How To: Create a Read-Only Dynamic Data Web Site

ASP.NET Dynamic Data enables you to quickly create a Web site that exposes a database. By default, a Dynamic Data Web site supports editing, deleting, and inserting data. However, you can make a site read-only by changing page templates so that the page supports no edit, delete, or insert operations.

By default, a Dynamic Data Web site performs routing to send requests to individual List, Details, Edit, and Insert pages. The model of using these pages for separate operations is known as separate-page mode.

Alternatively, Dynamic Data supports combined-page mode. In this mode, all operations are performed by the ListDetails page. The Global.asax file contains commented-out lines that you can uncomment in order to support combined-page mode.

The first procedure in this topic shows how to make a site read-only when the site uses separate-page mode. The second procedure shows how to make a site read-only when the site uses combined-page mode.

Creating a Read-Only Page for Separate-Page Mode

To make a site read-only in separate-page mode

1. Open the Global.asax file.

2. Modify the statement that creates the Dynamic Data routing table to add the List and Details pages, but to exclude the Edit and Insert pages

   The following example shows the updated statement. This statement adds a new route to the System.Web.Routing.RouteCollection object (the routing table), which is represented by the routes variable.

   routes.Add(new DynamicDataRoute("{table}/{action}.aspx") {
           Constraints = new RouteValueDictionary(new { action = "List|Details" }),
           Model = model
       }); 
   

   routes.Add(New DynamicDataRoute("{table}/{action}.aspx") With { _
               .Constraints = New RouteValueDictionary(New With {.Action = "List|Details"}), _
               .Model = model})
   

3. In the DynamicData\PageTemplates folder, open the Details.aspx page template.

4. In the markup for the DetailsView control, remove the OnItemDeleted attribute and its value.

5. Inside the DetailsView control, remove the markup for the HyperLink control and for the LinkButton control from the ItemTemplate element.

   In a read-write Dynamic Data Web site, the HyperLink control links to the Edit page template, and the LinkButton button control creates the Delete button. For a read-only Web site, these controls are not required.

   The following example shows the completed DetailsView control.

   <asp:DetailsView ID="DetailsView1" runat="server" 
       DataSourceID="DetailsDataSource"
       CssClass="detailstable" 
       FieldHeaderStyle-CssClass="bold">
     <Fields>
       <asp:TemplateField>
         <ItemTemplate>
           <%-- HyperLink and LinkButton removed. --%>
         </ItemTemplate>
       </asp:TemplateField>
     </Fields>
   </asp:DetailsView>
   

6. Open the code-behind file for the Details.aspx page.

7. Remove the DetailsView1_ItemDeleted method.

8. Open the List.aspx page template.

9. Remove the following controls from the GridView control:

   • The HyperLink control whose ID is "EditHyperLink".

   • The LinkButton control whose ID is "DeleteLinkButton".

10. Save and close all files.

Creating a Read-Only Page for Combined-Page Mode

Making a combined-page mode site read-only is simpler than making a separate-page mode site read-only because you have to remove only some controls from one page. You do not have to modify the Global.asax file.

To make a site read-only in combined-page mode

1. In the DynamicData\PageTemplates folder, open the ListDetails.aspx page template.

2. In the markup for the GridView control, remove the attributes and values for the following:

   • AutoGenerateEditButton

   • AutoGenerateDeleteButton

   • OnRowEditing

   • OnRowDeleted

   • OnRowUpdated

   • OnRowCreated

   The following example shows the markup for the completed GridView control.

   <asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" 
       DataSourceID="GridDataSource" 
       AutoGenerateSelectButton="True"
       AllowPaging="True" AllowSorting="True" 
       OnDataBound="OnGridViewDataBound" 
       OnSelectedIndexChanging="OnGridViewSelectedIndexChanging"
       CssClass="gridview">
     <PagerStyle CssClass="footer" />
     <SelectedRowStyle CssClass="selected" />
     <PagerTemplate>
        <asp:GridViewPager runat="server" />
     </PagerTemplate>
     <EmptyDataTemplate>
         There are currently no items in this table.
     </EmptyDataTemplate>
   </asp:GridView>
   

3. In the markup for the DetailsView control, remove the attributes and values for the following:

   • AutoGenerateEditButton

   • AutoGenerateDeleteButton

   • AutoGenerateInsertButton

   • OnItemUpdated

   • OnItemInserted

   • OnItemDeleted

   The following example shows the markup for the completed DetailsView control.

