Finding Controls in ASP.NET

One thing I really hate is duplicate code, so when I find myself writing the same code over and over, for example setting properties to the same values on one to many controls, I know there has to be an easier way. Of course there is! Why not find all the controls on a Web Form or Win Form and just set them in a loop? This prevents errors and allows greater consistency.

For example, if you forget to set the MinimumValue on a RangeValidator control, your ASP.NET page won’t load.

Here is some simple code using LINQ  to find controls that you are searching for on an ASP.NET page:

private ReadOnlyCollection<T> FindControls<T>(Control parent,
                                               bool includeChildren) 
                                               where T : Control
{ 
  if (parent == null)
  { 
    throw new ArgumentNullException("parent");
  }
  List<T> ctrls = new List<T>(parent.Controls.OfType<T>());
  foreach (var ctrl in parent.Controls.Cast<Control>().Where(
                                         p=>p.HasControls() &
                                         includeChildren))
  {
    ctrls.AddRange(FindControls<T>(ctrl, includeChildren));
  } 
  return new ReadOnlyCollection<T>(ctrls);
}

This code works exactly the same for Windows controls except you will have to change p.HasControls() to p.HasChildren().

Here is how I use it in a real-work example:

foreach (var ctrl in this.FindControls<RangeValidator>(parent, true))

{

  if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(ctrl.ErrorMessage))

  {

    ctrl.ErrorMessage = "Input is not valid number.";

  }

  if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(ctrl.MinimumValue))

  {

    ctrl.MinimumValue = "0";

  }

 if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(ctrl.MaximumValue))

 {

    ctrl.MaximumValue = int.MaxValue.ToString();

  }

}

This code originally came from my open source project located at: http://codeplex.com/dotnettips. Related to the FindControls method above there is also:

• ClearControls
• SelectFirstEmptyControl
• FindEditableControls

Tip By: David McCarter