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How to add CSV export from a DataTable (HTML)
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From
18/08/2005 10:19:58
 
 
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General information
Forum:
ASP.NET
Category:
Web forms
Title:
How to add CSV export from a DataTable (HTML)
Environment versions
Environment:
ASP.NET
OS:
Windows XP SP2
Network:
Windows 2003 Server
Database:
MS SQL Server
Miscellaneous
Thread ID:
01041954
Message ID:
01041954
Views:
70
I am tasked to add a CSV export option to an HTML report I have in ASPX.
Data is in a DataTable and HTML is built manually (more control than with a DataGrid/GridView)

I added a hyperlink to the webpage as follows:
< asp:LinkButton ID="btnExport" runat="server" Width="114px">Export Report< /asp:LinkButton>
What I see is the link when pressed, does a PostBack to he same page. I want to call my ExportDataToCSV() below:
public bool ExportDataToCSV(DataTable oSourceTable, string sFileName, string sDelimiter, Boolean IsWriteColumnHeaders)
{
  // TODO: loop through rows and columns creating delimited strings
  // then send to the client through HTTP
}
Questions: Is there a better way to do this than through a Postback?
If a Postback,
a. how do I pass the DataTable to the method call? (as ViewState is kinda wasteful and would have to be cast a DataTable - how do I do that?)
b. if DataTable is passed directly as a parameter (better than through HTTP IMO), how do I accomplish that from the LinkButton?

Hope I'm clear enough. Now back to battling with C# <g>

[UPDATE]: as I'm already looping through the DataSet when building an HTML table I could also build a CSV at the same time then pass it as a string and avoid passing a DataSet (makes it easier through PostBack?).
Drawbacks: It might be a large string. It is extra work done every time when they may only want to download a CSV copy of the HTML table every so often.

Thoughts?


Alex Feldstein, MCP, Microsoft MVP
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