Prevent HTML encoding in auto-generated GridView columns

Question

I have a GridView bound to a DataTable that I construct. Most columns in the table contain the raw HTML for a hypelinklink, and I would like that HTML to render as a link i

Answer 1

Since all the answers seem to be in C# and the questions was not specific, I ran into this issue using ASP.Net and VB.Net and the accepted solution did not work for me in VB (though I imagine it does work in C#). Hopefully this helps anyone working with VB.Net in ASP who stumbles upon this as I have.

In VB.Net BoundColumn cannot be added to Gridview.Columns as it is not a System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataControlField so instead one must use a BoundField which is a DataControlField.

BoundColoumn also does not have an HtmlEncode property however BoundField does. Also, in VB.Net DataSource becomes DataField.

        For Each dataCol As DataColumn In dv.Table.Columns
            Dim boundCol As New BoundField With {
                .DataField = dataCol.ColumnName,
                .HeaderText = dataCol.ColumnName,
                .HtmlEncode = False
            }

            gvResult.Columns.Add(boundCol)
        Next

        gvResult.DataSource = dv
        gvResult.Databind()

Also note that you must explicitly set AutoGenerateColumns="False" or the GridView will still generate columns along with the columns added above.