DataList.Items Property  
Definition
Important
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Gets a collection of DataListItem objects representing the individual items within the control.
public:
 virtual property System::Web::UI::WebControls::DataListItemCollection ^ Items { System::Web::UI::WebControls::DataListItemCollection ^ get(); };[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
public virtual System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataListItemCollection Items { get; }[<System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)>]
member this.Items : System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataListItemCollectionPublic Overridable ReadOnly Property Items As DataListItemCollectionProperty Value
A DataListItemCollection that contains a collection of DataListItem objects representing the individual items within the DataList control.
- Attributes
Examples
The following code example demonstrates how to use the Items collection to display the items in the DataList control.
Note
The following code sample uses the single-file code model and may not work correctly if copied directly into a code-behind file. This code sample must be copied into an empty text file that has an .aspx extension. For more information on the Web Forms code model, see ASP.NET Web Forms Page Code Model.
<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="True" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data" %>
 
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
   <script language = "C#" runat="server">
 
      ICollection CreateDataSource() 
      {
         DataTable dt = new DataTable();
         DataRow dr;
 
         dt.Columns.Add(new DataColumn("StringValue", typeof(string)));
  
         for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) 
         {
            dr = dt.NewRow();
            dr[0] = "Item " + i.ToString();
            dt.Rows.Add(dr);
         }
 
         DataView dv = new DataView(dt);
         return dv;
      }
 
      void Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) 
      {
         if (!IsPostBack) 
         {
            DataList1.DataSource = CreateDataSource();
            DataList1.DataBind();
         }
      }
 
      void Button_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
      { 
         if (DataList1.Items.Count > 0)
         {
            Label1.Text = "The Items collection contains: <br />";
            foreach(DataListItem item in DataList1.Items)
            {
        
               Label1.Text += ((DataBoundLiteralControl)item.Controls[0]).Text +
                              "<br />";
            }
         }
      } 
 
   </script>
 
<head runat="server">
    <title>DataList Items Example</title>
</head>
<body>
 
   <form id="form1" runat="server">
      <h3>DataList Items Example</h3>
 
      <asp:DataList id="DataList1" runat="server"
           BorderColor="black"
           CellPadding="3"
           Font-Names="Verdana"
           Font-Size="8pt">
         <HeaderStyle BackColor="#aaaadd">
         </HeaderStyle>
         <AlternatingItemStyle BackColor="Gainsboro">
         </AlternatingItemStyle>
         <HeaderTemplate>
            Items
         </HeaderTemplate>
               
         <ItemTemplate>
            <%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "StringValue") %>
         </ItemTemplate>
 
      </asp:DataList>
        <br /><br />
      <asp:Button id="Button1"
           Text="Display Contents of Items Collection"
           OnClick="Button_Click"
           runat="server"/>
 
      <br /><br />
      <asp:Label id="Label1"
           runat="server"/>
 
   </form>
 
</body>
</html>
<%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="True" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data" %>
 
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
   <script language = "VB" runat="server">
    Function CreateDataSource() As ICollection
        Dim dt As New DataTable()
        Dim dr As DataRow
        
        dt.Columns.Add(New DataColumn("StringValue", GetType(String)))
        
        Dim i As Integer
        For i = 0 To 9
            dr = dt.NewRow()
            dr(0) = "Item " & i.ToString()
            dt.Rows.Add(dr)
        Next i
        
        Dim dv As New DataView(dt)
        Return dv
    End Function 'CreateDataSource
    Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        If Not IsPostBack Then
            DataList1.DataSource = CreateDataSource()
            DataList1.DataBind()
        End If
    End Sub 'Page_Load
    Sub Button_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        If DataList1.Items.Count > 0 Then
            Label1.Text = "The Items collection contains: <br />"
            
            Dim item As DataListItem
            For Each item In  DataList1.Items
                
                Label1.Text += CType(item.Controls(0), DataBoundLiteralControl).Text & "<br />"
            Next item
        End If
    End Sub 'Button_Click
   </script>
 
<head runat="server">
    <title>DataList Items Example</title>
</head>
<body>
 
   <form id="form1" runat="server">
      <h3>DataList Items Example</h3>
 
      <asp:DataList id="DataList1" runat="server"
           BorderColor="black"
           CellPadding="3"
           Font-Names="Verdana"
           Font-Size="8pt">
         <HeaderStyle BackColor="#aaaadd">
         </HeaderStyle>
         <AlternatingItemStyle BackColor="Gainsboro">
         </AlternatingItemStyle>
         <HeaderTemplate>
            Items
         </HeaderTemplate>
               
         <ItemTemplate>
            <%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "StringValue") %>
         </ItemTemplate>
 
      </asp:DataList>
        <br /><br />
      <asp:Button id="Button1"
           Text="Display Contents of Items Collection"
           OnClick="Button_Click"
           runat="server"/>
 
      <br /><br />
      <asp:Label id="Label1"
           runat="server"/>
 
   </form>
 
</body>
</html>
Remarks
Use the Items collection to programmatically control the items in the DataList control. The Items collection does not provide any methods to add or remove items to the collection. However, you can control the contents of an item by providing a handler for the ItemCreated event.
Note
Only items bound to the data source are contained in the Items collection. The header, footer, and separator are not included in the collection.