ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies®

6.3. Consuming Data with the DetailsView Control

So far, in this chapter, you've installed the database, connected the SqlDataSource to the database, and configured the SqlDataSource control so it can fetch, update, and insert records. In this section, you connect an ASP.NET DetailsView control to the SqlDataSource control to create a user interface.

The ASP.NET DetailsView control displays details one record at a time from a data source. It has built-in support for updating, inserting, deleting, and paging through data. Follow these instructions to add a DetailsView control to your page and hook it up to the data:

1. Open the starter.aspx page (created previously) in Design view.

2. Drag a DetailsView control from the Data category of the Toolbox, and drop it on the page.

   Figure 6-5 shows the DetailsView control with its initial Tasks menu.

   Figure 6-5. The DetailsView control's Tasks menu prompts you to choose a data source.

   

3. From the drop-down list, choose the SqlDataSource control that you configured in the earlier section, "Adding and configuring a SqlDataSource control."

   As shown in Figure 6-6, the DetailsView scans the contents of the SqlDataSource control and includes the fields in its list.

4. Select the options to enable paging, inserting, editing, and deleting.

When you run the page, the DetailsView control shows the first customer with navigation links to the remaining records.