FormView with a Paging Template

• Download source code - 0.99 MB

Introduction

I've seen several good GridView pager templates around, but very few FormView templates. I wanted to see what it would take to create a pager template that was similar to a good GridView paging template, and I think I've come up with one. I was surprised at how similar it actually was to creating a GridView paging template, but there are some distinct differences.

Background

The control I've created is called FormViewModified, and its paging template have the following characteristics:

1. DropDownList paging control
2. Arrows paging if you prefer to use them over the DropDownList
3. Total records count
4. Print button
5. Word export button

Using the Code

To create a pager template, you first must set the AllowPaging attribute to True. Next, for a server control, you must override the InitializePager method with the following statement:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _ 
   ByVal row As FormViewRow, _ 
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource )

If you've created a server control using the AllowPaging paging templates, you'll notice it looks similar to the Overrides statement used for creating a GridView pager template:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _
   ByVal row As GridViewRow, _
   ByVal columnSpan As Integer, _
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource)

In either instance, FormView or GridView, this is where you will create your interface for the paging template. For example, if you want to create a label, you would do that by using the following logic:

Protected Overrides Sub InitializePager( _ 
   ByVal row As FormViewRow, _ 
   ByVal pagedDataSource As PagedDataSource) 

    Dim cell As New TableCell() 
    Dim Label As New Label 
    Label.ID = "Label1" 
    MessageLabel.Text = "I am a Label: " 
    cell.Controls.Add(Label) 
End Sub 

Next, you need to add your control functionality in the Formview_Databound event. A quick example would be if you wanted to add the page number to the Label that was created in the previous page. This would look similar to the following:

Private Sub FormViewModified_DataBound(ByVal sender As Object, _
  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.DataBound 

    Dim pageLabel As Label = _
        CType(pagerRow.FindControl("Label"), Label) 

    If pageLabel IsNot Nothing Then 
    Dim currentPage As Integer = Me.PageIndex + 1 
    pageLabel.Text = "Page " & currentPage.ToString() & _
                     " of " & Me.PageCount.ToString() 
    End If 

End Sub 

Once this is complete with any controls you wish to add to handle the paging logic, the the pager is complete.

I have an example available for download, feel free to modify it to suit your needs. It adds a pager template to the FormView with the template displayed at the top of the FormView. It contains a few controls under the paging logic which I have found come in handy in almost all FormViews.

The full source code for this as well as other server controls that I've created, along with a sample website, is available for download from: http://www.joshuablackstone.com/Articles/JGBSolution.zip.