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How to add class for only the selected link in C# code behind?

I have a class called "is-active" and it has a colored arrow that sticks out from the nav into the main content based on which link the user clicked. The code runs a foreach and pulls all the categories from the database. How do I get the "is-active" class to display only for the current link? I know it works since I put it in the openList control and it displayed on all five categories, I just don't know how to get it to display on only the selected category.
I tried attaching jQuery to do it but adding the linkbutton is done all in the code behind so I am not sure how to attach the two. Is this the only way or is there another way?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Below is my code for the categories and link button:
protected override void CreateChildControls()
{
LiteralControl openingDiv = new LiteralControl("<div id='MainPanel'>");
LiteralControl closingDiv = new LiteralControl("</div>");
this.Controls.Add(openingDiv);
foreach (DataRow dr in ds.Tables[0].Rows)
{
LiteralControl openList = new LiteralControl("<li class='" + dr["CategoryColor"].ToString() + "'>");
LiteralControl closeList = new LiteralControl("</li>");
Label lblNumber = new Label();
LinkButton myLinkButton = new LinkButton();
myLinkButton.Text = "<span class='number'>" + dr["CategoryNumber"] + "</span>"+ dr["CategoryName"].ToString();
myLinkButton.CommandArgument = dr["Category_ID"].ToString();
myLinkButton.Click += myLinkButton_Click;
this.Controls.Add(openList);
this.Controls.Add(myLinkButton);
this.Controls.Add(closeList);
}
this.Controls.Add(closingDiv);
}
void myLinkButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
LinkButton btn = (LinkButton)(sender);
Session["CategoryID"] = btn.CommandArgument;
Response.Redirect(Request.RawUrl);
}

Its tricky because your response.redirecting in the button click handler which recreates the pages viewstate.
This means that your page will always appear as fresh and the fact a user has clicked that link has been lost.
as a workaround you could place the link id in a session variable before you response.redirect and then recall it when the page reloads.
then when in your loop, if the session variable matches the current button instance.id you set cssclass equal to is-active.
remember to clear the session variable too after you set the cssclass to is-active to avoid confusion in other pages.
also, you will have to do the id comparison after you add the button to the control tree, because this is where the system automatically generates the id for you. I can give you a full example if you wish.
keep in mind that this is a workaround and a different approach would be best.
by this I mean that if you were to use an ispostback wrapper instead of a redirect, then on postback you could set the id to isactive much easier.
Page lifecycle is an important thing to get your head around in .net if you wish to be more proficient, especially as you mention that your using ajax update panels.
Read this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178472(VS.100).aspx it's a lot of information to take in, so bookmark it for later too as you will use it a lot.

How to create progress update control programatically in c# non visual web part in Sharepoint

How can I create progress update control programmatically in a c# non visual web part in Sharepoint?
I am using c# and the goal is to creates a text of "Loading..." inside the ProgressUpdate control that becomes visible while the update panel is loading more content and then disappears when content is loaded. If anyone can help that would be awesome. I tried the following, but no luck. A button triggers the update panel and the update works well, but when I try to add an update progress it gets added into the page, but it never appears when I click my button that triggers the update.
UpdatePanel up = new UpdatePanel();
up.UpdateMode = UpdatePanelUpdateMode.Always;
up.ID = "Panel1";
UpdateProgress upp1 = new UpdateProgress();
upp1.AssociatedUpdatePanelID = up.ID.ToString();
upp1.ID = "UpdateProgress1";
upp1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("<p>Loading...</p>"));
Controls.Add(upp1);

Alright so here is what I have found. If you make an Update Progress control outside an Update Panel, then it will fail to be able to listen to the trigger on the update panel when it fires. More can be read about that at the link below.
http://www.mostlydevelopers.com/blog/post/2008/08/23/Show-UpdateProgress-when-using-an-UpdatePanel-with-Triggers.aspx
So since I'm doing it this way, I had to use a javascript work around. I had to use the getInstance() method of the PageRequestManager object to get the instance of the PageRequestManager class. I then added the functions for the asynchronous request when it is initialized and ends. This will allow us to show our UpdateProgress control when an Asynchronous call begins and ends. (See Javascript Below)
//Function for postbackUpdateProgress
var prm = Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManager.getInstance();
var postBackElement;
function CancelAsyncPostBack() {
if (prm.get_isInAsyncPostBack()) {
prm.abortPostBack();
}
}
prm.add_initializeRequest(InitializeRequest);
prm.add_endRequest(EndRequest);
function InitializeRequest(sender, args) {
if (prm.get_isInAsyncPostBack()) {
args.set_cancel(true);
}
//Get the element that asynchronous postback
postBackElement = args.get_postBackElement();
//check to see if any of the following controls activate sender request.
//search is used to search for the ID name in the string that sharepoint spits out
// as the ID.
var controlA = postBackElement.id.search("DropDownListType");
var controlB = postBackElement.id.search("UserProfileDropList");
var controlC = postBackElement.id.search("MoreNewsLinkButton");
var controlD = postBackElement.id.search("PreviousNewsLinkButton");
if (controlA != -1 || controlB != -1 || controlC != -1 || controlD != -1) {
$('*[id*=Panel1]:visible').hide();
//show UpdateProgress
$('*[id*=UpdateProgress1]').show();
}
}
//After async postback complete, then show panel again and hide UpdateProgress
function EndRequest(sender, args) {
$('*[id*=Panel1]').show();//use wild card in jquery to find Panel1 ID
$('*[id*=UpdateProgress1]:visible').hide();
}
Please note that I had to do a search() for the ID name because sharepoint puts a bunch of text before your ID name and javascript would otherwise not be able to find it by the text literal of the ID alone. A wild card approach with jquery is used to find the panel by using:
$('[id=Panel1]').show();//use wild card in jquery to find Panel1 ID
to show it.
and
$('[id=Panel1]:visible').hide();
to hide the update panel when the async call is initialized. You don't have to hide the update panel, but my particular implementation looks more aesthetically pleasing if I do.

