Question

Is there any way to read some HTML and replace that HTML with a PlaceHolder control dynamically at runtime?

For example, I have some HTML that contains tags such as ##MainContent## or ##SideContent##.

I need to somehow find each tag and dynamically add a asp:PlaceHolder control.

EDIT – The reason for this is to read the HTML in and then dynamically add controls to a section of the page. I’m attempting to create a CMS system, although I’m not sure this is the best approach.

Answer 1

I hope this is a thought exercise. 🙂

Ideally, you should just replace those tags in your markup with an <asp:PlaceHolder> control. If you cannot do that (for whatever reason), try replacing them with an <asp:Literal> control:

<asp:Literal ID="litMainContent" runat="server" Text="##MainContent##"><asp:Literal>
<asp:Literal ID="litSideContent" runat="server" Text="##SideContent##"><asp:Literal>

That way, they will still render on the page exactly as they do now. Then you should be able to use litMainContent and litSideContent in your code-behind:

For VB.Net:

Dim phMainContent As PlaceHolder = New PlaceHolder
Dim phMainContent As PlaceHolder = New PlaceHolder

litMainContent.Controls.Add(phMainContent)
litSideContent.Controls.Add(phSideContent)

For C#.Net

PlaceHolder phMainContent = new PlaceHolder();
PlaceHolder phMainContent = new PlaceHolder();

litMainContent.Controls.Add(phMainContent);
litSideContent.Controls.Add(phSideContent);