Passing multiple argument through CommandArgument of Button in Asp.net

Question

I have a gridview with multiple rows, each has a Update button and I need to pass 2 values when someone clicks on Update button. Aside from packing the arguments inside CommandArgument separated by commas (archaic and not elegant), how would I pass more than one argument?

<asp:LinkButton ID="UpdateButton" runat="server" CommandName="UpdateRow" CommandArgument="arg_value" Text="Update and Insert" OnCommand="CommandButton_Click" ></asp:LinkButton>

As a note, the values can't be retrieved from any controls on the page, so I am presently not seeking any design solutions.

The 'archaic' solution of using a delimiter is sometimes the easiest. — Kelsey, Mar 05 '10 at 19:19

score 83 · Answer 1 · edited Dec 26 '22 at 23:51

83

You can pass semicolon separated values as command argument and then split the string and use it.

<asp:TemplateField ShowHeader="false">
    <ItemTemplate>
       <asp:LinkButton ID="lnkCustomize" Text="Customize"  CommandName="Customize"  CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IdTemplate") + ";" +Eval("EntityId")%>'  runat="server"> 
       </asp:LinkButton>   
    </ItemTemplate>   
</asp:TemplateField>

at server side

protected void gridview_RowCommand(object sender, GridViewCommandEventArgs e)
{
      string[] arg = new string[2];
      arg = e.CommandArgument.ToString().Split(';');
      Session["IdTemplate"] = arg[0];
      Session["IdEntity"] = arg[1];
      Response.Redirect("Samplepage.aspx");
}

edited Dec 26 '22 at 23:51

starball

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answered Jul 01 '11 at 14:44

Archana Motagi

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The above worked for me. Only problem is you're missing the parameters in the Redirect() ASPX link. Try Response.Redirect("Samplepage.aspx?IdTemplate=" + Session["IdTemplate"].ToString().Trim() + "&IdEntity=" + Session["IdEntity"].ToString().Trim()); – Fandango68 Jun 28 '13 at 05:18
Being a pedant you don't need the .ToString(). CommandArgument is always a string, so: var argument = ((LinkButton)sender).CommandArgument.Split(';'); – Norbert Norbertson Nov 09 '17 at 13:13

score 17 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 24 '15 at 11:03

@Patrick's answer is a good idea, and deserves more credit!. You can have as many data items as you want, they are all separated, and can be used client side if necessary.

They can also be added declaratively rather than in code. I just did this for a GridView like this:

<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Remind">
  <ItemTemplate>
    <asp:ImageButton ID="btnEmail"  
        data-rider-name="<%# ((Result)((GridViewRow) Container).DataItem).Rider %>"
        data-rider-email="<%# ((Result)((GridViewRow) Container).DataItem).RiderEmail %>"
        CommandName="Email" runat="server" ImageAlign="AbsMiddle" ImageUrl="~/images/email.gif" />
  </ItemTemplate> 
</asp:TemplateField>

In the RowCommand, you do this:

void gvMyView_RowCommand(object sender, GridViewCommandEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.CommandName == "Email")
    {
        var btnSender = (ImageButton)e.CommandSource;
        var riderName = btnSender.Attributes["data-rider-name"];
        var riderEmail = btnSender.Attributes["data-rider-email"];
        // Do something here
    }
}

So much cleaner than hacking all the values together with delimiters and unpacking again at the end.

Don't forget to test/clean any data you get back from the page, in case it's been tampered with!

I like this approach, it's as close as you'll get to having the items strongly typed, using commas and substring to separate this kind of info, although workable, can become a mess. You need have inherent knowledge of what each part of the argument is, using "data-" containers is safer and makes the code much more readable. — GJKH, Feb 27 '16 at 16:33

score 16 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 27 '13 at 07:58

16

After poking around it looks like Kelsey is correct.

Just use a comma or something and split it when you want to consume it.

edited Nov 27 '13 at 07:58

Sid M

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answered Mar 05 '10 at 19:56

cazlab

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5

found this: http://aspdotnetcodebook.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-pass-multiple-values-to.html – sarsnake Mar 05 '10 at 20:29

score 9 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 25 '13 at 15:16

My approach is using the attributes collection to add HTML data- attributes from code behind. This is more inline with jquery and client side scripting.

// This would likely be done with findControl in your grid OnItemCreated handler
LinkButton targetBtn = new LinkButton();


// Add attributes
targetBtn.Attributes.Add("data-{your data name here}", value.ToString() );
targetBtn.Attributes.Add("data-{your data name 2 here}", value2.ToString() );

Then retrieve the values through the attribute collection

string val = targetBtn.Attributes["data-{your data name here}"].ToString();

score 4 · Answer 5 · edited Oct 29 '12 at 13:04

A little more elegant way of doing the same adding on to the above comment ..

<asp:GridView ID="grdParent" runat="server" BackColor="White" BorderColor="#DEDFDE"
                           AutoGenerateColumns="false"
                            OnRowDeleting="deleteRow"
                         GridLines="Vertical">
      <asp:BoundField DataField="IdTemplate" HeaderText="IdTemplate" />
      <asp:BoundField DataField="EntityId" HeaderText="EntityId"  />
    <asp:TemplateField ShowHeader="false">
        <ItemTemplate>
           <asp:LinkButton ID="lnkCustomize" Text="Delete"  CommandName="Delete"  CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IdTemplate") + ";" +Eval("EntityId")%>'  runat="server"> 
           </asp:LinkButton>   
        </ItemTemplate>   
    </asp:TemplateField>
     </asp:GridView>

And on the server side:

protected void deleteRow(object sender, GridViewDeleteEventArgs e)
{
    string IdTemplate= e.Values["IdTemplate"].ToString();
    string EntityId = e.Values["EntityId"].ToString();

   // Do stuff..
}

This only works if you want the IdTemplate and EntityId fields displayed in your grid. The values you places in the CommandArgument is never actually used. — cyberspy, Jul 24 '15 at 11:08

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 05 '10 at 19:17

2

Either store it in the gridview datakeys collection, or store it in a hidden field inside the same cell, or join the values together. That is the only way. You can't store two values in one link.

answered Mar 05 '10 at 19:17

Brian Mains

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 19 '16 at 08:43

If you want to pass two values, you can use this approach

<asp:LinkButton ID="RemoveFroRole" Text="Remove From Role" runat="server"
CommandName='<%# Eval("UserName") %>' CommandArgument='<%# Eval("RoleName") %>'
 OnClick="RemoveFromRole_Click" />

Basically I am treating {CommmandName,CommandArgument} as key value. Set both from database field. You will have to use OnClick event and use OnCommand event in this case, which I think is more clean code.

Passing multiple argument through CommandArgument of Button in Asp.net

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