How to check whether postback caused by a Dynamic link button

I have a button control. On click of this button I need to add a Link Button dynamically. The Link Button needs an event handler. Hence the dynamic Link button is first added in the Page_Load and cleared and added again in the button click handler. Please read Dynamic Control’s Event Handler’s Working for understanding the business requirement for this.
I have read On postback, how can I check which control cause postback in Page_Init event for identifying the control that caused the postback (inside Page_Load). But it is not working for my scenario.
What change need to be done to confirm whether the postback was caused by link button (inside Page_Load)?
Note: Refer the following for another scenario where it is inevitable https://codereview.stackexchange.com/questions/20510/custom-paging-in-asp-net-web-application
Note 1: I need to get the postback control ID as the first step inside if (Page.IsPostBack). I need to add the dynamic link buttons control only if it is a postback from the button or the link button. There will be other controls that causes postback. For such postbacks we should not execute this code.
Note 2: I am getting empty string for Request["__EVENTARGUMENT"] in the Page_Load
Related Question: By what event, the dynamic controls will be available in the Page (for using in FindControl). #Tung says - "Your GetPostBackControlId method is properly getting the name of the control that caused the postback, but it is unable to find a control with that id through page.FindControl because the linkbutton has not been created yet, and so page does not know of its existence. "
ASPX
<%# Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="PostbackTest.aspx.cs" Inherits="PostbackTest"
MasterPageFile="~/TestMasterPage.master" %>
<asp:Content ID="myContent" ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1" runat="server">
<div id="holder" runat="server">
</div>
<asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" Text="Button" OnClick="TestClick" />
</asp:Content>
CODE BEHIND
public partial class PostbackTest : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(Page.IsPostBack)
{
string IDValue = GetPostBackControlId(this.Page);
int x = 0;
holder.Controls.Clear();
LinkButton lnkDynamic = new LinkButton();
lnkDynamic.Click += new EventHandler(LinkClick);
lnkDynamic.ID = "lnkDynamic123";
lnkDynamic.Text = "lnkDynamic123";
holder.Controls.Add(lnkDynamic);
}
}
protected void TestClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
holder.Controls.Clear();
LinkButton lnkDynamic = new LinkButton();
lnkDynamic.Click += new EventHandler(LinkClick);
lnkDynamic.ID = "lnkDynamic123";
lnkDynamic.Text = "lnkDynamic123";
holder.Controls.Add(lnkDynamic);
}
protected void LinkClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
public static string GetPostBackControlId(Page page)
{
if (!page.IsPostBack)
{
return string.Empty;
}
Control control = null;
// First check the "__EVENTTARGET" for controls with "_doPostBack" function
string controlName = page.Request.Params["__EVENTTARGET"];
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(controlName))
{
control = page.FindControl(controlName);
}
else
{
// if __EVENTTARGET is null, the control is a button type
string controlId;
Control foundControl;
foreach (string ctl in page.Request.Form)
{
// Handle ImageButton they having an additional "quasi-property" in their Id which identifies mouse x and y coordinates
if (ctl.EndsWith(".x") || ctl.EndsWith(".y"))
{
controlId = ctl.Substring(0, ctl.Length - 2);
foundControl = page.FindControl(controlId);
}
else
{
foundControl = page.FindControl(ctl);
}
if (!(foundControl is Button || foundControl is ImageButton)) continue;
control = foundControl;
break;
}
}
return control == null ? String.Empty : control.ID;
}
}
REFERENCE
On postback, how can I check which control cause postback in Page_Init event
Dynamic Control’s Event Handler’s Working
Understanding the JavaScript __doPostBack Function
Access JavaScript variables on PostBack using ASP.NET Code
How does ASP.NET know which event to fire during a postback?
how to remove 'name' attribute from server controls?
How to use __doPostBack()

