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.NET Framework Class Library
Substitution Class

Specifies a section on an output-cached Web page that is exempt from caching. At this location, dynamic content is retrieved and substituted for the Substitution control.

Inheritance Hierarchy
SystemObject
   System.Web.UIControl
    System.Web.UI.WebControlsSubstitution

Namespace:   System.Web.UI.WebControls
Assembly:  System.Web (in System.Web.dll)
Syntax
Public Class Substitution _
	Inherits [%$TOPIC/9ze89as6_en-us_VS_110_2_0_0_0_0%]
public class Substitution : [%$TOPIC/9ze89as6_en-us_VS_110_2_0_1_0_0%]
public ref class Substitution : public [%$TOPIC/9ze89as6_en-us_VS_110_2_0_2_0_0%]
type Substitution =  
    class 
        inherit [%$TOPIC/9ze89as6_en-us_VS_110_2_0_3_0_0%] 
    end
<asp:Substitution />

The Substitution type exposes the following members.

Constructors
  NameDescription
Public method SubstitutionInitializes a new instance of the Substitution class.
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Properties
  NameDescription
Protected property AdapterGets the browser-specific adapter for the control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property AppRelativeTemplateSourceDirectoryGets or sets the application-relative virtual directory of the Page or UserControl object that contains this control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property BindingContainerInfrastructure. Gets the control that contains this control's data binding. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property ChildControlsCreatedGets a value that indicates whether the server control's child controls have been created. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ClientIDGets the control ID for HTML markup that is generated by ASP.NET. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ClientIDModeGets or sets the algorithm that is used to generate the value of the ClientID property. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property ClientIDSeparatorGets a character value representing the separator character used in the ClientID property. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property ContextGets the HttpContext object associated with the server control for the current Web request. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ControlsGets a ControlCollection object that represents the child controls for a specified server control in the UI hierarchy. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property DataItemContainerGets a reference to the naming container if the naming container implements IDataItemContainer. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property DataKeysContainerGets a reference to the naming container if the naming container implements IDataKeysControl. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property DesignModeGets a value indicating whether a control is being used on a design surface. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property EnableThemingGets or sets a value indicating whether themes apply to this control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property EnableViewStateGets or sets a value indicating whether the server control persists its view state, and the view state of any child controls it contains, to the requesting client. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property EventsGets a list of event handler delegates for the control. This property is read-only. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property HasChildViewStateGets a value indicating whether the current server control's child controls have any saved view-state settings. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property IDGets or sets the programmatic identifier assigned to the server control. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property IdSeparatorInfrastructure. Gets the character used to separate control identifiers. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property IsChildControlStateClearedGets a value indicating whether controls contained within this control have control state. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property IsTrackingViewStateGets a value that indicates whether the server control is saving changes to its view state. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property IsViewStateEnabledGets a value indicating whether view state is enabled for this control. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property LoadViewStateByIDGets a value indicating whether the control participates in loading its view state by ID instead of index. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property MethodNameGets or sets the name of the callback method to invoke when the Substitution control executes.
Public property NamingContainerGets a reference to the server control's naming container, which creates a unique namespace for differentiating between server controls with the same ControlID property value. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property PageGets a reference to the Page instance that contains the server control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ParentGets a reference to the server control's parent control in the page control hierarchy. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property RenderingCompatibilityGets a value that specifies the ASP.NET version that rendered HTML will be compatible with. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property SiteGets information about the container that hosts the current control when rendered on a design surface. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property SkinIDGets or sets the skin to apply to the control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property TemplateControlGets or sets a reference to the template that contains this control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property TemplateSourceDirectoryGets the virtual directory of the Page or UserControl that contains the current server control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property UniqueIDGets the unique, hierarchically qualified identifier for the server control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ValidateRequestModeGets or sets a value that indicates whether the control checks client input from the browser for potentially dangerous values. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property ViewStateGets a dictionary of state information that allows you to save and restore the view state of a server control across multiple requests for the same page. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected property ViewStateIgnoresCaseGets a value that indicates whether the StateBag object is case-insensitive. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property ViewStateModeGets or sets the view-state mode of this control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property VisibleGets or sets a value that indicates whether a server control is rendered as UI on the page. (Inherited from Control.)
