I am trying to develop a composite control that renders in a specific layout,
depending on the value of the custom LabelPosition property.  The 'layout' of
the rendered control will change depending on whether the value of
LabelPosition is set to Left, Right, Top, or Bottom, as can be seen in the
CreateChildControls() method.

This particular class (included below) actually acts as a base class for
many other controls (such as a textbox, checkbox, datepicker, etc.), so not
all of the logic is implemented here.  Because I don't know what objects will
need to be added by the child controls (textbox, etc.), I have inserted a
PlaceHolder control in the appropriate section of the table, and child
controls insert their own objects here.  (This allows me to keep the code for
rendering the table in the parent class, making code maintenance much easier
for me if changes are ever needed.)

The problem I'm having is that no matter which value I assign to the
LabelPosition property, it always returns the default value inside the
CreateChildControls() method.  I explicitly set it to Top, and this appears
in the Html code behind, but it is always the default (Left) when I set and
reach a breakpoint in CreateChildControls().

I'm sure my problem is that I have not properly understood the composite
control page model, and am setting default values in the wrong place (look at
the SetDefaultValues() method reference in the constructor), or am creating
the table in the wrong place (based on the 'switch' in
CreateChildControls()).  Or, the problem could be something with ViewState,
that I am not properly storing/refreshing the value of the LabelPosition
property.

If anyone can help me understand why this value is not being restored, and
always reads as default, I would enormously appreciate it, since I've spend
many hours on this to no avail, including a lot of time on Google.

The base class is included below.  If you need the Designer class (which
contains nothing exotic) or a child class (that implements this base class),
let me know any I'll post it.

PS:  Because of maximum message length, I have trimmed some unneccessary
properties from the code.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.Design;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Drawing.Design;
using Telerik.WebControls;

namespace CompanyName.EEE.Web.UI.FormControls
{
    /// <summary>
    /// The BaseClass used in all of CompanyName's form custom form controls
which require a descriptive label.
    /// </summary>
    // [Designer(typeof(SupportFormLabelledControlDesigner))]
    [DefaultProperty("LabelText")]
    [ToolboxData("<{0}:SupportFormLabelledControl
runat=\"server\"></{0}:SupportFormLabelledControl>")]
    public abstract class SupportFormLabelledControl : SupportFormControl,
INamingContainer, ICallback, IRequired
    {

        #region Protected Fields

        // Any third-party or external controls that you wish to add to the
this
        // control, such as buttons, labels, etc., should be declared here. 
By
        // declaring them 'protected' they will be visible in any control that
        // inherits from SupportFormLabelledControl

        /// <summary>The Table used to hold child controls on the
form</summary>
        protected Table m_tbl;
        /// <summary>The CallbackLabel rendered with the control</summary>
        protected CallbackLabel m_lbl;
        /// <summary>The Warning Icon rendered with the control when <see
cref="P:Required"/> is set to <c>true</c></summary>
        protected IconPopupControl m_icn;
        /// <summary>The content PlaceHolder used to insert any child
controls that need to be added (Textboxes, Checkboxes, etc).</summary>
        protected PlaceHolder m_plc;

        #endregion

        #region Constructor

        // Default values for properties should ONLY be defined in the the
        // class constructor.  If you set properties elsewhere, such as in the
        // OnLoad event, you will make the control insensitive to external,
        // tag-level settings.

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see
cref="SupportFormLabelledControl"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        public SupportFormLabelledControl()
        {
            // Set control default values
            this.SetDefaultValues();
        }

        #endregion

        #region Abstract Members

        /// <summary>
        /// If the control's Required property is set to True, this method
can be
        /// used to validate whether the Required conditions are met or not.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        ///     <c>true</c> if the Required conditions are met, <c>false</c> if
they are not.
        /// </returns>
        public abstract bool ValidateControl();

        #endregion

        #region Protected Methods

        /// <summary>
        /// Raises the <see cref="E:System.Web.UI.Control.Init"></see> event.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="e">An <see cref="T:System.EventArgs"></see> object
that contains the event data.</param>
        protected override void OnInit(EventArgs e)
        {
            base.OnInit(e);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Raises the <see cref="E:System.Web.UI.Control.Load"></see> event.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="e">The <see cref="T:System.EventArgs"></see> object
that contains the event data.</param>
        protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
        {
            // This method captures the controls Load event (declared and
bound in the
            // class constructor).  RunTime rendering takes place in this
method (as
            // opposed to DesignMode rendering, which takes place elsewhere).

