Input String was not in correct format error C# ASP.NET

Question

I am getting the following error on my code : "Input String was not in a correct format". on the line following line:

Convert.ToDecimal(tdprice.InnerText).ToString("##.###");

In the code block:

protected void rptConsole_ItemDataBound(object sender, RepeaterItemEventArgs e)
    {
        if (e.Item.ItemType == ListItemType.Item || e.Item.ItemType == ListItemType.AlternatingItem)
        {
            HtmlTableCell tdprice = e.Item.FindControl("price") as HtmlTableCell;
            tdprice.InnerText = Convert.ToDecimal(tdprice.InnerText).ToString("##.###");
        }
    }

To get a full understanding of what I am trying to do please visit the following link Selecting an Item or column in a Repeater and changing the Data

What is the value of your `tdprice.InnerText` exactly and what is your `CurrentCulture`? — Soner Gönül, Jun 16 '14 at 08:22
Have you used the debugger, is the value of InnerText really 5.33432? Do you use dot as decimal separator? — Tim Schmelter, Jun 16 '14 at 08:35
The value is coming from a stored procedure and in that stored procedure it is a float — user3668266, Jun 16 '14 at 08:40

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 16 '14 at 08:40

Convert.ToDecimal(string) method uses Decimal.Parse(string, CurrentCulture) explicitly. Here how it's implemented;

public static decimal ToDecimal(String value)
{
    if (value == null)
        return 0m;
    return Decimal.Parse(value, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
}

And Decimal.Parse(string, CurrentCulture) method implemented as;

public static Decimal Parse(String s, IFormatProvider provider)
{
    return Number.ParseDecimal(s, NumberStyles.Number, NumberFormatInfo.GetInstance(provider));
}

As you can see, it uses NumberStyles.Number enumeration. This is a composite style which can contains;

Leading and trailing white spaces (where Char.IsWhiteSpace returns true)
Leading and trailing signs (CurrentCulture's PositiveSign and NegativeSign)
Decimal separator (CurrentCulture's NumberDecimalSeparator property)
Thousands separator (CurrentCulture's NumberGroupSeparator property)

Since you said your method fails with 5.33432 value, most probably your CurrentCulture's NumberDecimalSeparator property is not .

You can use .Clone() method for create a copy CultureInfo based on your CurrentCulture and set this property to .

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 16 '14 at 09:28

You don't need to use OnItemDataBound event for that at all.

You can do it like this in ASP markup:

...
<td align="center"><%# String.Format("{0:F2}", Eval("[price]")) %></td>
...

Or if you want to use .NET currency formatting:

...
<td align="center"><%# String.Format("{0:C}", Eval("[price]")) %></td>
...

Check this article for more specific information about .NET Standard Numeric Format String: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dwhawy9k(v=vs.110).aspx

Input String was not in correct format error C# ASP.NET

2 Answers2