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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-08T21:48:55+00:00

I have a search form built in ASP.NET that has a dropdown list which

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I have a search form built in ASP.NET that has a dropdown list which determines which table to search from. Both tables have similar structure, but the column names are different in places, so I put each table’s information in a separate table. It’s basically set up like this:

Name|Form Field Name|Table Name|Table Column Name

From there I set up a loop that will hold the form field names, the table name, and the column names depending on the selection made in the dropdown list. The loop will take that information and build an separate MySQL query using StringBuilder based on the user’s input. Here’s the loop:

If drFields.HasRows Then
    While drFields.Read()
        If drFields("ASPControlName") <> "" Then
            If strbQuery.ToString <> "" Then
                strbQuery.Append(" AND ")
            End If
            strbQuery.Append(" " & drFields("DBField") & " LIKE '%" & drFields("ASPControlName").ToString & "%' ")
        End If
    End While
End If

My issue, as I’m sure you can tell, is that the drFields(“ASPControlName”), which is filled with something along the lines of txtFirstName.Text.Trim, will only come out to a string with txtFirstName.Text.Trim in it. The variable doesn’t translate to referencing the textbox as I want it to.

I know this is probably a backwards way of doing it, but is it even possible to achieve what I’m trying to? Thanks!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I know this is probably a backwards way of doing it

    Very true. I wouldn’t continue this route.

    but is it even possible to achieve what I’m trying to?

    Yes, you can use reflection to get a hold of the control and invoke the Property you need to in order to receive the actual value but since this is not a good approach at all, I won’t provide an example.

    Also, building dynamic queries like you describe, need special handling to make sure that you are not exposing yourself to SQL Injection attacks. Try to rethink the strategy here.

    It’s difficult to suggest something that would work for you since I don’t think there’s enough context in the question, but typically, I would opt for creating a stored procedure that would perform the query I need based on certain parameters.

    Some resources that might be helpful:

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