            // Call base Load method
            base.OnLoad(e);

            EnsureChildControls();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Called by the ASP.NET page framework to notify server controls
that use
        /// composition-based implementation to create any child controls
they contain
        /// in preparation for posting back or rendering.
        /// </summary>
        protected override void CreateChildControls()
        {
            // Clear the control collection
            Controls.Clear();

            // Any dependant controls used in this custom control must
            // be added to the control 'hierarchy'.  If they are not added
            // to the control collection, they will not be visible to other
            // controls on the page.

            // Instantiate any dependant controls
            m_tbl = new Table();
            m_lbl = new CallbackLabel();
            m_icn = new IconPopupControl();
            m_plc = new PlaceHolder();

            // Create table object and format it through relevant method
            m_tbl =
SharedFunctions.CreateLabelledControlTable(this.LabelPosition);

            // Add table to the control collection
            Controls.Add(m_tbl);

            // Add controls to the table control collection
            switch (this.LabelPosition)
            {
                case Position.Left:
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_lbl);
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[1].Controls.Add(m_plc);
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[1].Controls.Add(m_icn);
                    // Set relevant design properties
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Width = new
Unit(this.LabelWidth.ToString());
                    break;
                case Position.Top:
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_lbl);
                    m_tbl.Rows[1].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_plc);
                    m_tbl.Rows[1].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_icn);
                    // Set relevant design properties
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Width = new
Unit(this.LabelWidth.ToString());
                    break;
                case Position.Right:
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_plc);
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_icn);
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[1].Controls.Add(m_lbl);
                    // Set relevant design properties
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[1].Width = new
Unit(this.LabelWidth.ToString());
                    break;
                case Position.Bottom:
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_plc);
                    m_tbl.Rows[0].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_icn);
                    m_tbl.Rows[1].Cells[0].Controls.Add(m_lbl);
                    // Set relevant design properties
                    m_tbl.Rows[1].Cells[0].Width = new
Unit(this.LabelWidth.ToString());
                    break;
                default:
                    Debug.Assert(false);
                    break;
            }

            // Call base method
            base.CreateChildControls();
        }

        protected override void OnPreRender(EventArgs e)
        {
            // Call base method
            base.OnPreRender(e);

            // Associate dependent control properties with this control's
properties
            m_lbl.CssClass = this.LabelCssClass;
            m_lbl.Text = this.LabelText;
            m_lbl.Visible = this.LabelVisible;
            m_lbl.RadControlsDir = this.ScriptsPath;
            m_lbl.CallbackEnabled = this.CallbackEnabled;
            m_lbl.DisableAtCallback = this.DisableAtCallback;
            m_lbl.Enabled = this.Enabled;
            m_icn.WarningImageUrl = this.WarningImageUrl;
            m_icn.ImageAlign = this.ImageAlign;
            m_icn.EmptyImageUrl = this.EmptyImageUrl;
            m_icn.MessageStyle = this.MessageStyle;
            m_icn.PopupText = this.PopupText;
            m_icn.PopupTextResourceKey = this.PopupTextResourceKey;
            m_icn.PopupTitle = this.PopupTitle;
            m_icn.PopupTitleResourceKey = this.PopupTitleResourceKey;
            m_icn.LinkUrl = this.LinkUrl;
            m_icn.Enabled = this.Enabled;
            m_icn.CssClass = this.WarningIconCssStyle;

            // Enable or disable warning icon as appropriate
            m_icn.Visible = this.Required ? true : false;
        }

