Dynamically created RadioButtons in a Gridview losing state

Question

Background Info:

For various reasons I'm having to dynamically create a RadioButtonList in a column of my GridView.

The grid presents the user with a bunch of data on which they have to leave a comment and make a decision on one of 3 radio options:

enter image description here

Naturally, there are a number of rows on the grid. And the way this is to work is the user makes comments and decisions on all the items before saving to the database.

This screen is to be used multiple times, so the radio buttons have to reflect the value that's stored in the database.

The Problem:

Everything works apart from one thing: the radio buttons are always being reset to their initial state (value = 1) because the grid and the controls are being re-created on postback.

Code:

Here's the working code, some of it redacted/edited...

protected void TheGridView_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
    {
        [...]
        foreach (DataControlFieldCell dc in e.Row.Cells)
        {
            switch (dc.ContainingField.ToString())
            {
                [...]
                case (_ColReview):
                    int status = int.Parse(dc.Text);

                    if (status == 0) 
                    {
                        dc.Text = "Not sent for review";
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        var comment = new TextBox();
                        comment.ID = "ReviewCommentTextBox";
                        comment.CssClass = "form-control";
                        comment.Width = 290;
                        dc.Controls.Add(comment);

                        var radioButtons = new RadioButtonList();
                        var rb = new ListItem();
                        if (status == 2) rb.Selected = true;
                        rb.Value = "2";
                        rb.Text = "Yes, Add to Watch List";
                        radioButtons.Items.Add(rb);

                        rb = new ListItem();
                        if (status == 3) rb.Selected = true;
                        rb.Value = "3";
                        rb.Text = "No, do not add to Watch List";
                        radioButtons.Items.Add(rb);

                        rb = new ListItem();
                        //initial value in database is 1, hence this will be initially selected
                        if (status == 1) rb.Selected = true;
                        rb.Value = "1";
                        rb.Text = "Skip: no decision";

                        radioButtons.ID = "RowRadioButtonList";
                        radioButtons.Items.Add(rb);

                        dc.Controls.Add(radioButtons);
                    }
                    break;

            }
        }
    }
}



protected void BulkupdateLinkButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    foreach(GridViewRow gvr in TheGridView.Rows)
    {
        [...]
        int radioItemValue = 0;

        foreach (DataControlFieldCell dc in gvr.Cells)
        {
            string cellName = dc.ContainingField.ToString();
            string cellText = dc.Text;
            switch(cellName)
            {
                [...]
                case (_ColReview):
                    TextBox tb = (TextBox)gvr.FindControl("ReviewCommentTextBox");
                    comment = tb.Text;
                    RadioButtonList rbl = (RadioButtonList)gvr.FindControl("RowRadioButtonList");
                    foreach(ListItem li in rbl.Items)
                    {
                        //Issue arrives here: selected item is reset on postback, value is always 1
                        if (li.Selected)
                        {
                            radioItemValue = ToolBox.ConvertToInt(li.Value);
                        }
                    }

                    break;
            }
        }
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(comment) && (radioItemValue > 0))
        {
            if (radioItemValue != 1) // 1 = pending/skip
            {
                //code to add update the record and save the comment
                [...]
            }
        }



    }
}

Idea on solution

Now I can get around this by using a HiddenField in each row and setting up some JavaScript/JQuery to record the chosen RadioButton but I can't help but think I'm missing a trick here? Can anyone offer up a better/neater solution?

shouldn't your foreach be on `foreach(RadioButtonList` check this link out for example http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24047415/how-can-i-check-the-selected-values-of-multiple-radiobuttonlists if it doesn't fit your needs use this link to find what you are looking for [C# Examples](http://www.google.com) — MethodMan, Feb 06 '15 at 17:20
lol I like your 2nd link. I need to grab a load of data out of the grid in order for me to target the right record in the database hence the need to iterate through the grid on the click. — Hugo Yates, Feb 06 '15 at 17:37
To restore a `RadioButtonList` to the saved selected value I believe you need to set the **`RadioButtonList.`** **`SelectedIndex`** property of the list, not the `Selected` property of the `ListItem` — fnostro, Feb 06 '15 at 22:05
@fnostro thank you! Can you put this as an answer so I can award you the points? — Hugo Yates, Feb 16 '15 at 12:22

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 16 '15 at 13:54

1

To restore a RadioButtonList to the saved selected value I believe you need to set the RadioButtonList.SelectedIndex property of the list, not the Selected property of the ListItem

answered Feb 16 '15 at 13:54

fnostro

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Dynamically created RadioButtons in a Gridview losing state

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