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Methods
  NameDescription
Protected method AddedControlCalled after a child control is added to the Controls collection of the Control object. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method AddParsedSubObjectNotifies the server control that an element, either XML or HTML, was parsed, and adds the element to the server control's ControlCollection object. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method ApplyStyleSheetSkinApplies the style properties defined in the page style sheet to the control. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method BeginRenderTracingBegins design-time tracing of rendering data. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method BuildProfileTreeInfrastructure. Gathers information about the server control and delivers it to the Trace property to be displayed when tracing is enabled for the page. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ClearCachedClientIDInfrastructure. Sets the cached ClientID value to . (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ClearChildControlStateDeletes the control-state information for the server control's child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ClearChildStateDeletes the view-state and control-state information for all the server control's child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ClearChildViewStateDeletes the view-state information for all the server control's child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ClearEffectiveClientIDModeInfrastructure. Sets the ClientIDMode property of the current control instance and of any child controls to Inherit. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method CreateChildControlsCalled by the ASP.NET page framework to notify server controls that use composition-based implementation to create any child controls they contain in preparation for posting back or rendering. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method CreateControlCollectionReturns an EmptyControlCollection object, indicating that the Substitution control does not support child controls. (Overrides ControlCreateControlCollection.)
Public method DataBindBinds a data source to the invoked server control and all its child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method DataBind(Boolean)Binds a data source to the invoked server control and all its child controls with an option to raise the DataBinding event. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method DataBindChildrenBinds a data source to the server control's child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method DisposeEnables a server control to perform final clean up before it is released from memory. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method EndRenderTracingEnds design-time tracing of rendering data. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method EnsureChildControlsDetermines whether the server control contains child controls. If it does not, it creates child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method EnsureIDCreates an identifier for controls that do not have an identifier assigned. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method Equals(Object)Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method FinalizeAllows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method FindControl(String)Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id parameter. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method FindControl(String, Int32)Infrastructure. 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. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method FocusSets input focus to a control. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method GetDesignModeStateInfrastructure. Gets design-time data for a control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method GetHashCodeServes as a hash function for a particular type. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method GetRouteUrl(Object)Gets the URL that corresponds to a set of route parameters. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method GetRouteUrl(RouteValueDictionary)Gets the URL that corresponds to a set of route parameters. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method GetRouteUrl(String, Object)Gets the URL that corresponds to a set of route parameters and a route name. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method GetRouteUrl(String, RouteValueDictionary)Gets the URL that corresponds to a set of route parameters and a route name. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method GetTypeGets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method GetUniqueIDRelativeToReturns the prefixed portion of the UniqueID property of the specified control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method HasControlsDetermines if the server control contains any child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method HasEventsReturns a value indicating whether events are registered for the control or any child controls. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method IsLiteralContentInfrastructure. Determines if the server control holds only literal content. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method LoadControlStateRestores control-state information from a previous page request that was saved by the SaveControlState method. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method LoadViewStateRestores view-state information from a previous page request that was saved by the SaveViewState method. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method MapPathSecureRetrieves the physical path that a virtual path, either absolute or relative, maps to. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method MemberwiseCloneCreates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method OnBubbleEventDetermines whether the event for the server control is passed up the page's UI server control hierarchy. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method OnDataBindingRaises the DataBinding event. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method OnInitRaises the Init event. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method OnLoadRaises the Load event. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method OnPreRenderRaises the PreRender event. (Overrides ControlOnPreRender(EventArgs).)