        #endregion

        #region Private/Internal Methods

        /// <summary>
        /// Sets the control's default values.
        /// </summary>
        private void SetDefaultValues()
        {
            // Set default properties
            this.LabelPosition = Position.Left;
            this.LabelText = string.Empty;
            this.LabelCssClass = SharedConstants.SupportForm_LabelStyle;
            this.LabelVisible = true;
            this.LabelWidth = new
Unit(SharedConstants.SupportForm_DefaultLabelWidth);
            this.Required = false;
            this.CallbackEnabled =
SharedConstants.SupportForm_CallbackEnabledByDefault;
            this.DisableAtCallback =
SharedConstants.SupportForm_DisableAtCallback;
            this.ScriptsPath = SharedConstants.SupportForm_DefaultScriptsPath;
            this.AutoPostback = false;
            this.ImageAlign = ImageAlign.AbsMiddle;
            this.LinkUrl = string.Empty;
            this.MessageStyle = MessageStyle.NoMessage;
            this.PopupText = string.Empty;
            this.PopupTextResourceKey = string.Empty;
            this.PopupTitle = string.Empty;
            this.PopupTitleResourceKey = string.Empty;
            this.WarningIconVisible = false;
            this.WarningIconCssStyle =
SharedConstants.SupportForm_WarningIconStyle;
            this.WarningImageUrl =
SharedConstants.SupportForm_IconPopupControlDefaultWarningImageUrl;
            this.EmptyImageUrl =
SharedConstants.SupportForm_IconPopupControlDefaultEmptyImageUrl;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Sets the design mode values.
        /// </summary>
        internal virtual void SetDesignModeValues()
        {
            // Ensure child controls are created
            EnsureChildControls();

            // Associate dependent control properties with this control's
properties
            m_lbl.CssClass = this.LabelCssClass;
            m_lbl.Text = this.LabelText == string.Empty ? "[LabelText]" :
this.LabelText;
            m_lbl.Visible = this.LabelVisible;
            m_lbl.RadControlsDir = this.ScriptsPath;
            m_lbl.CallbackEnabled = this.CallbackEnabled;
            m_lbl.DisableAtCallback = this.DisableAtCallback;
            m_lbl.Enabled = this.Enabled;
            m_icn.WarningImageUrl = this.WarningImageUrl;
            m_icn.ImageAlign = this.ImageAlign;
            m_icn.EmptyImageUrl = this.EmptyImageUrl;
            m_icn.MessageStyle = this.MessageStyle;
            m_icn.PopupText = this.PopupText;
            m_icn.PopupTextResourceKey = this.PopupTextResourceKey;
            m_icn.PopupTitle = this.PopupTitle;
            m_icn.PopupTitleResourceKey = this.PopupTitleResourceKey;
            m_icn.LinkUrl = this.LinkUrl;
            m_icn.WarningIconVisible = this.WarningIconVisible;
            m_icn.Enabled = this.Enabled;
            m_icn.CssClass = this.WarningIconCssStyle;
            if (this.Required)
            {
                m_icn.Visible = true;
            }
            else
            {
                m_icn.Visible = false;
            }
            // For DesignMode, always display the warning icon
            m_icn.WarningIconVisible = true;
        }

