Access JavaScript variables on PostBack using ASP.NET Code
In this article, we will see how to pass javascript values on postback and then access these values in your server side code. This article will primarily showcase two techniques of doing so. One using Hidden variables and the other using the __doPostBack() javascript method.
Using Hidden Variables – This method is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is declare a hidden field (inpHide) in your web page and then set the value of the hidden field in your JavaScript function as shown below.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title>Pass Javascript Variables to Server</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
function SetHiddenVariable()
{
var jsVar = "dotnetcurry.com";
// Set the value of the hidden variable to
// the value of the javascript variable
var hiddenControl = '<%= inpHide.ClientID %>';
document.getElementById(hiddenControl).value=jsVar;
}
</script>
</head>
<body onload="SetHiddenVariable()">
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<input id="inpHide" type="hidden" runat="server" />
<asp:TextBox ID="txtJSValue" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
<asp:Button ID="btnJSValue" Text="Click to retreive Javascript Variable" runat="server" onclick="btnJSValue_Click"/>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Then access the value of this field in the code behind on a Button click as shown below:
C#
protected void btnJSValue_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
txtJSValue.Text = inpHide.Value;
}
VB.NET
Protected Sub btnJSValue_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
txtJSValue.Text = inpHide.Value
End Sub
Note: Observe that the <body> tag has an onload attribute using which the javascript function is being called.
<body onload="SetHiddenVariable()">
Using __doPostBack() – All but two ASP.NET web controls (Button & ImageButton) use the __doPostBack javascript function to cause a postback. Are you interested in knowing how the __doPostBack function looks like? Here’s a small test you can try. Just create a sample page and drop a textbox server control with AutoPostBack = true. Run the page and observe the source code.
<div>
<input type="hidden" name="__EVENTTARGET" id="__EVENTTARGET" value="" />
<input type="hidden" name="__EVENTARGUMENT" id="__EVENTARGUMENT" value="" />
<input type="hidden" name="__LASTFOCUS" id="__LASTFOCUS" value="" />
<input type="hidden" name="__VIEWSTATE" id="__VIEWSTATE" value="/wEPDwUJMjgzMDgzOTgzZGSkxIAX/
qPBYbY7JLBDh+UeGWrOCg==" />
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var theForm = document.forms['form1'];
if (!theForm) {
theForm = document.form1;
}
function __doPostBack(eventTarget, eventArgument) {
if (!theForm.onsubmit || (theForm.onsubmit() != false)) {
theForm.__EVENTTARGET.value = eventTarget;
theForm.__EVENTARGUMENT.value = eventArgument;
theForm.submit();
}
}
//]]>
</script>
If you observe in the code above, ASP.NET automatically adds two hidden fields (“__EVENTTARGET” and “__EVENTARGUMENT”) and a client-side script method (“__doPostBack”) to the page. The EVENTTARGET is the ID of the control that caused the postback and the EVENTARGUMENT contains any arguments passed that can be accessed on the server. The __doPostBack method sets the values of the hidden fields and causes the form to be submitted to the server.
I hope this gives you a clear idea of how we can use the __doPostBack function to submit the value of a JavaScript variable to the server. All we have to do is call this JavaScript method explicitly and pass in the JavaScript variable value using the EVENTARGUMENT. Here’s an example:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title>Pass Javascript Variables to Server</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
function SetHiddenVariable()
{
var jsVar = "dotnetcurry.com";
__doPostBack('callPostBack', jsVar);
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:TextBox ID="txtJSValue" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>
<asp:Button ID="btnJSValue" Text="Click to retreive Javascript Variable"
runat="server"/>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
The code behind will look similar to the following:
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.ClientScript.GetPostBackEventReference(this, "arg");
if (IsPostBack)
{
string eventTarget = this.Request["__EVENTTARGET"];
string eventArgument = this.Request["__EVENTARGUMENT"];
if (eventTarget != String.Empty && eventTarget == "callPostBack")
{
if (eventArgument != String.Empty)
txtJSValue.Text = eventArgument;
}
}
else
{
btnJSValue.Attributes.Add("onClick", "SetHiddenVariable();");
}
}
VB.NET
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
Me.ClientScript.GetPostBackEventReference(Me, "arg")
If IsPostBack Then
Dim eventTarget As String = Me.Request("__EVENTTARGET")
Dim eventArgument As String = Me.Request("__EVENTARGUMENT")
If eventTarget <> String.Empty AndAlso eventTarget = "callPostBack" Then
If eventArgument <> String.Empty Then
txtJSValue.Text = eventArgument
End If
End If
Else
btnJSValue.Attributes.Add("onClick", "SetHiddenVariable();")
End If
End Sub
The GetPostBackEventReference() emits __doPostBack() and also provides a reference to the control that initiated the postback event. The first time the page is loaded, IsPostBack is false, so we enter the ‘Else’ loop where we register the JavaScript on the button click event, using the Attribute collection of the Button control. When the user clicks the button, the JavaScript method is now called which in turn explicitly calls the __doPostBack thereby passing the JavaScript variable (jsVar) as an EVENTARGUMENT. We then access this hidden variable EVENTARGUMENT using our server side code and set the value of the textbox.
Run the application and try it out!! There are a few more ways including AJAX calls using which you can pass JavaScript variables during postback and access them using server-side code. I will leave that technique to be explored in future articles. I hope this article was useful and I thank you for viewing it.
This article has been editorially reviewed by Suprotim Agarwal.
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Suprotim Agarwal, MCSD, MCAD, MCDBA, MCSE, is the founder of
DotNetCurry,
DNC Magazine for Developers,
SQLServerCurry and
DevCurry. He has also authored a couple of books
51 Recipes using jQuery with ASP.NET Controls and
The Absolutely Awesome jQuery CookBook.
Suprotim has received the prestigious Microsoft MVP award for Sixteen consecutive years. In a professional capacity, he is the CEO of A2Z Knowledge Visuals Pvt Ltd, a digital group that offers Digital Marketing and Branding services to businesses, both in a start-up and enterprise environment.
Get in touch with him on Twitter @suprotimagarwal or at LinkedIn