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Trouble adding JavaScript alert to asp:LinkButton

Experts,

I'm making a web form that allows a user to schedule an email to be sent at a later date. If the user fails to specify a date for the email to be sent, I want to have a JavaScript alert popup when the user clicks the "schedule" (submit) button. Attached is what I have so far, and it isn't working. Please offer suggestions on how to fix/alter attached code OR I'm also open to a totally different solution as well.

Thanks,

Pete

protected void Email_ScheduleDelivery(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (tbEmailDate.Text == "")
    {
        LinkButton scheduleButton = (LinkButton)FindControl(linkScheduleEmail);
        scheduleButton.Attributes.Add("onclick", "javascript:return " +
            "alert('You have not specified a Scheduled Date!')");
    }
    else
    {
        //Schedule email processing code...
    }
}

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P1ST0LPETE

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Rikus_Trent

The issue is that your method is happening after the page_load event so the attribute never actually getting written to the page.

You can do a few different things to solve this...

1) move this validation to clientside. Call a client-side javascript method onClientClick to validate and trigger the LinkButton alert. Be sure to return false on failure to keep the postback from happening each time regardless.

2) use asp.net validation controls to validate the value. you can use validation summary control to display the error message in a javscript alert display format if you wish.

3) keep the validation client side as you have now, but use a stringbuilder and RegisterClientScriptBlock to trigger the javascript.

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
sb.Append("<script language='javascript'>");
sb.Append("alert('You have not specified a Scheduled Date!');");
sb.Append("</script>");

Type t = this.GetType();
if (!ClientScript.IsClientScriptBlockRegistered(t, "DateAlert"))
ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(t, "DateAlert", sb.ToString());

Rikus_Trent

Wow you're right... it does work.... Well I guess you do learn something everyday.

P1ST0LPETE

ASKER

Actually it sort of works...
You are right that my original code would not apply the JavaScript to the LinkButton until the linkbutton was actually pushed once and the eventhandler was fired. So in effect I would have to press the button twice to see the popup. So I added my solution to the Page_Load event and it is working fine. New problem though now.....how to remove the JavaScript if the textbox holding the date is not blank?
I know I can use :

linkScheduleEmail.Attributes.Remove("onclick");

But where would I put that in the code to fire BEFORE the schedule button was pressed?

I think your solution of adding client side JavaScript called from an OnClientClick event would be the way to go, but not sure exactly how to do that. Not very experienced in JavaScript just yet....

Rikus_Trent

Here's a quick example of using javascript with the onclientclick...

//HTML file...
 
<head>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
        function validateDate()
        {
            var txtDate = document.getElementById('textbox id');
            if(txtDate.value == '')
            {
                alert('your message here');
                return false; //this will stop the postback and email processing
            }
        }
    </script>
</head>
 
 
 
//linkbutton tag
 
<asp:LinkButton ID="LinkButton1" runat="server" OnClientClick="validateDate();">LinkButton</asp:LinkButton>

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