        #endregion

        #region Public Properties

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control uses AJAX
callback functionality or not.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value><c>true</c> if callback enabled; otherwise,
<c>false</c>.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Callback")]
        [Description("Whether this control uses callback functionality or
not.")]
        public bool CallbackEnabled
        {
            get
            {
                bool b = (bool)ViewState["IsCallback"];
                return b;
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["IsCallback"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control is disabled
during callback.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value><c>true</c> if disabled during callback; otherwise,
<c>false</c>.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Callback")]
        [Description("Whether this control is disabled while a background
callback is in effect.")]
        public bool DisableAtCallback
        {
            get
            {
                bool b = (bool)ViewState["DisableAtCallback"];
                return b;
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["DisableAtCallback"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The location of the RadControls folder, containing the required
JavaScript support files.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The scripts path.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Callback")]
        [Description("The location of the RadControls folder, containing the
required JavaScript support files.")]
        public string ScriptsPath
        {
            get
            {
                String s = (String)ViewState["ScriptsPath"];
                return ((s == null) ? String.Empty : s);
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: ScriptsPath property
is null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["ScriptsPath"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("ScriptsPath can not be
assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the position of the descriptive label relative to
the rest of the control.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The label position.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [DefaultValue(Position.Left)]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [Description("The position of the descriptive label relative to the
rest of the control.")]
        public Position LabelPosition
        {
            get
            {
                Position p = (Position)ViewState["LabelPosition"];
                return p;
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["LabelPosition"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the text displayed in the descriptive label.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The label text.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [DefaultValue("")]
        [Localizable(true)]
        [Description("The text to display in the descriptive label.")]
        public string LabelText
        {
            get
            {
                EnsureChildControls();
                String s = (String)ViewState["LabelText"];
                return ((s == null) ? String.Empty : s);
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: LabelText property is
null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["LabelText"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("LabelText can not be
assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the label text resource key.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The label text resource key.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [DefaultValue("")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        public string LabelTextResourceKey
        {
            get
            {
                String s = (String)ViewState["LabelTextResourceKey"];
                return ((s == null) ? String.Empty : s);
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: LabelTextResourceKey
property is null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["LabelTextResourceKey"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("LabelTextResourceKey
can not be assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the label CSS class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The label CSS class.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [DefaultValue("")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        public string LabelCssClass
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["LabelTextCssClass"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: LabelCssClass property
is null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["LabelTextCssClass"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("LabelTextCssClass can
not be assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether label is visible.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value><c>true</c> if label is visible; otherwise,
<c>false</c>.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [DefaultValue(true)]
        [Localizable(false)]
        public bool LabelVisible
        {
            get
            {
                bool b = (bool)ViewState["LabelVisible"];
                return (b);
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["LabelVisible"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the width of the label.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The width of the label.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Label")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [Description("The width of the descriptive label.")]
        public Unit LabelWidth
        {
            get
            {
                Unit u = (Unit)ViewState["LabelWidth"];
                return (u);
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: LabelWidth property is
null!");
                ViewState["LabelWidth"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether the <see
cref="SupportFormLabelledControl"/> is required.
        /// If required is set to true, than a validating <see
cref="IconPopupControl"/> will be added to this control.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value><c>true</c> if required; otherwise, <c>false</c>.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [DefaultValue(false)]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [Description("Determines whether the Required icon validator is
present on this control or not.")]
        public bool Required
        {
            get
            {
                bool b = (bool)ViewState["Required"];
                return (b);
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["Required"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether to automatically post
back when the control is clicked.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value><c>true</c> if controls posts back when clicked;
otherwise, <c>false</c>.</value>
        [Bindable(true)]
        [Category("Behavior")]
        [DefaultValue(typeof(bool), "False")]
        [Description("Automatically posts back to the server when the
control is clicked.")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        public bool AutoPostback
        {
            get
            {
                bool b = (bool)ViewState["AutoPostBack"];
                return b;
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["AutoPostBack"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the URL of the image to display when
WarningIconVisible is set to true.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The warning image URL.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [Editor("System.Web.UI.Design.ImageUrlEditor, System.Design,
Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a",
typeof(UITypeEditor))]
        [Description("The image to display when WarningIconVisible is set to
true.")]
        public string WarningImageUrl
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["WarningImageUrl"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: WarningImageUrl
property is null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["WarningImageUrl"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("WarningImageUrl can
not be assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the URL of the page to open when the required
icon's MessageStyle is set to UrlLink.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The link URL.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [Editor("System.Web.UI.Design.UrlEditor, System.Design,
Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a",
typeof(UITypeEditor))]
        [Description("The URL of the page to open when the Required icon's
MessageStyle is set to UrlLink.")]
        public string LinkUrl
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["LinkUrl"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: LinkUrl property is
null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["LinkUrl"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("LinkUrl can not be
assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the type of message to display when the user clicks
or moves their mouse over the required icon.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The message style.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(false)]
        [DefaultValue(MessageStyle.NoMessage)]
        [Description("The type of message to display when the user clicks or
moves their mouse over the Required icon.")]
        public MessageStyle MessageStyle
        {
            get
            {
                MessageStyle m = (MessageStyle)ViewState["MessageStyle"];
                return m;
            }
            set
            {
                ViewState["MessageStyle"] = value;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the body text to use in the popup window when
MessageStyle is set to PopupMessage.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The popup text.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(true)]
        [Description("The body text to use in the popup window when
MessageStyle is set to PopupMessage.")]
        public string PopupText
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["PopupText"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: PopupText property is
null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["PopupText"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("PopupText can not be
assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the resource key of the body text to use in the
popup window when MessageStyle is set to PopupMessage.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The popup text.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(true)]
        public string PopupTextResourceKey
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["PopupTextResourceKey"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: PopupTextResourceKey
property is null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["PopupTextResourceKey"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("PopupTextResourceKey
can not be assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the title to use in the popup window when
MessageStyle is set to PopupMessage.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The popup title.</value>
        [Bindable(false)]
        [Category("Required")]
        [Localizable(true)]
        [Description("The title to use in the popup window when MessageStyle
is set to PopupMessage.")]
        public string PopupTitle
        {
            get
            {
                string s = (string)ViewState["PopupTitle"];
                return (s == null) ? String.Empty : s;
            }
            set
            {
                Debug.Assert(value != null, "Warning: PopupTitle property is
null!");
                if (value != null)
                {
                    ViewState["PopupTitle"] = value;
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new NullReferenceException("PopupTitle can not be
assigned a null value.");
                }
            }
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

Too big, I'm afraid. Who's supposed to read that??