Protected method OnUnloadRaises the Unload event. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method OpenFileGets a Stream used to read a file. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method RaiseBubbleEventAssigns any sources of the event and its information to the control's parent. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method RemovedControlCalled after a child control is removed from the Controls collection of the Control object. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method RenderSends server control content to a provided HtmlTextWriter object, which writes the content to be rendered on the client. (Overrides ControlRender(HtmlTextWriter).)
Protected method RenderChildrenOutputs the content of a server control's children to a provided HtmlTextWriter object, which writes the content to be rendered on the client. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method RenderControl(HtmlTextWriter)Outputs server control content to a provided HtmlTextWriter object and stores tracing information about the control if tracing is enabled. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method RenderControl(HtmlTextWriter, ControlAdapter)Outputs server control content to a provided HtmlTextWriter object using a provided ControlAdapter object. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method ResolveAdapterGets the control adapter responsible for rendering the specified control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method ResolveClientUrlGets a URL that can be used by the browser. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method ResolveUrlConverts a URL into one that is usable on the requesting client. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method SaveControlStateSaves any server control state changes that have occurred since the time the page was posted back to the server. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method SaveViewStateSaves any server control view-state changes that have occurred since the time the page was posted back to the server. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method SetDesignModeStateSets design-time data for a control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method SetRenderMethodDelegateInfrastructure. Assigns an event handler delegate to render the server control and its content into its parent control. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method SetTraceData(Object, Object)Sets trace data for design-time tracing of rendering data, using the trace data key and the trace data value. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method SetTraceData(Object, Object, Object)Sets trace data for design-time tracing of rendering data, using the traced object, the trace data key, and the trace data value. (Inherited from Control.)
Public method ToStringReturns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method TrackViewStateCauses tracking of view-state changes to the server control so they can be stored in the server control's StateBag object. This object is accessible through the ControlViewState property. (Inherited from Control.)
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Events
  NameDescription
Public event DataBindingOccurs when the server control binds to a data source. (Inherited from Control.)
Public event DisposedOccurs when a server control is released from memory, which is the last stage of the server control lifecycle when an ASP.NET page is requested. (Inherited from Control.)
Public event InitOccurs when the server control is initialized, which is the first step in its lifecycle. (Inherited from Control.)
Public event LoadOccurs when the server control is loaded into the Page object. (Inherited from Control.)
Public event PreRenderOccurs after the Control object is loaded but prior to rendering. (Inherited from Control.)
Public event UnloadOccurs when the server control is unloaded from memory. (Inherited from Control.)
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Extension Methods
  NameDescription
Public Extension Method FindDataSourceControlReturns the data source that is associated with the data control for the specified control. (Defined by DynamicDataExtensions.)
Public Extension Method FindFieldTemplateReturns the field template for the specified column in the specified control's naming container. (Defined by DynamicDataExtensions.)
Public Extension Method FindMetaTableReturns the metatable object for the containing data control. (Defined by DynamicDataExtensions.)
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Explicit Interface Implementations
  NameDescription
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IControlBuilderAccessorControlBuilderFor a description of this member, see IControlBuilderAccessorControlBuilder. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method IControlDesignerAccessorGetDesignModeStateFor a description of this member, see IControlDesignerAccessorGetDesignModeState. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method IControlDesignerAccessorSetDesignModeStateFor a description of this member, see IControlDesignerAccessorSetDesignModeState. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method IControlDesignerAccessorSetOwnerControlInfrastructure. For a description of this member, see IControlDesignerAccessorSetOwnerControl. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IControlDesignerAccessorUserDataFor a description of this member, see IControlDesignerAccessorUserData. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IDataBindingsAccessorDataBindingsFor a description of this member, see IDataBindingsAccessorDataBindings. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IDataBindingsAccessorHasDataBindingsFor a description of this member, see IDataBindingsAccessorHasDataBindings. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IExpressionsAccessorExpressionsFor a description of this member, see IExpressionsAccessorExpressions. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property IExpressionsAccessorHasExpressionsFor a description of this member, see IExpressionsAccessorHasExpressions. (Inherited from Control.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method IParserAccessorAddParsedSubObjectFor a description of this member, see IParserAccessorAddParsedSubObject. (Inherited from Control.)
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Remarks

