Question

I have a data bound repeater on my ASP.NET page. I am using the repeater to build a list of elements, each one consisting of a text (given by a column in the data bound table) that may be hyperlinked to another page. Whether or not a hyperlink should be included is determined by another column in the data bound table.

I am not sure how to approach the problem. Should I use an HyperLink server control that is shown or hidden depending on the value in the second column? How can I then change the Visible property of this control for each item in the repeater? Are there better approaches?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can have two controls. One being a hyperlink and one being a regular label or literal. Then, in the ItemDataBound event, show / hide the appropriate controls based on the value of that second column. See the example code below. You will obviously need to change it to fit your situation.

Private Sub Repeater_ItemDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, Byval e As RepeaterItemEventArgs)
  If (e.Item.ItemType Is ListItemType.Item) Or (e.Item.ItemType Is ListItemType.AlternatingItem) Then
    Dim hyperlink = CType(e.Item.FindControl("HyperLink1"), HyperLink)
    Dim label = CType(e.Item.FindControl("Label1"), Label)
    Dim dataSource = CType(e.Item.DataItem, MyDataSourceObject)

    If (dataSource.HyperLink = String.Empty) Then
      hyperlink.visible = false
    Else
      label.visible = false
      hyperlink.NavigateUrl = dataSource.HyperLink
    End If
  End If
End Sub