A FormView control can include editing features to add new records to a database, update existing records, and delete existing records. These functions can be performed without scripting, or scripts can be added for pre- or post-processing activities. In the following example, a FormView includes "Edit," "New," and "Delete" buttons for editing books from the BooksDB.mdb database.

Note that making actual changes to the BooksDB.mdb database is not permitted in these tutorials; however, all other functions work as expected.

Coding the FormView

Code for the FormView and its AccessDataSources for the above example is shown below. This code may appear more extensive than for a DetailsView with the same functionality. However, much of the code pertains to formatting the forms inside XHTML tables. There still remain an ItemTemplate, EditItemTemplate, and InsertItemTemplate as comparable templates for arranging display and edit fields.

The FormView uses an AccessDataSource that includes three SQL statements. The SelectCommand, InsertCommand, and UpdateCommand statements are identical to those used previously to edit a selected record in a DetailsView. You might notice a missing DeleteCommand. In this example, record deletion is scripted rather than taking place automatically through the AccessDataSource. This deletion process is described below. A second AccessDataSource supplies values for DropDownLists of book types during updates and additions.

A embedded Cascading Style Sheet is included in the code. Use of the style sheet makes it easier to consistently style the three separate tables in the ItemTemplate, EditItemTemplate, and InsertItemTemplate.

<style type="text/css">
  table#ItemTable th {font-size:11pt; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; 
                      background-color:#E0E0E0}
  table#ItemTable td {font-size:11pt; vertical-align:top}
  table#EditTable th {font-size:11pt; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; 
                      background-color:#E0E0E0}
  table#EditTable td {font-size:11pt; vertical-align:top}
  table#AddTable th  {font-size:11pt; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; 
                      background-color:#E0E0E0}
  table#AddTable td  {font-size:11pt; vertical-align:top}
  .buttons           {background-color:#E0E0E0}
</style>

<asp:AccessDataSource id="BookSource" Runat="Server"
  DataFile="../Databases/BooksDB.mdb"
  
  SelectCommand="SELECT * FROM Books ORDER BY BookID"
  
  InsertCommand="INSERT INTO Books (BookID, BookType, BookTitle, BookAuthor,
                 BookDescription, BookPrice, BookQty, BookSale) VALUES
                 (@BookID, @BookType, @BookTitle, @BookAuthor,
                 BookDescription=@BookDescription, @BookPrice, @BookQty, 
                 @BookSale)"
  
  UpdateCommand="UPDATE Books SET BookType=@BookType, BookTitle=@BookTitle,
                 BookAuthor=@BookAuthor, BookDescription=@BookDescription,
                 BookPrice=@BookPrice, BookQty=@BookQty, BookSale=@BookSale 
                 WHERE BookID=@BookID"
/>

<asp:AccessDataSource id="TypeSource" Runat="Server"
  DataFile="../Databases/BooksDB.mdb"
  SelectCommand="SELECT DISTINCT BookType FROM Books ORDER BY BookType"/>

<h3>Book Edit</h3>
	
<asp:Label id="EditMSG" Text="&nbsp;" ForeColor="Red" Runat="Server"
EnableViewState="False"/>

<asp:Panel id="ConfirmDelete" Visible="False" EnableViewState="False" 
Runat="Server">
  <asp:Label Text="Delete this record? " ForeColor="Red" Runat="Server"/>
  <asp:Button Text="Yes" OnClick="Delete_Record" Runat="Server"
    Font-Size="7pt" Height="17px" Width="30px"/>
  <asp:Button Text="No" OnClick="Cancel_Delete" Runat="Server"
    Font-Size="7pt" Height="17px" Width="30px"/>
</asp:Panel>

<asp:FormView id="FormView" DataSourceID="BookSource"  Runat="Server"
  DataKeyNames="BookID"
  OnItemInserting="Validate_Insert_Data"
  OnItemInserted="Display_Insert_Msg"
  OnItemUpdating="Validate_Update_Data"
  OnItemUpdated="Display_Update_Msg"
  OnItemDeleting="Confirm_Delete"
  AllowPaging="True"
  GridLines="Both">
  
  <ItemTemplate>
  <table id="ItemTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Edit" Text="Edit" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="New" Text="New" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Delete" Text="Delete" Runat="Server"/>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>ID</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookID") %>' Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Type</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookType") %>' Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Title</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookTitle") %>' Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Author</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookAuthor") %>' Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Description</th>
    <td><asp:Panel Width="350px" Height="95px" BorderWidth="1px" 
        BorderColor="#C0C0C0" ScrollBars="Auto" Runat="Server">
          <asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookDescription") %>' Font-Size="10pt" 
          Runat="Server"/>
        </asp:Panel></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Price</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# String.Format("{0:C}", Eval("BookPrice")) %>' 
        Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Qty</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# String.Format("{0:D}", Eval("BookQty")) %>'
        Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Sale</th>
    <td><asp:CheckBox Checked='<%# Eval("BookSale") %>' Enabled="False"
        Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  </table>
  </ItemTemplate>
  