In this topic:

  • Introduction

  • Declarative Syntax

Introduction

Use the Substitution control to specify a section on an output-cached Web page where you want dynamic content substituted for the control. The Substitution control offers a simplified solution to partial page caching for pages where the majority of the content is cached. You can output-cache the entire page, and then use Substitution controls to specify the parts of the page that are exempt from caching. Cached regions execute only once and are replayed from the cache until the cache entry expires or is purged. Dynamic regions execute each time the page is requested. This caching model simplifies the code for pages that are primarily static, because you do not have to encapsulate the sections to cache in Web user controls. For example, this caching model is useful in a scenario where you have a page that contains static content, such as news stories, and an AdRotator control that displays advertisements. The news stories do not change, which means that they can be cached. However, each time a user requests the page, you want to display a new advertisement. The AdRotator control directly supports post-cache substitution and renders a new advertisement each time the page posts back, regardless of whether the page is cached.

NoteNote

You can place a Substitution control in a user control that is contained in a cached page. However, you cannot place a Substitution control in an output-cached user control.

When the Substitution control executes, it calls a method that returns a string. The string that the method returns is the content to display on the page at the location of the Substitution control. Use the MethodName property to specify the name of the callback method to invoke when the Substitution control executes. The callback method that you specify must be a static method on the page or user control that contains the Substitution control. The signature for the callback method must match the signature for an HttpResponseSubstitutionCallback delegate that takes an HttpContext parameter and returns a string.

To manipulate the output cache for a page, you can use the @ OutputCache directive, the HttpCachePolicy class, or the Cache property. For more information on caching pages, see Caching ASP.NET Pages and Caching Portions of an ASP.NET Page.

As an alternative to using the Substitution control, you can also get substitution caching behavior using a HttpResponseSubstitutionCallback delegate. In addition, you can get substitution caching behavior on controls, such as the AdRotator control, that directly support this feature. For more information, see Dynamically Updating Portions of a Cached Page.

Declarative Syntax

<asp:Substitution
    EnableTheming="True|False"
    EnableViewState="True|False"
    ID="string"
    MethodName="string"
    OnDataBinding="DataBinding event handler"
    OnDisposed="Disposed event handler"
    OnInit="Init event handler"
    OnLoad="Load event handler"
    OnPreRender="PreRender event handler"
    OnUnload="Unload event handler"
    runat="server"
    SkinID="string"
    Visible="True|False"
/>
Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to add a Substitution control declaratively to an output-cached Web page. When the page loads, the current date and time are displayed to the user in a label. This section of the page is cached and updated only every 60 seconds. When the Substitution control executes, it calls the GetCurrentDateTime method. The string returned by GetCurrentDateTime is displayed to the user. This section of the page is not cached and is updated each time the page is refreshed.

<%@ outputcache duration="60" varybyparam="none" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server" language="VB">  

  Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    ' Display the current date and time in the label.
    ' Output caching applies to this section of the page.
    CachedDateLabel.Text = DateTime.Now.ToString()
  End Sub

  ' The Substitution control calls this method to retrieve
  ' the current date and time. This section of the page
  ' is exempt from output caching. 
  Shared Function GetCurrentDateTime(ByVal context As HttpContext) As String
    Return DateTime.Now.ToString()
  End Function

</script>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
  <title>Substitution Class Example</title>
</head>
<body>
  <form id="Form1" runat="server">

    <h3>Substitution Class Example</h3>  

    <p>This section of the page is not cached:</p>

    <asp:substitution id="Substitution1"
      methodname="GetCurrentDateTime"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:substitution>

    <br />

    <p>This section of the page is cached:</p>

    <asp:label id="CachedDateLabel"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:label>

    <br /><br />

    <asp:button id="RefreshButton"
      text="Refresh Page"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:button>     

  </form>
</body>
</html>
<%@ outputcache duration="60" varybyparam="none" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server" language="C#">  

  void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
  {
    // Display the current date and time in the label.
    // Output caching applies to this section of the page.
    CachedDateLabel.Text = DateTime.Now.ToString();    
  }

  // The Substitution control calls this method to retrieve
  // the current date and time. This section of the page
  // is exempt from output caching. 
  public static string GetCurrentDateTime (HttpContext context)
  {
    return DateTime.Now.ToString ();
  }

</script>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head runat="server">
  <title>Substitution Class Example</title>
</head>
<body>
  <form id="form1" runat="server">

    <h3>Substitution Class Example</h3>  

    <p>This section of the page is not cached:</p>

    <asp:substitution id="Substitution1"
      methodname="GetCurrentDateTime"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:substitution>

    <br />

    <p>This section of the page is cached:</p>

    <asp:label id="CachedDateLabel"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:label>

    <br /><br />

    <asp:button id="RefreshButton"
      text="Refresh Page"
      runat="Server">
    </asp:button>     

  </form>
</body>
</html>
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
Platforms

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Thread Safety
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.