Add array of controls to an aspx page

Question

I\'m trying to add an array of controls to an aspx page (C# code behind). These are the similar controls (search criteria for separate fields but will have the same values)

Answer 1

Control.FindControl is what you're looking for. You can use it on any Control(like Page itself) to find controls via their NamingContainer. Put them e.g. in a Panel and use FindControl on it.

for (int x = 0; x < 20; x++) {
    DropDownList ddlFruit = (DropDownList)FruitPanel.FindControl("FruitDropDown" + x);
    ddlFruit.Items.AddRange(items[x]);    
}

You can also create them dynamically:

for (int x = 0; x < 20; x++) {
   DropDownList ddlFruit = new DropDownList();
   ddlFruit.ID = "FruitDropDown" + x
   ddlFruit.Items.AddRange(items[x]);  
   FruitPanel.Controls.Add(ddlFruit); 
}

You must recreate dynamically created controls on every postback at the latest in Page_Load with the same ID as before to ensure that ViewState is loaded correctly and events are triggered.