  <EditItemTemplate>
  <table id="EditTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Update" Text="Update" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Cancel" Text="Cancel" Runat="Server"/>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>ID</th>
    <td><asp:Label Text='<%# Eval("BookID") %>' Runat="Server"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Type</th>
    <td><asp:DropDownList id="BookType" Runat="Server"
        DataSourceID="TypeSource"
        DataTextField="BookType"
        DataValueField="BookType"
        SelectedValue='<%# Bind("BookType") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Title</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="EditTitle" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookTitle") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Author</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="EditAuthor" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookAuthor") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Description</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="EditDescription" Runat="Server
        Text='<%# Bind("BookDescription") %>'"
        TextMode="MultiLine" Height="95" Width="350px"
        Font-Name="Arial" Font-Size="9pt"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Price</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="EditPrice" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookPrice") %>'
        Width="50px"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Quantity</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="EditQty" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookQty") %>'
        Width="50px"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Sale</th>
    <td><asp:CheckBox id="EditSale" Runat="Server"
        Checked='<%# Bind("BookSale") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  </table>
  </EditItemTemplate>
  
  <InsertItemTemplate>
  <table id="AddTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Insert" Text="Insert" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:LinkButton CommandName="Cancel" Text="Cancel" Runat="Server"/>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>ID</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddBookID" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookID") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Type</th>
    <td><asp:DropDownList id="AddType" Runat="Server"
        DataSourceID="TypeSource"
        DataTextField="BookType"
        DataValueField="BookType"
        SelectedValue='<%# Bind("BookType") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Title</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddTitle" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookTitle") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Author</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddAuthor" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookAuthor") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Description</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddDescription" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookDescription") %>'
        TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="5" Width="350px"
        Font-Name="Arial" Font-Size="9pt"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Price</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddPrice" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookPrice") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Qty</th>
    <td><asp:TextBox id="AddQty" Runat="Server"
        Text='<%# Bind("BookQty") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Sale</th>
    <td><asp:CheckBox id="AddSale" Runat="Server"
        Checked='<%# Bind("BookSale") %>'/></td>
  </tr>
  </table>
  </InsertItemTemplate>

</asp:FormView>

The FormView requires three templates, one for viewing a record (ItemTemplate), one for updates (EditItemTemplate), and one for additions (InsertItemTemplate). All three templates include <table> tags to arrange labels and controls for formatted display. All templates must include buttons to trigger editing activity. LinkButtons are used in this example. These buttons must include proper CommandNames for editing (Edit, New, and Delete), for updating (Update and Cancel), and for inserting (Insert and Cancel). Data display controls for updating and inserting records must use editable controls along with Bind() expressions so that changed or inserted values can be posted back to the database.

Like the GridView and DetailsView, a FormView immediately deletes a record when the "Delete" button is clicked. For this example, a confirmation step is added. When the button is clicked, a pair of "Yes" and "No" buttons appear to confirm or cancel deletion. These buttons are coded inside a Panel control that is initially hidden.

<asp:Panel id="ConfirmDelete" Visible="False" EnableViewState="False" 
Runat="Server">
  <asp:Label Text="Delete this record? " ForeColor="Red" Runat="Server"/>
  <asp:Button Text="Yes" OnClick="Delete_Record" Runat="Server"
    Font-Size="7pt" Height="17px" Width="30px"/>
  <asp:Button Text="No" OnClick="Cancel_Delete" Runat="Server"
    Font-Size="7pt" Height="17px" Width="30px"/>
</asp:Panel>

This Panel is not part of the FormView. It appears outside and immediately preceding the FormView. It is made visible by a Confirm_Delete subprogram that is called on the ItemDeleting event that occurs when the "Delete" button is clicked. This subprogram is described below.

FormView Events and Event Handlers

"Insert," "Update," and "Delete" buttons for the FormView have events associated with them for calling subprograms to intercept these processes. These events, their event handlers, and arguments of called subprograms are listed below. Except for argument names, these events and handlers are the same as those associated with a DetailsView.

As in the case with the DetailsView, subprograms called by these event handlers expose event properties that can be investigated. These properties are listed below and are identical to those exposed through DetailsView events.

