Add JavaScript programmatically using RegisterStartupScript during an Asynchronous postback
The ClientScriptManager class contains various methods to add client scripts to a webpage using server side code. For example: you may need to add javascript programmatically to the page on a button click before posting back the page. One of the methods you can use is the RegisterStartupScript() method of the ClientScriptManager class. However, this method does not work if the button control is wrapped inside an UpdatePanel. In this short article, we will explore how to add javascript programmatically using the ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript, while performing an asynchronous postback. I also aim to cover some common mistakes developers make while using the ScriptManager class to add client scripts programmatically.
We will study two scenarios in this article:
The first one, where we will use the ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript() to add script dynamically on a button click. We will add a label displaying the time, as well as change the color of the label to make sure the postback occurred.
In the second scenario, we will add the button and label control inside an UpdatePanel. We will try and use the same code, which will not work. We will then see how to add javascript programmatically during an async postback.
Scenario 1:
Create an ASP.NET project. Now add a Label(lblDisplayDate) and a Button(btnPostback) control to the page.
On the Button click, register the following script dynamically using the ClientScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript to change the color of the label controls to Red.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
lblDisplayDate.Text = System.DateTime.Now.ToString("T");
}
protected void btnPostback_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
System.Text.StringBuilder sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder();
sb.Append(@"<script language='javascript'>");
sb.Append(@"var lbl = document.getElementById('lblDisplayDate');");
sb.Append(@"lbl.style.color='red';");
sb.Append(@"</script>");
if (!ClientScript.IsStartupScriptRegistered("JSScript"))
{
ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "JSScript", sb.ToString());
}
}
VB.NET
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
lblDisplayDate.Text = System.DateTime.Now.ToString("T")
End Sub
Protected Sub btnPostback_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
Dim sb As System.Text.StringBuilder = New System.Text.StringBuilder()
sb.Append("<script language='javascript'>")
sb.Append("var lbl = document.getElementById('lblDisplayDate');")
sb.Append("lbl.style.color='red';")
sb.Append("</script>")
If (Not ClientScript.IsStartupScriptRegistered("JSScript")) Then
ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(Me.GetType(), "JSScript", sb.ToString())
End If
End Sub
When you run the application and click on the button, you will observe that the label is updated with a new time and the color of the label turns to red. This confirms that there was a postback, as well as the dynamically added JavaScript executed.
Scenario 2:
Now wrap the label and the button control inside an UpdatePanel as shown below:
<div>
<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server">
</asp:ScriptManager>
<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">
<ContentTemplate>
<asp:Label ID="lblDisplayDate" runat="server" Text="Label"></asp:Label>
<asp:Button ID="btnPostback" runat="server" onclick="btnPostback_Click"
Text="ClickMe" />
</ContentTemplate>
</asp:UpdatePanel>
</div>
When you now run the application and click on the button, you will observe that the label is updated with the new time (which means the postback occurred), however the color of the label does not turn to red. This is because when using an Update Panel, the JavaScript that is dynamically added to the page using ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript() does not execute.
Solution:
Use the ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript(). If you take a look at the methods of the ScriptManager class, you will observe that the methods to register client script to the page using the ClientScriptManager class, are also present in the ScriptManager class. So modify the code as shown below:
C#
protected void btnPostback_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
System.Text.StringBuilder sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder();
sb.Append(@"<script language='javascript'>");
sb.Append(@"var lbl = document.getElementById('lblDisplayDate');");
sb.Append(@"lbl.style.color='red';");
sb.Append(@"</script>");
ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript(btnPostback,this.GetType(), "JSCR", sb.ToString(),false);
}
VB.NET
Protected Sub btnPostback_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
Dim sb As System.Text.StringBuilder = New System.Text.StringBuilder()
sb.Append("<script language='javascript'>")
sb.Append("var lbl = document.getElementById('lblDisplayDate');")
sb.Append("lbl.style.color='red';")
sb.Append("</script>")
ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript(btnPostback,Me.GetType(), "JSCR", sb.ToString(),False)
End Sub
Note 1: Observe that the last parameter to RegisterStartupScript is set to 'false'. This prevents us from inserting the <script> tags automatically. Since we have already inserted the <script> tags while creating the script in the StringBuilder, we do not need to insert them now. Setting the last parameter to 'true' in such cases is a very common mistake developers do.
Note 2: Building up javascript using the StringBuilder as shown above is not advisable in large projects. Instead you should keep the javascript in a seperate .js file and refer the .js.
That’s it. Run the application and you will observe that that the label is updated with a new time and the color of the label turns to red, even while performing an asynchronous postback.
In this article, we explored how to use the ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript method to add client script to a page when the control is wrapped inside an UpdatePanel. We also covered some common mistakes people make while using the ScriptManager class to add client scripts programmatically. I hope this article was useful and I thank you for viewing it.
Was this article worth reading? Share it with fellow developers too. Thanks!
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 a new one recently at
The Absolutely Awesome jQuery CookBook.
Suprotim has received the prestigious Microsoft MVP award for nine times in a row now. In a professional capacity, he is the CEO of A2Z Knowledge Visuals Pvt Ltd, a digital group that represents premium web sites and digital publications comprising of Professional web, windows, mobile and cloud developers, technical managers, and architects.
Get in touch with him on Twitter @suprotimagarwal, LinkedIn or befriend him on Facebook