A postback in asp.net is done by the java script function __doPostback(source, parameter)
so in your case it would be
__doPostback("lnkDynamic123","") something like this
So in the code behind do the following
var btnTrigger = Request["__EVENTTARGET"];
if(btnTrigger=="lnkDynamic123")
{
}
--- this would tell that it is your linkbutton that causes the postback

You can move the call to the GetPostBackControlId method after the LinkButton has been added to the page:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (Page.IsPostBack)
{
holder.Controls.Clear();
LinkButton lnkDynamic = new LinkButton();
lnkDynamic.Click += new EventHandler(LinkClick);
lnkDynamic.ID = "lnkDynamic123";
lnkDynamic.Text = "lnkDynamic123";
holder.Controls.Add(lnkDynamic);
string IDValue = GetPostBackControlId(this.Page);
if (IDValue == lnkDynamic.ID)
LinkClick(lnkDynamic, new EventArgs());
}
}
Calling the click event handler here also more closely mimics the standard ASP.NET Page Life Cycle, where Postback event handling occurs after the Load event.
Edit:
If the control ID must be determined before the LinkButtons are created, you can create a naming scheme for the link button IDs, e.g. lnkDynamic_1, lnkDynamic_2 etc.
Request["__EVENTTARGET"] will then contain the auto-generated control ID such as “ctl00$mc$lnkDynamic_1”, which you can use to identify which LinkButton caused the postback.

If You're getting the post back control id correctly but FindControl returns nothing, then it's probably because You're using a master page. Basically, someControl.FindControl(id) searches through controls that are in someControl.NamingContainer naming container. But in Your case, the Button1 control is in the ContentPlaceHolder1, which is a naming container, and not directly in the Page naming container, so You won't find it by invoking Page.FindControl. If You can't predict in which naming container the control You're looking for is going to be (e.g. post back can be caused by two different buttons from two different content placeholders), then You can write an extension that'll search for a control recursively, like so:
public static class Extensions
{
public static Control FindControlRecursively(this Control control, string id)
{
if (control.ID == id)
return control;
Control result = default(Control);
foreach (Control child in control.Controls)
{
result = child.FindControlRecursively(id);
if (result != default(Control)) break;
}
return result;
}
}
Use it with caution though, because this method will return the first control that it finds with the specified id (and You can have multiple controls with the same id - but they should be in different naming containers; naming containers are meant to differentiate between controls with same ids, just as namespaces are meant to differentiate between classes with same names).
Alternatively, You could try to use FindControl(string id, int pathOffset) overload, but I think it's pretty tricky.
Also, check this question out.

First approach (wouldn't recommend but it's more flexible)
One completely different approach - although I don't really feel like I should promote it - is to add a hidden field to the form.
The value of this hidden field might be something like false by default.
In case of clicking one of the dynamic buttons which should cause the dynamic controls to be added again, you can simply change the hidden fields value to true on client side before performing the postback (eventually you want/have to modify the client side onclick handler to make this happen).
Of course it would be possible to store more information in such a field, like the controls id and the argument (but you can get those values as described in the other answers). No naming schema would be required in this case.
This hidden field could be "static". So it would be accessible in code behind all time. Anyhow, you might want to implement something to make sure that nobody is playing around with its values and fakes a callback which looks like it originated from one of these dynamic links.
However, this whole approach just helps you getting the id of the control. Until you create the control again, you won't be able to get the instance through NamingContainer.FindControl (as mentioned in the other answers already ;)). And in case you create it, you don't need to find it anymore.
Second approach (might not be suitable due to its contraints)
If you want to do it the clean way, you need to create your controls OnLoad, no matter if something was clicked or not. Additionally, the dynamic controls ID has to be the same as the one you sent to the client in the first place. You subscribe to its Click or Command event and set its visibility to false. Inside the click event handler, you set the senders visibility to true again. This implies, that you don't care if that link is created but instead just don't want to send it to the client. The example below only works for a single link of course (but you could easily modify it to cover a whole group of links).
public void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
LinkButton dynamicButton = new LinkButton();
dynamicButton.ID = "linkDynamic123";
// this id needs to be the same as it was when you
// first sent the page containing the dynamic link to the client
dynamicButton.Click += DynamicButton_Click;
dynamicButton.Visible = false;
Controls.Add(dynamicButton);
}
public void DynamicButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// as you created the control during Page.Load, this event will be fired.
((LinkButton)sender).Visible = true;
}

How to Check if ListBox is Empty on Client-Side

I created a javascript confirm as below.
<script Type="Text/Javascript">
function CheckListBox(lvi)
{
if(lvi == "")
{
if(confirm("Are you sure?"))
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
}
</script>
I need to test if the ListBox.Items control is empty... I already made reference on my aspx page
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/JS/confirm.js"></script>
I want to know how to call it on my aspx.cs page . . . So I can pass the parameter:
string oi = Listbox_Clubes.Items.Count.ToString();//Its the parameter I want to pass

See this link for how to execute javascript from code behind
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript(this, this.GetType(), Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), "CheckListBox(" + Listbox_Clubes.Items.Count.ToString() + ");", false);
}
Note: you must add a ScriptManager control in aspx page.

