asp.net ListView Sorting using DataBind

Question

Sort listview using column headings in the LayoutTemplate

I am able to sort a basic list view using asp:SqlDataSource and setting the list view property DataSourceID by pointing it to the asp:SqlDataSource ID. I am having an issue when sorting when not using the asp:SqlDataSource and just DataBinding from the code behind.

SqlDataSource Example:

<asp:ListView ID="ContactsListView" DataSourceID="ContactsDataSource" runat="server">
    <LayoutTemplate>
        <table width="640px" runat="server">
            <tr class="header" align="center" runat="server">
                <td>
                    <asp:LinkButton runat="server" ID="SortByFirstNameButton" CommandName="Sort" Text="First Name" CommandArgument="FirstName" />
    </LayoutTemplate>
    ....
</asp:ListView>

<asp:SqlDataSource ID="ContactsDataSource" runat="server" 
    ConnectionString="<%$ ConnectionStrings:MainConnString %>"
    SelectCommand="SELECT * FROM TableName">
</asp:SqlDataSource>

DataBind Example:

<asp:ListView ID="ContactsListView" DataSourceID="ContactsDataSource" runat="server">
    <LayoutTemplate>
        <table width="640px" runat="server">
            <tr class="header" align="center" runat="server">
                <td>
                    <asp:LinkButton runat="server" ID="SortByFirstNameButton" CommandName="Sort" Text="First Name" CommandArgument="FirstName" />
    </LayoutTemplate>
    ....
</asp:ListView>

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    String SQL = "SELECT * FROM Customer";
    SqlDataAdapter da= new SqlDataAdapter(SQL, ConnStr);
    DataSet ds = new DataSet();
    da.Fill(ds);

    ContactsListView.DataSource = ds.Tables[0];
    ContactsListView.DataBind();
}

Both code samples populate the list view, but the second example data binding does not work for sorting. With the first example, the sorting just works with the added asp:LinkButton in the LayoutTemplate adding the CommandName="sort" and setting the CommandArugment="ColumnName", but it does not work with the second example.

Can anyone please explain why and how to get the sorting working using the code behind DataBind method?

Thanks!

There's nothing in your code that handles sorting - what did you try that caused a problem? You could add an ORDER BY clause to the SQL query, or perhaps add some code-behind to sort it on data binding - it depends what you want to achieve; let us know. — Widor
Both examples populate the listview, but with the first example, I do not have to add any additional code to get the sorting to work, when clicking on the column headings. — PsychoDUCK
I figured out my solution, and will post it later tonight. My reputation won't allow me to post it until 8 hours after. Basically as the below answers suggest, I had to create my own OnSort event handler, to re-query the database into a DataTable, sort the DataTable then bind it back to the ListView. If there is a way to resort without having to make another call to the database, please let me know. — PsychoDUCK

PsychoDUCK PsychoDUCK · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-02T01:24:59

I solved my issue.

I added an event to handle the sorting. The event grabs the command name (Data column) and passes it and the sorting direction into a function which will make another call to the database sort the returned results and rebind to the List View.

I had to create a view state to hold the List View Sort Direction because for some reason, the onsorting event handler kept saying that the sort direction was ascending.

Front End

<asp:ListView ID="ContactsListView" OnSorting="ContactsListView_Sorting" runat="server">
    <LayoutTemplate>
        <table width="640px" runat="server">
            <tr class="header" align="center" runat="server">
                <td>
                    <asp:LinkButton runat="server" ID="SortByFirstNameButton" CommandName="Sort" Text="First Name" CommandArgument="FirstName" />
    </LayoutTemplate>
    ....
</asp:ListView>

Back End

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!Page.IsPostBack)
    {
        BindContacts(string.Empty);
    }
}

protected SortDirection ListViewSortDirection
{
    get
    {
        if (ViewState["sortDirection"] == null)
            ViewState["sortDirection"] = SortDirection.Ascending;
        return (SortDirection)ViewState["sortDirection"];
    }
    set { ViewState["sortDirection"] = value; }
}

protected void ContactsListView_Sorting(Object sender, ListViewSortEventArgs e)
{
    BindContacts(e.SortExpression + " " + ListViewSortDirection.ToString());

    // Check the sort direction to set the image URL accordingly.
    string imgUrl;
    if (ListViewSortDirection == SortDirection.Ascending)
        ListViewSortDirection = SortDirection.Descending;
    else
        ListViewSortDirection = SortDirection.Ascending;
}

private void BindContacts(string sortExpression)
{
    sortExpression = sortExpression.Replace("Ascending", "ASC");
    sortExpression = sortExpression.Replace("Descending", "DESC");
    using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(_connStr))
    {
        conn.Open();
        using (SqlDataAdapter dAd = new SqlDataAdapter("SELECT * FROM Customer", conn))
        {
            DataTable dTable = new DataTable();
            dAd.Fill(dTable);
            // Sort now
            dTable.DefaultView.Sort = sortExpression;
            // Bind data now
            ContactsListView.DataSource = dTable;
            ContactsListView.DataBind();
        }
        conn.Close();
    }
}

asp.net ListView Sorting using DataBind

3 Answers