4 years before any decent software came. The learning curve in
those days was very high, but today it is much higher and the hardest
and most frustrating part is you just get to a level of competence and
'Bill' moves the GoalPosts and at the end of the day, it is mainly just
making things 'Prettier'. I have quite a reasonably quick machine, but
it just crawls with this VWD Express RANTS OVER

So, thank you again for your help, but be patient there is so much to
learn and almost every task has 20 ways of achieving it. Most of the
time one is just overwhelmed by the solutions, that one can not see the
simple answer.

Tim

 

[Mark Rae]

I take your point, but I can assure you that I did try, mainly in this
group. I obviously did not have the right query text.

I guess not!

You probably can not imagine how hard it is trying to learn all about
this ASP.NET, when the bottom line is unless you know all the events
and their sequence, you will be frustrated every day.

LOL! Nobody was born knowing the .NET Framework! I reckon I know about 10%
of it really well. If you do a search on the history of this newsgroup,
you'll see that I ask about half as many questions as I answer.

Well it can, but then you want to do something a bit different, because
you are programming for the real world and then your headaches begin.

Ah yes, but that's where a good grounding in the basics really helps. I'd
suggest either buying one of the WROX introductory books, or working through
the samples and tutorials in the SDK.

To be very facetious PostBack happens if you look away from the screen.


Today I discoverd that using a button to go to another page goes
through PageLoad of the calling Page. There will be a reason for this,
but it is not something that would be obvious to a beginner.

But only if you tell it to... If all you need a button for is to go to
another page, you don't need it do do a PostBack - just make it go to the
page client-side using JavaScript.

Another frustration today - I am trying to use FilterExpression on a
DataSource, fine it works, when I end up having to programmatically
enter the expression - but guess what - it keeps getting cleared. It
is probably me, although I can't see where - but it is bound to have
something to do with PostBack.

That's what ViewState is for.

So, thank you again for your help, but be patient there is so much to
learn and almost every task has 20 ways of achieving it. Most of the
time one is just overwhelmed by the solutions, that one can not see the
simple answer.

All I can do is to reiterate the importance of getting a structured
grounding in the Framework.

 

[mosscliffe]

Mark,

Thanks for the tips - I will try to implement them. I have two WROX
(1000 pages each) books, but it does not make it any easier. What I
really need is a Quick Reference Card, where you look up DropDownList
and there are all the quick notes on the most common aspects of a
control or object. I am very slowly putting together my own.

I do have a problem with JavaScript, because I believe that www, should
have heralded in the very thin client and there is no need for it.
Plus I want to see my pages on my mobile phone and it does not support
JavaScript, plus Javascript is another source of possible hacking.

The most annoying part of all this is I can do most of what I want to
do in code, it's when I try to utilise the controls, I have most of my
problems, but I keep telling myself I will be more productive, if I can
master all these wonderful data controls.

Thank you very much for your answers and interest. I will try to make
a bit more progress and try harder to solve my queries.

Tim

 

[Mark Rae]

Thanks for the tips - I will try to implement them. I have two WROX
(1000 pages each) books, but it does not make it any easier. What I
really need is a Quick Reference Card, where you look up DropDownList
and there are all the quick notes on the most common aspects of a
control or object. I am very slowly putting together my own.

At the risk of repeating myself, you already have that - it's called the
MSDN Library. Here's the entry for the DropDownList class, which gives
examples on how to use it, and a full list of all its properties and
methods:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...temWebUIWebControlsDropDownListClassTopic.asp

I do have a problem with JavaScript, because I believe that www, should
have heralded in the very thin client and there is no need for it.

Ah, well that's a different argument altogether. You simply can't do web
development without at least some JavaScript...

plus Javascript is another source of possible hacking.
???

The most annoying part of all this is I can do most of what I want to
do in code, it's when I try to utilise the controls, I have most of my
problems, but I keep telling myself I will be more productive, if I can
master all these wonderful data controls.

Well indeed - that's why they're there. The GridView alone is worth
upgrading to v2.