Question

I’ve got a text box that just disappeared. When I add another templateField anywhere on the page, this one bizarelly disappears. Anyone know what might be up?

<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Summary" SortExpression="summary">
             <ItemTemplate>
                <asp:Label ID="lblSummary" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'></asp:Label>
             </ItemTemplate>

             <ItemTemplate>
                <asp:TextBox ID="txtSummary" TextMode="MultiLine" Width="500" Height="100" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'></asp:TextBox>
             </ItemTemplate>

        </asp:TemplateField> 

Answer 1

<AnotherEdit>

I hope you don’t take this wrong, and I mean no offense, but it seems like you’re missing some of the basic concepts and need a good place to learn them.

Please check out the following article so that you fully understand how to use TemplateFields as opposed to a normal BoundField or a Command field. I think once you “get” it, your disappearing item issues will clear up because you’ll be able to see it on your own.

http://www.asp.net/learn/data-access/tutorial-12-cs.aspx

</AnotherEdit>

You can’t have more than one ItemTemplate in a TemplateField. You can have an EditItemTemplate and an ItemTemplate, though…

Edit – Added

The ItemTemplate shows when you’re in normal display mode.
The EditItemTemplate shows when you’re in edit mode
InsertItemTemplate shows when you’re in Insert mode.

For any column in a GridView (or field in a FormView or field in a DetailsView) there can only be one TemplateField.
Within that TemplateField, there can only be one ItemTemplate, one EditItemTemplate, and one InsertItemTemplate (and not all three are required but all three are recommended.)

If you want the TextBox to show up next to the label in the normal non-edit mode, you would put the text box within the existing ItemTemplate as follows:

    <ItemTemplate>                
        <asp:Label ID="lblSummary" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'>
        </asp:Label>             
        <asp:TextBox ID="txtSummary" TextMode="MultiLine" Width="500" Height="100" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'>
        </asp:TextBox>             
    </ItemTemplate>             

However, the norm is to have the label when in read mode, and a text box when in edit or update mode like shown below:

 <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Summary" SortExpression="summary">
    <ItemTemplate>                
        <asp:Label ID="lblSummary" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'>
        </asp:Label>             
    </ItemTemplate>             
    <EditItemTemplate>                
        <asp:TextBox ID="txtSummary" TextMode="MultiLine" Width="500" Height="100" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'>
        </asp:TextBox>             
    </EditItemTemplate>        
<InsertItemTemplate>                
        <asp:TextBox ID="txtSummary" TextMode="MultiLine" Width="500" Height="100" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("summary") %>'>
        </asp:TextBox>             
    </InsertItemTemplate>        
 </asp:TemplateField>