Check if GridView Column Exists

If you have a DataRowView you can use the following extension method to check if a GridView column exists:

public static bool ColumnExists( this  DataRowView rowData,  string  fldToCheck)
{
return rowData.Row.Table.Columns.Contains(fldToCheck);
}

Normally, you would use it on RowDataBound event, e.g:

protected void GridView1_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
{
DataRowView rowData = e.Row.DataItem as DataRowView;
string  fldToCheck = "MyFieldName";
if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
{
      if (rowData.ColumnExists(fldToCheck) ...


Related posts:
Find GridView Column Index
Set DataRow Values and Other ASP.NET GridView Tips

Modify Query String

If you build a hyperlink on a web page dynamically, sometimes you may need to append or modify an existing query string.
To modify a url with an existing query string, first grab the AbsoluteUrl property:

string path = Request.Url.AbsolutePath ;

This will give you a url wihout the query string portion.

If you need to reuse an existing portion of the query string, you have to get it yourself, e.g:

string key = Request.QueryString["key"];
string path = Request.Url.AbsolutePath + "?key="+ key;


Now, you can build your url:

string url  = path+ "&key2="+ myValue;

Related posts:
Add JavaScript Dynamically to ASP.NET UpdatePanel
Examine Columns in ASP.NET Dynamic Data MetaTable

Find GridView Column Index

If you create GridView columns dynamically using the AutogenerateColumns = true feature, sometimes you need to find a column index from the column name.

I created an extension method to find a column index:

public static int GetIndex(this DataRowView tableData, string fieldName)
        {
            DataColumn dc = tableData.DataView.Table.Columns[fieldName];
            
            if (dc != null)
            {
                return dc.Ordinal;
            }
            return -1;
        }

This is how you call from the RowDataBound event handler:

DataRowView tableData = e.Row.DataItem as DataRowView;
int pos = tableData.GetIndex("MyFieldName");                
if (pos != -1){
   //do your thing
}