UPGRADE: MCAD Skills to MCPD Web Developer by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework

Add and configure Web server controls.

• Add Web server controls to a Web Form.
• Configure the properties of Web server controls programmatically.
• Configure Web server control properties by using the Microsoft Visual Studio Property Editor.
• Specify whether events of a control cause a Web Form to post to the server.
• Configure a control to receive postback events.
• Access controls in Web Forms pages when working with naming containers and child controls.
• Create HTML server controls in the designer.
• Set HTML server control properties programmatically.
• Use HTML server controls to programmatically access HTML tags.
• Create HTML controls as elements in an HTML document.
• Use the AdRotator Web server control to manage banners and pop-up windows.
• Use the Button Web server control to send a command to the server when a button is clicked.
• Display a calendar on a Web page by using the Calendar Web server control.
• Implement the CheckBox Web server control.
• Implement the FileUpload Web server control.
• Create and manipulate links on a Web Form by using the HyperLink Web server control.
• Display an image on a Web Form by using the Image Web server control.
• Implement a button on a Web Form by using the ImageButton Web server control.
• Define hotspot regions within an image by using the ImageMap Web server control.
• Use the Label Web server control to display customized text on a Web page.
• Display a hyperlink style button on a Web Form by using the LinkButton Web server control.
• Display lists of information by using controls that derive from the ListControl class.
• Create a Web Form with static text by using the Literal Web server control.
• Implement pagination for controls on a page by using the Pager Web server control.
• Use the Panel Web server control to arrange controls in groups on a page.
• Create a container for a group of View controls by using the MultiView Web server control.
• Use the View Web server control to create a Web application.
• Create a mutually exclusive set of choices by using the RadioButton Web server control.
• Construct a table by using the Table, TableRow, and TableCell Web server controls.
• Enable users to type information into a Web Form by using the TextBox Web server control.
• Create a wizard by using the Wizard Web server control to collect data through multiple steps of a process.
• Use the XML Web server control to create XML data at the location of the control.
• Customize the appearance of Web server controls by using Web control templates.
• Programmatically edit settings in a Web site's configuration file.
• Dynamically add Web server controls to a Web Forms page.

The first three bullets shouldn't be problematic.  The next two are about setting the AutoPostback property of web controls. 

To access controls within a naming container, use the FindControl method.  Remember that FindControl only finds controls within its own Naming Container.

"Create HTML server controls in the designer." and "Set HTML server control properties programmatically" shouldn't present new challenges.

To create HTML controls as elements in the HTML document, you can add the RunAt=Server attribute to existing HTML elements, or you can add elements at runtime by creating an HtmlGenericControl and adding it to the controls collection.

The AdRotator component hasn't changed much.  It is now bindable to a database.  As I recall, you used to have to create an XML file for it to use.  Doug Seven has a article on the AdRotator component (based on an older version of the framework)

The Button control has a few minor changes.  It has an OnClientClick property.  You put in javascript code that will execute when the user clicks the button.  There is also a UseSubmitBehavior, which if set, turns the button into an HTML submit button.  In addition, there is a PostBackUrl property which states which page should be loaded when a button causes a postback.  Dino Esposito has a writeup on some of the complications in using this property.  Buttons also govern a new feature called ValidationGroups implemented using the ValidationGroup property.  Peter Blum has a writeup explaining the new feature.

Mike Pope found what was new with the Calendar control (And most others as well).

No changes on the CheckBox control except it can be a part of a ValidationGroup. 

The FileUpload control is new, but it is functionally identical to the HtmlInputFile control.  Anand Narayanaswany has a quick tutorial on using the control.

The Hyperlink control hasn't changed.

The image control also hasn't changed significantly except the property that Mike points out, GenerateEmptyAlternativeText.

The ImageButton has the same changes as the button control.

ImageMap control is brand new.  You define hotspots over a image in different shapes (Circle, Rectange, Polygon).  With each hotspot, you specify a PostBackValue.  That is the value that is sent back to the page if you said that postbacks should occur.  The other option is to have it navigate to a specific URL when the hotspot is clicked.

The label control hasn't changed much.  Support for skinning is about it.

LinkButton also has the same new properties as the button control.

There are four controls that derive from ListControl: CheckBoxList, DropDownList, ListBox, and RadioButtonList.  They all support the new data binding model.  There is a property call AppendDataBoundItems that allows you to add bound items below items that you've added manually.  That seems to be about it.

The Literal control has a mode property, allowing you to state how to treat the literal: Encode (The contents are HTML-Encoded), PassThrough (The contents are not touched), or Transform (Remove unsupported elements for WML or cHTML renderings)

The Pager control was dropped from the final release.

The Panel control has some improvements.  There is a ScrollBars property that allows you to specify whether or not content is scrolled within the panel.  There is a DefaultButton property that specifies which button is depressed when <Enter> is pressed within the panel.  There is a GroupingText property which is displayed as a title in the panel.

The MultiView control is a nice new control.  It's purpose is control a collection of View controls, of which only one can be visible at a time.  Jason N. Gaylord has a tutorial on ASP Alliance.

Remember that Views can only be used within a MultiView control.

The Radiobutton control hasn't changed.  Join a Radiobutton to a group using the GroupName property.  It supports validation groups.

The Table, TableRow, and TableCell controls don't appear to have changed.

The Textbox has support for Autocomplete, that appears to be all I see as changed.

The wizard is a templated control that allows you to create a wizard without having to worry about the plumbing of the previous/next/finished buttons.  Dino Esposito has a writeup at MSDN on the control.

The XML Control hasn't changed.  It's used to bring XML back to the client which can then be transformed into presentable data.

Web control templates?  Maybe they mean skinning.  Thiru Thangarathinam has a writeup at 15seconds.com about skinning.  To me it seems they took CSS to the next level.

You would modify the web.config file using the ASP.NET Configuration API.  Note that the account must have write access to successfully update the config.

To programmatically add controls to a webpage, just create a new object, add it to the page's controls collection.  Scott Mitchell has a quick overview of how to do this.

Next up->Web Application Settings