Axel Dahmen


-----------
Show quoteHide quote<c>false</c>.</value>
Show quoteHide quote

The problem I'm having is that no matter which value I assign to the
LabelPosition property, it always returns the default value inside the
CreateChildControls() method.  I explicitly set it to Top, and this
appears in the Html code behind, but it is always the default (Left) when I
set
and reach a breakpoint in CreateChildControls().

Hi Christophe,

As for the custom composite control's Property, are you setting it at
design-time or programmatically set it at runtime? Generally we can try
checking through the following things:

1. If you're set the value through design-time interface, check the
control's inline template in aspx page to see whether the design-time value
is correctly persisted (through attribute or inner property...)

2. If you're setting it at runtime programmatically, it is very important
that we set it at the proper time and also depend on our controls code. I
don't think the SetDefaultProperties method you mentioned will cause the
problem since it only apply the default values in Control's constructor
where other events hasn't taken place (though you can also comment it to
confirm this...).

What you can pay more attention is whether the property you set is
correctly stored in the ViewState so that when post back or page reload the
control is able to retrieve it back again...  It is possible that the
property value is not correctly persisted in viewstate so that next time
the control reload state from Viewstate, it is not correctly set.

Also, instead of debugging the control code, you can consider using the
Page's Output Trace to write out some statements in your custom control's
code (e.g the CreateChildControl, property 's set accesor.... and any other
methods or events which related to the problem), the Output Trace will be
displayed through the Trace table on page according to the occuring time.
This will be very helpful for throubleshooting such issue..

Hope helps. Thanks,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)







--------------------
<ChristophePeillet@nospam.nospam>
Show quoteHide quotemicrosoft.public.dotnet.framework.aspnet.webcontrols:32468
Show quoteHide quote<c>false</c>.</value>
Show quoteHide quote

I'm setting this property at Design-Time ... normally it won't be modified at
RunTime.

I'm not sure it's a problem with the ViewState, since it also doesn't update
when I modify it in the VS2005 IDE? For example, if I change the properties
of the textbox, they update in the IDE, but not the LabelPosition property. 
In fact, all of the properties that are attached to child controls work
properly (such as m_txt.Text, etc.).  The properties that are not persisting
are those that are not attached to any control (ex. this.LabelPosition).  Do
I need to be manually adding/loading these values from ViewState?  Using
Reflector, I've looked at several other controls, and see they often manually
load/save the ViewState.

I'll try seeing if I can find anything with trace, as you mentionned.  Is
there any easy way to debug controls in DesignMode, since it doesn't raise
any break points you set unless you are in a RunTime environment?

Thanks for your help on this (as well as an earlier issue I had).

Steven:

Having set some simple trace output, I get the below output.  I've
highlighted the relevant parts with '-->' arrows in front of the lines)

I can see by these lines:
aspx.page Begin Init 0.0103666806814833 0.001273
--> Getting label position: Top 0.0178480784568989 0.007481
--> Inside OnInit -- LabelPosition = : Top 0.0181165483322601 0.000268
--> Getting label position: Left 0.0221265551906737 0.004010
--> Inside OnInit -- LabelPosition = : Left 0.0223841298265562 0.000258

That the control initially has the assigned LabelPostion value (Top), but
for some reason it is quickly reset to the default in the same event (Init). 
I just don't see why this is.  Any ideas why the same thing would be
happening 3 times, and why it would reset the values from those requested in
the HTML markup?

C.

