Control.FindControl Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Web.UI

Assembly:

System.Web.dll

Searches the current naming container for the specified server control.

Overloads

FindControl(String)	Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id parameter.
FindControl(String, Int32)	Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id and an integer, specified in the pathOffset parameter, which aids in the search. You should not override this version of the FindControl method.

FindControl(String)

Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id parameter.

public:
 virtual System::Web::UI::Control ^ FindControl(System::String ^ id);

public virtual System.Web.UI.Control FindControl (string id);

abstract member FindControl : string -> System.Web.UI.Control
override this.FindControl : string -> System.Web.UI.Control

Public Overridable Function FindControl (id As String) As Control

Parameters

id

String

The identifier for the control to be found.

Returns

Control

The specified control, or null if the specified control does not exist.

Examples

The following example defines a Button1_Click event handler. When invoked, this handler uses the FindControl method to locate a control with an ID property of TextBox2 on the containing page. If the control is found, its parent is determined using the Parent property and the parent control's ID is written to the page. If TextBox2 is not found, "Control Not Found" is written to the page.

Important

This example has a text box that accepts user input, which is a potential security threat. By default, ASP.NET Web pages validate that user input does not include script or HTML elements. For more information, see Script Exploits Overview.

private void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs MyEventArgs)
{
      // Find control on page.
      Control myControl1 = FindControl("TextBox2");
      if(myControl1!=null)
      {
         // Get control's parent.
         Control myControl2 = myControl1.Parent;
         Response.Write("Parent of the text box is : " + myControl2.ID);
      }
      else
      {
         Response.Write("Control not found");
      }
}

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, MyEventArgs As EventArgs)
' Find control on page.
Dim myControl1 As Control = FindControl("TextBox2")
If (Not myControl1 Is Nothing)
   ' Get control's parent.
   Dim myControl2 As Control = myControl1.Parent
   Response.Write("Parent of the text box is : " & myControl2.ID)
Else
   Response.Write("Control not found.....")
End If
End Sub

Remarks

Use FindControl to access a control from a function in a code-behind page, to access a control that is inside another container, or in other circumstances where the target control is not directly accessible to the caller. This method will find a control only if the control is directly contained by the specified container; that is, the method does not search throughout a hierarchy of controls within controls. For information about how to find a control when you do not know its immediate container, see How to: Access Server Controls by ID.

See also

• How to: Access Server Controls by ID

FindControl(String, Int32)

Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id and an integer, specified in the pathOffset parameter, which aids in the search. You should not override this version of the FindControl method.

protected:
 virtual System::Web::UI::Control ^ FindControl(System::String ^ id, int pathOffset);

protected virtual System.Web.UI.Control FindControl (string id, int pathOffset);

abstract member FindControl : string * int -> System.Web.UI.Control
override this.FindControl : string * int -> System.Web.UI.Control

Protected Overridable Function FindControl (id As String, pathOffset As Integer) As Control

Parameters

id

String

The identifier for the control to be found.

pathOffset

Int32

The number of controls up the page control hierarchy needed to reach a naming container.

Returns

Control

The specified control, or null if the specified control does not exist.