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Can you use a text file as a data source for a GridView in ASP

Hello,

I have a working ASP page that is pulling data from a SQL table into a Gridview with a select statement. I would like to do the same thing using a text file vs the SQL table as my data source. Is this possible to create a system DSN and connect to the text file to pull my data? If not can you point me into the right direction?

Current Web.cofig
<connectionStrings>
<add name="FBConnectionString" connectionString="Data Source=FORTISBLUE2008\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=YourLookup;User ID=blue;Password=blue;Connect Timeout=200" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" /> --%>
</connectionStrings>

Current asp page:

<asp:SqlDataSource ID="SqlDataSource1" runat="server" ConnectionString="<%$ ConnectionStrings:FBConnectionString %>" SelectCommand="SELECT * FROM dbo.APInvoice WHERE VendorName LIKE @VName">
<SelectParameters>
<asp:ControlParameter ControlID="tbVName" Name="VName" PropertyName="Text" />
</SelectParameters>

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Big Monty

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Big Monty

here's a more detailed answer on parsing out a text file and filling up a GridView:

Text File Contents:

1,1,4,2,"#",Description1
5,5,4,2,"#",Description2
3,3,6,3,"#",Description3
2,2,4,2,"#",Description4
4,5,4,2,"#",Description5

C# Code:

protected void readfile_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        DataTable table = new DataTable();
        table.Columns.Add("Col1");
        table.Columns.Add("Col2");
        table.Columns.Add("Col3");
        table.Columns.Add("Col4");
        table.Columns.Add("Col5");
        table.Columns.Add("Col6");

        using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(@"c:\pathToFile\file.txt"))
        {
            while (!sr.EndOfStream)
            {
                string[] parts = sr.ReadLine().Split(',');
                table.Rows.Add(parts[0], parts[1], parts[2], parts[3], parts[4], parts[5]);
            }
        }
        MyGridView.DataSource = table;
        MyGridView.DataBind();
    }

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