Use FindControl to access a control from a function in a code-behind page, to access a control that is inside another container, or in other circumstances where the target control is not directly accessible to the caller.

The following example defines a Button1_Click event handler. When invoked, this handler uses the FindControl method to locate a control with an ID property of TextBox2 on the containing page. If the control is found, its parent is determined using the Parent property and the parent control's ID is written to the page. If TextBox2 is not found, "Control Not Found" is written to the page.

Security Note:
This example has a text box that accepts user input, which is a potential security threat. By default, ASP.NET Web pages validate that user input does not include script or HTML elements. For more information, see Script Exploits Overview.

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, MyEventArgs As EventArgs)
' Find control on page.
Dim myControl1 As Control = FindControl("TextBox2")
If (Not myControl1 Is Nothing)
   ' Get control's parent.
   Dim myControl2 As Control = myControl1.Parent
   Response.Write("Parent of the text box is : " & myControl2.ID)
Else
   Response.Write("Control not found.....")
End If
End Sub

private void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs MyEventArgs)
{
      // Find control on page.
      Control myControl1 = FindControl("TextBox2");
      if(myControl1!=null)
      {
         // Get control's parent.
         Control myControl2 = myControl1.Parent;
         Response.Write("Parent of the text box is : " + myControl2.ID);
      }
      else
      {
         Response.Write("Control not found");
      }
}

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

.NET Framework

Reference