--FormViewInsertEventArgs Properties--

argument.Values("fieldname")
argument.Cancel="False|True"

--FormViewInsertedEventArgs Properties--

argument.Values("field")
argument.AffectedRows
argument.KeepInInsertMode="False|True"

--FormViewUpdateEventArgs Properties--

argument.OldValues("field")
argument.NewValues("field")
argument.Keys("field")
argument.Cancel="False|True"

--FormViewUpdatedEventArgs Properties--

argument.OldValues("field")
argument.NewValues("field")
argument.Keys("field")
argument.AffectedRows
argument.KeepInEditMode="False|True"

--FormViewDeleteEventArgs Properties--

argument.Values("field")
argument.Keys("field")
argument.Cancel="False|True"

--FormViewDeletedEventArgs Properties--

argument.Values("field")
argument.Keys("field")
argument.AffectedRows

FormView Event Scripting

Scripts for the OnInserting, OnInserted, OnUpdating, OnUpdated, and OnDeleting events trapped for the example FormView are shown below. Except for added functionality for the OnDeleting event, the remaining subprograms are identical to those used with the previous DetailsView.

<SCRIPT Runat="Server">

'-- OnItemInserting --
Sub Validate_Insert_Data (Src As Object, Args As FormViewInsertEventArgs)

  If Args.Values("BookID") = "" Then
    Args.Cancel = True
    EditMSG.Text = "-- Missing BookID. Record not added."
  End If
  
  If Not IsNumeric(Args.Values("BookPrice")) Then
    Args.Cancel = True
    EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Price is not numeric. Record not added."
  End If
  
  If Not IsNumeric(Args.Values("BookQty")) Then
    Args.Cancel = True
    EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Quantity is not numeric. Record not added"
  End If
  
  If Args.Cancel = False Then
    If Args.Values("BookPrice") < 0 _
    OR Args.Values("BookPrice") > 200 Then
      Args.Cancel = True
      EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Price out of range. Record not added"
    End If
  End If
  
  If Args.Cancel = False Then
    If Args.Values("BookQty") < 0 Then
      Args.Cancel = True
      EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Quantity out of range. Record not added"
    End If
  End If

End Sub

'-- OnItemInserted --
Sub Display_Insert_Msg (Src As Object, Args As FormViewInsertedEventArgs)
  EditMSG.Text = " Record " & Args.Values("BookID") & " added"
End Sub

'-- OnItemUpdating --
Sub Validate_Update_Data (Src As Object, Args As FormViewUpdateEventArgs)

  If Not IsNumeric(Args.NewValues("BookPrice")) Then
    Args.Cancel = True
    EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Price is not numeric. Record not updated."
  End If
  
  If Not IsNumeric(Args.NewValues("BookQty")) Then
    Args.Cancel = True
    EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Quantity is not numeric. Record not updated"
  End If
  
  If Args.Cancel = False Then
    If Args.NewValues("BookPrice") < 0 Then
      Args.Cancel = True
      EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Price out of range. Record not updated"
    End If
  End If
  
  If Args.Cancel = False Then
    If Args.NewValues("BookQty") < 0 _
    OR Args.NewValues("BookPrice") > 200 Then
      Args.Cancel = True
      EditMSG.Text = "-- Book Quantity out of range. Record not updated"
    End If
  End If

End Sub

'-- OnItemUpdated --
Sub Display_Update_Msg (Src As Object, Args As FormViewUpdatedEventArgs)
  EditMSG.Text = " Record " & Args.Keys("BookID") & " updated"
End Sub

'-- OnItemDeleting --
Sub Confirm_Delete (Src As Object, Args As FormViewDeleteEventArgs)
  
  Args.Cancel = True
  ConfirmDelete.Visible = True
  EditMSG.Visible = False
  ViewState("BookID") = Args.Keys("BookID")
  
End Sub

Sub Delete_Record (Src As Object, Args As EventArgs)
  
  BookSource.DeleteCommand = "DELETE FROM Books " & _
                             "WHERE BookID = '" & ViewState("BookID") & "'"
  BookSource.Delete()
  EditMSG.Text = " Record " & ViewState("BookID") & " deleted"
  
End Sub

Sub Cancel_Delete (Src As Object, Args As EventArgs)
  
  ConfirmDelete.Visible = False

End Sub

</SCRIPT>

When a new record's "Insert" button is clicked and an ItemInserting event is raised, the Validate_Insert_Data subprogram is called. The record must be supplied with a BookID value since this is the key for the record. Also, numeric fields must contain numeric data. If any field fails a validation test, inserting is cancelled. On an ItemInserted event, the Display_Insert_Msg subprogram is called and a record-added message is displayed.

