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.NET Framework Class Library
WebControl Class

Serves as the base class that defines the methods, properties and events common to all controls in the System.Web.UI.WebControls namespace.

Inheritance Hierarchy
SystemObject
   System.Web.UIControl
    System.Web.UI.WebControlsWebControl
      More...

Namespace:   System.Web.UI.WebControls
Assembly:  System.Web (in System.Web.dll)
Syntax
<[%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_0_0_0%](True)> _
Public Class WebControl _
	Inherits [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_0_0_1%] _
	Implements [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_0_0_2%]
[[%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_1_0_0%](true)]
public class WebControl : [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_1_0_1%], [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_1_0_2%]
[[%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_2_0_0%](true)]
public ref class WebControl : public [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_2_0_1%], 
	[%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_2_0_2%]
[<[%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_3_0_0%](true)>]
type WebControl =  
    class 
        inherit [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_3_0_1%] 
        interface [%$TOPIC/k1x24e42_en-us_VS_110_3_0_3_0_2%] 
    end
<asp:WebControl />

The WebControl type exposes the following members.

Constructors
  NameDescription
Protected method WebControlInitializes a new instance of the WebControl class that represents a Span HTML tag.
Public method WebControl(HtmlTextWriterTag)Initializes a new instance of the WebControl class using the specified HTML tag.
Protected method WebControl(String)Initializes a new instance of the WebControl class using the specified HTML tag.
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Properties
  NameDescription
Public property AccessKeyGets or sets the access key that allows you to quickly navigate to the Web server control.
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 AttributesGets the collection of arbitrary attributes (for rendering only) that do not correspond to properties on the control.
Public property BackColorGets or sets the background color of the Web server control.
Public property BindingContainerInfrastructure. Gets the control that contains this control's data binding. (Inherited from Control.)
Public property BorderColorGets or sets the border color of the Web control.
Public property BorderStyleGets or sets the border style of the Web server control.
Public property BorderWidthGets or sets the border width of the Web server 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 ControlStyleGets the style of the Web server control. This property is used primarily by control developers.
Public property ControlStyleCreatedGets a value indicating whether a Style object has been created for the ControlStyle property. This property is primarily used by control developers.
Public property CssClassGets or sets the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) class rendered by the Web server control on the client.
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 Static member DisabledCssClassGets or sets the CSS class to apply to the rendered HTML element when the control is disabled.
Public property EnabledGets or sets a value indicating whether the Web server control is enabled.
Public property EnableThemingGets or sets a value indicating whether themes apply to this control. (Overrides ControlEnableTheming.)
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.)
Public property FontGets the font properties associated with the Web server control.
Public property ForeColorGets or sets the foreground color (typically the color of the text) of the Web server control.
Public property HasAttributesGets a value indicating whether the control has attributes set.
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 HeightGets or sets the height of the Web server 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 IsEnabledGets a value indicating whether the control is enabled.
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 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. (Overrides ControlSkinID.)
Public property StyleGets a collection of text attributes that will be rendered as a style attribute on the outer tag of the Web server control.
Public property SupportsDisabledAttributeGets a value that indicates whether the control should set the disabled attribute of the rendered HTML element to "disabled" when the control's IsEnabled property is false.
Public property TabIndexGets or sets the tab index of the Web server control.
Protected property TagKeyGets the HtmlTextWriterTag value that corresponds to this Web server control. This property is used primarily by control developers.
Protected property TagNameGets the name of the control tag. This property is used primarily by control developers.
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 ToolTipGets or sets the text displayed when the mouse pointer hovers over the Web server 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.)
Public property WidthGets or sets the width of the Web server control.
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Methods
  NameDescription
Protected method AddAttributesToRenderAdds HTML attributes and styles that need to be rendered to the specified HtmlTextWriterTag. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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 ApplyStyleCopies any nonblank elements of the specified style to the Web control, overwriting any existing style elements of the control. This method is primarily used by control developers.
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.)
Public method CopyBaseAttributesCopies the properties not encapsulated by the Style object from the specified Web server control to the Web server control that this method is called from. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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 CreateControlCollectionCreates a new ControlCollection object to hold the child controls (both literal and server) of the server control. (Inherited from Control.)
Protected method CreateControlStyleCreates the style object that is used internally by the WebControl class to implement all style related properties. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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 request that was saved with the SaveViewState method. (Overrides ControlLoadViewState(Object).)
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.)
Public method MergeStyleCopies any nonblank elements of the specified style to the Web control, but will not overwrite any existing style elements of the control. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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. (Inherited from Control.)
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 RenderRenders the control to the specified HTML writer. (Overrides ControlRender(HtmlTextWriter).)
Public method RenderBeginTagRenders the HTML opening tag of the control to the specified writer. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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.)
Protected method RenderContentsRenders the contents of the control to the specified writer. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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.)
Public method RenderEndTagRenders the HTML closing tag of the control into the specified writer. This method is used primarily by control developers.
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 state that was modified after the TrackViewState method was invoked. (Overrides ControlSaveViewState.)
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 the control to track changes to its view state so they can be stored in the object's ViewState property. (Overrides ControlTrackViewState.)
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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 method IAttributeAccessorGetAttributeInfrastructure. Gets an attribute of the Web control with the specified name.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method IAttributeAccessorSetAttributeSets an attribute of the Web control to the specified name and value.
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