For your javascript, you can get the value without the code-behind (this assumes the script code is in the same page, in order to get the client ID):
<script>
function ClickListBox() {
if ($("#<%= Listbox_Clubes.ClientID %>").val() === null) {
if (confirm("Are you sure?")) {
return true;
}
else {
return false;
}
}
}
</script>
Similarly, you don't use javascript to validate on the server side. The code you posted will return all items in the ListBox. Here is one way to get the count of the number of selected items (I'm using .ToString() based on the OP code example):
string oi = Listbox_Clubes.Items.Cast<ListItem>().Where(i => i.Selected).Count().ToString();
However, there is no reason why you would get this value and pass it back to the client-side to do validation (what it sounds like you want to do in your post). Mainly because this involves a post-back, and client-side validation, by its nature, should occur before post-back. Also, you will still need to do server-side validation, even when you have client-side validation.
Related: in the code-behind, you can test to see if anything is selected by:
bool hasValue = Listbox_Clubes.SelectedItem != null;
The .SelectedItem returns the selected item with the lowest index in the list control. When nothing is selected, this value is null... so you know if the value isn't null, then at least one item was selected.
If you want to require that they choose at least one item, you can use a RequireFieldValidator and let that handle both validations. If you haven't done much with ASP.NET validators, that would be one good thing to read up on.
It sounds like you probably should read more about client-side validation and server-side validation and how to use them... because it seems like you are mixing them up.
The count code is a modified version of code in ASP:ListBox Get Selected Items - One Liner?

Find controls in listview item template of the same type

I am working on claim expenses application for the staff where I work. Part of the process contains a listview, part of a new requirement is that if an expense type is mileage the user will not be able to edit the item, only delete and resubmit as part of business rules and UK tax reasons etc.
Anyway, I want to be able to find a control in each item of the listview that has a certain text value.
I thought something like the following but this is not correct and I know why.
Label ExpenseTypeLabel = (Label)Expenses.FindControl("ExpenseTypeLabel");
string ExpenseType = (ExpenseTypeLabel.Text.ToString());
if (ExpenseType == "Mileage")
{
foreach (ListViewDataItem thisItem in Expenses.Items)
{
ImageButton btnEdit = (ImageButton)thisItem.FindControl("btnEdit");
btnEdit.Enabled = false;
}
}
The expenses are based on weekending and as the page loads it throws my excepion as It cannot bind to a particular individual control as there are many ExpenseTypeLabels associated with the expense for the current weekending (which loads first).
What I am trying to accomplish here is to find all ExpenseTypeLabels in both the item template and the alternating item template and disable the edit function of that expense item. FYI incase you're wondering the weekending is the expense, and the children are the individual expense items.
Could one of you lovely people please educate me on the best way to accomplish this?
Thanks
Matt

Binding order, and timing for accessing bound items, is extremely important; this is especially true when you have sub controls that have binding items also.
If you want to affect the the display for these bound controls, you can usually do it from the aspx end.
Create a link from the front end to a function on the server end, then pass it all the necessary parameters:
<asp:listview id='lstExpense'>
...
<asp:button id='btnEdit' enabled='<%#= isEnabled(((Expense)Container.DataItem).ExpenseType) %>' ...
...
<asp:listview>
On the server end, make a public function to return that value:
public boolean IsEnabled(string ExpenseType) {
return ('Mileage' != ExpenseType);
}
Best solution though, is to use jQuery. Not exaggerating, but you can accomplish all of that with something as simple as:
$('.rowClass').each(function() {
if ($(this).find('.expenseTypeClass').val() == 'Mileage'))
$(this).find('.btnEditClass').attr('disabled','disabled');
})

use OnItemDataBound event as follows
OnItemDataBound="Expenses_ItemDataBound"
protected void Expenses_ItemDataBound(object sender, ListViewItemEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Item.ItemType == ListViewItemType.DataItem)
{
Label ExpenseTypeLabel = (Label)e.Item.FindControl("ExpenseTypeLabel");
string ExpenseType = (ExpenseTypeLabel.Text.ToString());
if (ExpenseType == "Mileage")
{
// disable button
}
}
}