   <asp:DetailsView 
      ID="DetailsView1" 
      runat="server" 
      DataSourceID="DetailsDataSource"
      OnModeChanging="OnDetailsViewModeChanging" 
      OnPreRender="OnDetailsViewPreRender"
      >
   </asp:DetailsView> 
   

4. Open the code-behind file for the ListDetails.aspx page.

5. Delete the following methods from the ListDetails.aspx code-behind file:

   • OnRowEditing

   • OnRowDeleted

   • OnRowUpdated

   • OnRowCreated

   • OnDetailsViewItemDeleted

   • OnDetailsViewItemUpdated

   • OnDetailsViewItemInserted

   The following example shows the completed code-behind file.

   using System;
   using System.Data;
   using System.Configuration;
   using System.Collections;
   using System.Linq;
   using System.Web;
   using System.Web.Security;
   using System.Web.UI;
   using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
   using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
   using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
   using System.Xml.Linq;
   using System.Web.DynamicData;
   
   public partial class ListDetails : System.Web.UI.Page {
       protected void Page_Init(object sender, EventArgs e) {
           DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(GridView1, true /*setSelectionFromUrl*/);
           DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(DetailsView1);
       }
   
       protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
           MetaTable table = GridDataSource.GetTable();
           Title = table.DisplayName;
   
           // Disable various options if the table is read-only.
           if (table.IsReadOnly) {
               DetailsPanel.Visible = false;
               GridView1.AutoGenerateSelectButton = false;
               GridView1.AutoGenerateEditButton = false;
               GridView1.AutoGenerateDeleteButton = false;
           }
       }
       protected void OnGridViewDataBound(object sender, EventArgs e) {
           if (GridView1.Rows.Count == 0) {
               DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.Insert);
           }
       }
       protected void OnFilterSelectedIndexChanged(object sender, 
               EventArgs e) {
           GridView1.EditIndex = -1;
           GridView1.PageIndex = 0;
           DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly);
       }
           protected void OnGridViewSelectedIndexChanging(object sender, 
               EventArgs e) {
           GridView1.EditIndex = -1;
           DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly);
       }
   
       protected void OnDetailsViewModeChanging(object sender, 
               DetailsViewModeEventArgs e) {
           if (e.NewMode != DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly) {
               GridView1.EditIndex = -1;
           }
       }
   
       protected void OnDetailsViewPreRender(object sender, 
               EventArgs e) {
           int rowCount = DetailsView1.Rows.Count;
           if (rowCount > 0) {
               SetDeleteConfirmation(DetailsView1.Rows[rowCount - 1]);
           }
       }
   
       private void SetDeleteConfirmation(TableRow row) {
           foreach (Control c in row.Cells[0].Controls) {
               if (c is LinkButton) {
                   LinkButton btn = (LinkButton)c;
                   if (btn.CommandName == 
                          DataControlCommands.DeleteCommandName) {
                       btn.OnClientClick = "return confirm('Are you 
                          sure you want to delete this item?');";
                   }
               }
           }
       }
   }
   

   Imports System.Web.DynamicData
   
   Partial Class ListDetails
       Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
   
   
       Protected Sub Page_Init(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As EventArgs)
           DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(GridView1, true)
           DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(DetailsView1)
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As EventArgs)
           Dim table As MetaTable = GridDataSource.GetTable
           Title = table.DisplayName
           GridDataSource.IncludePaths = table.ForeignKeyColumnsNames
           DetailsDataSource.IncludePaths = _
               table.ForeignKeyColumnsNames
           ' Disable various options if the table is read-only.
           If table.IsReadOnly Then
               DetailsPanel.Visible = false
               GridView1.AutoGenerateSelectButton = false
               GridView1.AutoGenerateEditButton = false
               GridView1.AutoGenerateDeleteButton = false
           End If
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnGridViewDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As EventArgs)
           If (GridView1.Rows.Count = 0) Then
               DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.Insert)
           End If
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnFilterSelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As _
               Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
           GridView1.EditIndex = -1
           GridView1.PageIndex = 0
           DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly)
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnGridViewSelectedIndexChanging(ByVal sender As _
               Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
           GridView1.EditIndex = -1
           DetailsView1.ChangeMode(DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly)
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnGridViewRowDeleted(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As GridViewDeletedEventArgs)
           DetailsView1.DataBind
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnGridViewRowUpdated(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As GridViewUpdatedEventArgs)
           DetailsView1.DataBind
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnDetailsViewItemDeleted(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As DetailsViewDeletedEventArgs)
           GridView1.DataBind
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnDetailsViewItemUpdated(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As DetailsViewUpdatedEventArgs)
           GridView1.DataBind
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnDetailsViewItemInserted(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As DetailsViewInsertedEventArgs)
           GridView1.DataBind
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnDetailsViewModeChanging(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As DetailsViewModeEventArgs)
           If (e.NewMode <> DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly) Then
               GridView1.EditIndex = -1
           End If
       End Sub
   
       Protected Sub OnDetailsViewPreRender(ByVal sender As Object, _
               ByVal e As EventArgs)
           Dim rowCount As Integer = DetailsView1.Rows.Count
           If (rowCount > 0) Then
               SetDeleteConfirmation(DetailsView1.Rows((rowCount - 1)))
           End If
       End Sub
   
       Private Sub SetDeleteConfirmation(ByVal row As TableRow)
           For Each c As Control In row.Cells(0).Controls
               If (TypeOf c Is LinkButton) Then
                   Dim btn As LinkButton = CType(c,LinkButton)
                   If (btn.CommandName = 
                           DataControlCommands.DeleteCommandName) Then
                       btn.OnClientClick = "return confirm( _
                          'Are you sure you want to delete this item?');"
                   End If
               End If
           Next
       End Sub
   End Class
   

See Also

Concepts

ASP.NET Dynamic Data Overview

Change History

Date	History	Reason
July 2008	Added topic.	SP1 feature change.