The WebControl class provides the properties, methods, and events that are common to all Web server controls. You can control the appearance and behavior of a Web server control by setting properties defined in this class. For example, the background color and font color of a control are controlled by using the BackColor and ForeColor properties, respectively. On controls that can display a border, you can control the border width, the border style, and the border color by setting the BorderWidth, BorderStyle, and BorderColor properties. The size of a Web server control can be specified by using the Height and Width properties.

The behavior of the control can be specified by setting certain properties. You can enable and disable a control by setting the Enabled property. The place of the control in the tab order is controlled by setting the TabIndex property. You can specify a ToolTip for the control by setting the ToolTip property.

NoteNote

Not all controls support every property defined in this class. For specific information about whether a property is supported, see the documentation for the specific control.

NoteNote

Some properties in this class render differently, depending on the browser. Some properties do not render at all, while others render, but have no effect. The TagWriter property of the HttpBrowserCapabilities object determines the way in which a Web server control renders. For browsers that support HTML 4.0, the TagWriter property will contain a regular HttpBrowserCapabilities object, and most properties will be rendered using HTML 4.0 style attributes. Browsers that are not known to support HTML 4.0 will use the Html32TextWriter object. This will automatically map the style attributes to any relevant HTML 3.2 tag attributes. In some cases, such as with the ForeColor property, the style attributes will be converted into additional tags, such as <font> tags. In some cases, there will be no mapping performed. For specific information about how a property is rendered in different browsers, see the documentation for the specific property.

For a list of initial property values for an instance of WebControl, see the WebControl constructor.

Examples
Imports System
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls

Namespace ControlTest

   ' Renders the following HTML:  
   ' <span onclick="alert('Hello');" style="color:Red;">Custom Contents</span> 
   Public Class MyWebControl
      Inherits WebControl


      Public Sub New()
         MyBase.New(HtmlTextWriterTag.Span)
      End Sub 'New      

      <System.Security.Permissions.PermissionSetAttribute(System.Security.Permissions.SecurityAction.Demand, Name:="FullTrust")> _
      Protected Overrides Sub AddAttributesToRender(writer As HtmlTextWriter)

         writer.AddAttribute(HtmlTextWriterAttribute.Onclick, "alert('Hello');")
         writer.AddStyleAttribute(HtmlTextWriterStyle.Color, "Red")
         MyBase.AddAttributesToRender(writer)

      End Sub 'AddAttributesToRender       

      <System.Security.Permissions.PermissionSetAttribute(System.Security.Permissions.SecurityAction.Demand, Name:="FullTrust")> _
      Protected Overrides Sub RenderContents(writer As HtmlTextWriter)
         writer.Write("Custom Contents")
         MyBase.RenderContents(writer)
      End Sub 'RenderContents

   End Class 'MyWebControl

End Namespace 'ControlTest
namespace ControlTest 
{
   using System;
   using System.Web.UI;
   using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

   // Renders the following HTML:  
   // <span onclick="alert('Hello');" style="color:Red;">Custom Contents</span>

   public class MyWebControl: WebControl {

      public MyWebControl() : base(HtmlTextWriterTag.Span) 
      { }

      [System.Security.Permissions.PermissionSet(System.Security.Permissions.SecurityAction.Demand, Name="FullTrust")] 
      protected override void AddAttributesToRender(HtmlTextWriter writer) 
      {

         writer.AddAttribute(HtmlTextWriterAttribute.Onclick, "alert('Hello');");
         writer.AddStyleAttribute(HtmlTextWriterStyle.Color, "Red");
         base.AddAttributesToRender(writer);

      }

      [System.Security.Permissions.PermissionSet(System.Security.Permissions.SecurityAction.Demand, Name="FullTrust")] 
      protected override void RenderContents(HtmlTextWriter writer) 
      {
         writer.Write("Custom Contents");
         base.RenderContents(writer);
      }
   }
}
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
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.