Q: How to use DataGrid in Edit Mode -- with more fields than shown?

[Sky]

Hello:
Another question about trying to wring functionality from a DataGrid...

Have a DB table of "Contacts" -- 14 or more fields per record
Show in datagrid -- but only 5 columns (First,Last, Fax, Phone, Category).
Put an Edit column at the end...

Now what?!
If you go into Edit mode -- you can only edit 5 cells -- not all the rest of
the Record's fields...not enough!

What options are there?
How to -- elegantly -- replace the Edit line with a nice mini custom form
(vertical layout, not horizontal as in the DataGrid)... Can this be done
with a DataGrid (override a single row's Render() with another scenario --
yet somehow figure out the values on return? I've seen that you can make
your own BoundColumn:Edit template -- but since it's for one column, you
can't very well use it to Colspan the whole grid, and use it....

Question: Is there a DataGrid:Edit template that could be used for this?
Question: Is this where I should be looking at another control to do the
job? DataList? DataRepeater?
Question: Is there where most people popup a modal form? If so, how are they
catching the close of it to refresh the grid?

 

[Madan Nayak]

A sugestion
========

In this senario, The numbers of coulms you are showing should be updatble.
There is no problem..

I f you want to update more no of fields you are showing, you can give a
link to another editpage.aspx which would take the primary key of the record
clicked and show you all the necessary fields for update....

I think this is the better approach.

Questions:
======
Why donot you show fields but want to update them?
Is it of space problem in dispalying all your fields???
Is there any security issue that prevetnts you from displayng...

let me know pl.
Thanks
Madan

 

[Sky]

Dear Madan:

The scenario I was envisioning was the following:

One 'app-module' called QuickPhoneList of members of the company. For a
quick lookup, most people just need the phonenumber/extension -- not the
rest of the info on that person, such as DateFirstHired, etc. This kind of
information is useful for other reports -- but not for the data that is the
QuickPhoneList...

Therefore, you only need to show 4 or 5 columns for this basic info -- but
when the user wants to update his entry, the form should be more complete.

I hear you as to linking to another EditPage to handle this -- I've seen it
also done as a popup...

But it appears to me that it should also be possible to custom design the
rendering of the grid to 'collapse/hide the EditRow -- and inject an empty
row, colspan = full, just below it to hold the mini edit form. The reason I
am thinking in this direction is that if the num of fields is minimal -- eg:
10 or so, but also it won't fit in the 4or5 columns we mentioned, maybe it's
not always a good thing to completly lose their place in the grid (could be
3 pages in on a paged query?) and visual context, to move them to a edit
page just to handle this...

Plus - I sort of have been feeling that a 'module' should be contain all
it's pieces: the View, the Edit, the Settings. Independant from the rest of
the framework of the pages...
If that idea doesn't have too big a flaw to it, then maybe it should be
possible, and possibly quite sexy to inject a mini form there. Of some
kind. Somehow....

Thinking about it a little more, if it can't be done by injecting a
ColSpan=full row here to hold the mini-form, this might be a good place to
inject a popup/iframe rather than a popup/window, to hold this
miniframe.(forgot what those custom MS things are called)...

What do you think?

PS: Plus, even if not such a great idea to edit the data this way-- the
DataGrid is such a pervasive control, that learning how to control it's
edit/render templates to their fullest can't be bad to learn anyway!!! =;-)