Question

I would like it so when a link is clicked on the homepage it would load a particular xml file into the next page (the page is called category-list.apsx).

This category list page uses the Repeater Control method to display the xml details on the page. I used the example shown here:

http://www.w3schools.com/aspnet/aspnet_repeater.asp

So at the moment the repeater script looks like:

<script runat="server">
    sub Page_Load
    if Not Page.IsPostBack then
       dim mycategories=New DataSet
       mycategories.ReadXml(MapPath("categories.xml"))
       categories.DataSource=mycategories
       categories.DataBind()
    end if
    end sub
</script>

After doing some research I did find someone with the same problem and the solution was to insert #tags as part of the link on the homepage (i.e. category-list.apsx#company1results) and then some script on the list page to pick up the correct xml file:

<script type="text/javascript">
    var old_onload = window.onload; // Play it safe by respecting onload handlers set by other scripts.
    window.onload=function()
    {
     var categories = document.location.href.substring(document.location.href.indexOf("#")+1);
     loadXMLDoc('XML/'+categories+'.xml');
     old_onload();
    }
</script>

This was from the following link:

http://www.hotscripts.com/forums/javascript/45641-solved-specify-xml-file-load-when-click-link.html

How can I get these two scripts to connect with each other?

Answer 1

It’s easier to use a querystring instead of a hash ‘#’, because the querystring will be send server-side, so there is no need of client-side javascript.

So when you call category-list.apsx?cat=company1results, you can use the following code to switch between xml files:

Public Sub Page_Load()
    If Not Page.IsPostBack Then
        Dim cat As String = Request.QueryString("cat")

        Dim mycategories As DataSet = New DataSet()
        mycategories.ReadXml(MapPath(cat + ".xml"))
        categories.DataSource = mycategories
        categories.DataBind()
    End If
End Sub