Is there a way to Append the DataTextField of a Listbox in aspx C#?

Question

I have a data bound listbox that lists names of items, I am now wanting to display both the item number and the Item name in something that looks like: i-001 - Item 1. I have done something similar to this, but it was when I was not using data text fields, but iDataReaders instead.

so can I append the datatextfield attribute in anyway to accept more than one column? Either in the aspx page or in the code behind?

If there is any code that can be of help I can provide it to you, if there is any clearing up that can be done I will do my best to do so.

Thank you

Sample Code:

listItems.DataSource = DAL.Util.getItemProfiles(vendor,catalog);
listItems.DataBind();


public string ItemNumName
{
    get { return "CustItemNum" + " - " + "Name"; }
}

protected void listItems_DataBound(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    listItems.DataTextField = ItemNumName;
}

this cause the following error message:

DataBinding: 'System.Data.DataRowView' does not contain a property with the name 'CustItemNum - Name'.

If I remove the + " - " + "Name" from the property it functions correctly by showing just the CustItemNum field

Check the following SO Link [Multiple values in DataTextField][1] [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/861982/datatextfield-in-a-listbox-is-a-combination-of-2-fields — Rajesh Subramanian, Jun 05 '12 at 13:05
So you want to display the Text and the Value of the dropdownlist in that dropdownlist? — Limey, Jun 05 '12 at 13:07

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 05 '12 at 13:09

1

You can add a new property to your model that combines the two fields and use it as datavalue

  public string SomeProperty
  {
      get{return  itemnumber + "-"+ itemName ; }
  }

edited Jun 05 '12 at 13:09

answered Jun 05 '12 at 13:07

anouar.bagari

2,084
19
30

I am attempting to use this method but am having problems, I set the listboxs DataTextField = ItemNumName it looks for a column named : 'CustItemNum - Name' .. And sorry for a long wait for reply I was away from this for a while.. I am sure with a little more tweaking with this method I will be able to get it to work. Thank you – Joe W Jun 15 '12 at 14:53
@JoeW What is the type of the datasource? – anouar.bagari Jun 15 '12 at 15:08
well I could have swore I posted this earlier... data type is varchar. – Joe W Jun 15 '12 at 19:45

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 05 '12 at 13:09

1

You can do this in the OnDataBound event of the ListBox. Examples here: http://asp-net-example.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-use-listbox-ondatabound-event-in.html

 protected void ListBox1_DataBound(object sender, EventArgs e)  
    {  
//... your logic here to set the text of the item
}

answered Jun 05 '12 at 13:09

Alright using this I am able to set the datatextfield to one column, but I am still having problems appending the 2nd column. Thanks for the response – Joe W Jun 05 '12 at 14:07

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 19 '12 at 15:17

1

you could also edit your sql to concatenate the two columns and then use that as your datatextfield. Using provided variable names it would look something like:

Select CustItemNum, Name,  CustItemNum + ' - ' + Name AS NumberName

then you should be able to use NumberName as the DataTextField and it should display like "itemNumber - itemName"

answered Jun 19 '12 at 15:17

John

134
1
10

i just tried this out, and what do you know.. it works! Thanks very much – Joe W Jun 19 '12 at 15:30

Is there a way to Append the DataTextField of a Listbox in aspx C#?

3 Answers3