Full Trace Output:
=============================================
Category Message From First(s) From Last(s)
aspx.page Begin PreInit  
aspx.page End PreInit 0.00909361385315731 0.009094
---------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page Begin Init 0.0103666806814833 0.001273
--> Getting label position: Top 0.0178480784568989 0.007481
--> Inside OnInit -- LabelPosition = : Top 0.0181165483322601 0.000268
--> Getting label position: Left 0.0221265551906737 0.004010
--> Inside OnInit -- LabelPosition = : Left 0.0223841298265562 0.000258
--> Getting label position: Left 0.0228881044937276 0.000504
--> Inside OnInit -- LabelPosition = : Left 0.0231275203971454 0.000239
----------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page End Init 0.0249257936413706 0.001798
aspx.page Begin InitComplete 0.0251688412912814 0.000243
aspx.page End InitComplete 0.0258004858159347 0.000632
aspx.page Begin PreLoad 0.0267285367274332 0.000928
aspx.page End PreLoad 0.0296825434517515 0.002954
----------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page Begin Load 0.0299300609434998 0.000248
Getting label position: Top 0.0328592041725974 0.002929
Inside OnLoad (before EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Top
0.0331145438875611 0.000255
Getting label position: Top 0.0333159661353608 0.000201
Inside OnLoad (after EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Top
0.0335123598110933 0.000196
Getting label position: Left 0.0479784441877389 0.014466
Inside OnLoad (before EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Left
0.0482399299352292 0.000261
Getting label position: Left 0.0484388378969953 0.000199
Inside OnLoad (after EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Left
0.0486335553820388 0.000195
Getting label position: Left 0.061233760156668 0.012600
Inside OnLoad (before EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Left
0.0614924522530098 0.000259
Getting label position: Left 0.0616921983101204 0.000200
Inside OnLoad (after EnsureChildControls) -- LabelPosition = : Left
0.0618891507160826 0.000197
----------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page End Load 0.0630295191148596 0.001140
aspx.page Begin LoadComplete 0.0632725667647704 0.000243
aspx.page End LoadComplete 0.0639117541475243 0.000639
----------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page Begin PreRender 0.0643433732499522 0.000432
Getting label position: Top 0.0714252789111465 0.007082
Inside OnPreRender -- LabelPosition = Top 0.0716920725958187 0.000267
Getting label position: Left 0.0997875428301642 0.028095
Inside OnPreRender -- LabelPosition = Left 0.100053498419492 0.000266
Getting label position: Left 0.191318729056347 0.091265
Inside OnPreRender -- LabelPosition = Left 0.191579376708492 0.000261
----------------------------------------------------------
aspx.page End PreRender 0.214891836811662 0.023312
aspx.page Begin PreRenderComplete 0.216081373470651 0.001190
aspx.page End PreRenderComplete 0.216978414854402 0.000897
aspx.page Begin SaveState 0.294810653309289 0.077832
aspx.page End SaveState 0.474743298380101 0.179933
aspx.page Begin SaveStateComplete 0.474990536506735 0.000247
aspx.page End SaveStateComplete 0.475634193731326 0.000644
aspx.page Begin Render 0.475864669951069 0.000230
aspx.page End Render

Steven:

Working on this problem today, I noticed something.  I have two 'types' of
properties in my controls:

1.) Properties that map to child controls
2.) Properties that only pertain to the parent control itself. 

The properties that map directly to child controls properties (i.e.,
'LabelText') work fine ... the problem is with the new/unique properties
(i.e., 'LabelPosition', 'ScriptPath', etc.) that don't map anywhere.

If I add the following line of code below to 'Set' statement in the unique
properties, they work and render as expected:

....
set
{
    ....
    ViewState["LabelPosition"] = value;
    ChildControlsCreated = False;
    ....
}
....

However, this then causes all properties that map to to child control
properties ('LabelText', etc.) NOT to work.  Obviously I have screwed up the
model somewhere, but I don't see where the problem is.  This may have
something to do with the inheritance model, as well.  All of the
unique/top-level properties are defined in a parent class
(SupportFormLabelledControl), which creates a placeholder in the table.  All
child controls are actually created in a class that inherits from
SupportFormLabelledControl, and adds the controls into the PlaceHolder added
in the CreateChildControls() method of the parent.  Just a thought that maybe
there is a problem there?

Hi Christophe,

I've seen your new thread in the ASPNET groups and I've posted my reply and
further suggestion in the below one:

Subject: ViewState properties and mapped properties don't work well togethe
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.aspnet.webcontrols

Please have a look there and feel free to post in that thread if you meet
any further problem.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)





--------------------
<ChristophePeillet@nospam.nospam>
<EDFKRmmGGHA.3***@TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl>
Show quoteHide quotemicrosoft.public.dotnet.framework.aspnet.webcontrols:32503
Show quoteHide quote

detailsview,
3-Tier Binding Problem ?????????
Menu Control
DataGrid dynamic columns / firing events
ObjectDataSource
button's OnClick event runs after page databinding...
How can I prevent a GridView from opening when the page is firstentered ?
Accessing Datagrid Cells on OnClick Postback
Problem Retrieving Values from CheckboxList nested inside Datalist Control
Where is the onclick event?