Question

I constructed a Repeater for my XML file roughly like so:

<asp:XmlDataSource ID="XmlDataSource1" runat="server" DataFile="samplexml.xml" XPath="level1/level2" />
<asp:Repeater id="category" runat="server" DataSourceID="XmlDataSource1">

<ItemTemplate>
    <div class="category">
    <h2><%#XPath("@name") %></h2>

    <asp:Repeater id="group" runat="server" DataSource='<%# XPathSelect("group") %>'>
        <ItemTemplate>
        ...
        </ItemTemplate>
    </asp:Repeater>

    </div>
</ItemTemplate>

</asp:Repeater>

And now I’m working on how to get the data inside of each on postback. I learned roughly how to get into a RepeaterItem:

foreach (RepeaterItem items in category.Items)
{   
    Output.Text += items.UniqueID + "<br />";
}

But after a lot of searching MSDN, this site, and others, I haven’t been able to figure out how to get into the group repeater.

Am I missing something obvious here? I’m in .NET 2.0.

Answer 1

You aren’t missing anything obvious. In my experience working with nested Repeaters/ListViews/Etc is a nightmare.

If you have the option to do this using MVC I would recommend that. If not…. Your best bet is probably to get familiar with FindControl. Typically your code will look something like this:

protected void category_ItemDataBound(object sender, RepeaterItemEventArgs e)
{
    Repeater level2 = e.Item.FindControl("group") as Repeater;
    //you are now working with the nested repeater in a single row...  Do what you will!
}

So when a row in the parent repeater binds, you will have to use FindControl to find it’s nested repeater. Good luck!