How to: Respond to Button Events in DataList or Repeater Items

Article
10/22/2014

If a DataList or Repeater control template includes Button, LinkButton, or ImageButton Web server controls, these buttons can send their Click events to the containing DataList or Repeater control. This enables you to include buttons for functions that are not already defined for the DataList control (edit, delete, update, and cancel) and to define functionality for the Repeater control.

To respond to button events in DataList and Repeater controls

Include a Button, LinkButton, or ImageButton in a control template.
Set the button's CommandName property to a string that identifies its function, such as "sort" or "copy".
Create a method for the ItemCommand event of the containing control. In the method, do the following:
1. Check the CommandName property of the event-argument object to see what string was passed.
2. Perform the appropriate logic for the button that the user clicked.
The following example shows how you can respond to a button click in a DataList control. In the example, the ItemTemplate contains an ImageButton control that displays a shopping cart. The button sends the command AddToCart. The ItemCommand event handler determines which button was clicked, and — if it was the shopping cart button — performs the appropriate logic.
```
Protected Sub DataList1_ItemCommand(ByVal source As Object, _
        ByVal e As DataListCommandEventArgs)
    If e.CommandName = "AddToCart" Then
        ' Add code here to add the item to the shopping cart.
        ' Use the value of e.Item.ItemIndex to retrieve the data 
        ' item in the control.
    End If
End Sub
```
```
protected void DataList1_ItemCommand(object source, 
    DataListCommandEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.CommandName == "AddToCart")
   {      
      // Add code here to add the item to the shopping cart.
      // Use the value of e.Item.ItemIndex to retrieve the data 
      // item in the control.
   }
}
```
For an example using the DataList Web server control, see How to: Allow Users to Select Items in DataList Web Server Controls.

How to: Respond to Button Events in DataList or Repeater Items

To respond to button events in DataList and Repeater controls

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