Editing for the ItemUpdating event is similar except that no test is made for a valid BookID field since this field is not available for editing. On an ItemUpdated event, a record-updated message is displayed.

Delete Confirmation

When the "Delete" button is clicked and an ItemDeleting event occurs, the Confirm_Delete subprogram is called to immediately cancel the delete event and to make the ConfirmDelete Panel visible with its confirmation buttons. Since the delete event is cancelled, the Args.Keys("BookID") reference to the BookID key for this record is lost to subsequent subprograms to delete the record should it be confirmed. Therefore, this key is saved to a View State variable, ViewState("BookID"), for subsequent retrieval.

Sub Confirm_Delete (Src As Object, Args As FormViewDeleteEventArgs)

  Args.Cancel = True
  ConfirmDelete.Visible = True
  EditMSG.Visible = False
  ViewState("BookID") = Args.Keys("BookID")

End Sub

This is the case if the "Yes" button is clicked and the Delete_Record subprogram is called. This subprogram composes a DELETE statement, using the saved ViewState("BookID") to identify the key of the record to be deleted. The statement is assigned to the DeleteCommand property of AccessDataSource for the FormView, and its Delete() method is called to delete the record. This scripted delete operation is the reason a DeleteCommand statement is not needed in the AccessDataSource.

Sub Delete_Record (Src As Object, Args As EventArgs)

  BookSource.DeleteCommand = "DELETE FROM Books " & _
                             "WHERE BookID = '" & ViewState("BookID") & "'"
  BookSource.Delete()
  EditMSG.Text = " Record " & ViewState("BookID") & " deleted"

End Sub

If, on the other hand, the "No" confirmation button is clicked, no action is taken on the record. Instead, the Cancel_Delete subprogram is called simply to hide the confirmation Panel.

Sub Cancel_Delete (Src As Object, Args As EventArgs)

  ConfirmDelete.Visible = False

End Sub

This method of coding the FormView with its AccessDataSources and scripts can be applied to a DetailsView or GridView to supply record-deletion confirmation in these controls.

Using Command Events

In the above FormView the delete confirmation buttons appear outside the FormView itself. As a visual option you may wish to incorporate the "Yes" and "No" buttons inside the control as you can see by clicking the "Delete" button in the following FormView.

Coding for the FormView is similar to the previous example. One difference is that the LinkButton controls are coded here as Button controls. A second difference is in the section of the ItemTemplate where confirmation buttons are included along with the "Edit," "New," and "Delete" buttons. In the previous example, these "Yes" and "No" buttons are enclosed inside a Panel to control their visibility. Here they are enclosed inside a Label control. A Label is used so the confirmation buttons appear on the same line as the edit buttons (a Panel control causes a line break). As before, the buttons are initially hidden since the ConfirmDelete Label that contains them is hidden.

<asp:FormView id="FormView" DataSourceID="BookSource"  Runat="Server"
  ...
  OnItemDeleting="Confirm_Delete"
  OnItemCommand="Get_Command"
 >

  <ItemTemplate>
  <table id="ItemTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:Button CommandName="Edit" Text="Edit" Font-Size="9pt" Width="50"
        Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:Button CommandName="New" Text="New" Font-Size="9pt" Width="50"
        Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:Button CommandName="Delete" Text="Delete" Font-Size="9pt"
        Width="50" Runat="Server"/>&nbsp;
      
      <asp:Label id="ConfirmDelete" Visible="False" EnableViewState="False"
      Runat="Server">
        <asp:Label Text="Delete this record? " ForeColor="Red" 
          Runat="Server"/>
        <asp:Button Text="Yes" CommandName="Yes" Font-Size="8pt" Width="30px"
          Runat="Server"/>
        <asp:Button Text="No" CommandName="No" Font-Size="8pt" Width="30px"
          Runat="Server"/>
      </asp:Label>
    
    </td>
  </tr>
  ...
  
  <EditItemTemplate>
  <table id="EditTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:Button CommandName="Update" Text="Update" Font-Size="9pt" 
        Width="50" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:Button CommandName="Cancel" Text="Cancel" Font-Size="9pt" 
        Width="50" Runat="Server"/>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  ...
  
  <InsertItemTemplate>
  <table id="AddTable" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <td class="buttons">
      <asp:Button CommandName="Insert" Text="Insert" Font-Size="9pt" 
        Width="50" Runat="Server"/>
      <asp:Button CommandName="Cancel" Text="Cancel" Font-Size="9pt" 
        Width="50" Runat="Server"/>
    </td>
  </tr>
  ...

</asp:FormView>