DataList problem

[AlexCuse]

Hi Guys,

I'm having a problem displaying certain blog entries on my website (well, they display just fine but don't validate). I'm using a DataList control to display said entries.

THe problem arises when I use certain features within a bbcode parser, namely the code and list features, which use "blockquote" and "ul", respectively. Because the data list uses a "span" element to display the text, said elements are not allowed (doctype is XHTML 1.0 Transitional).

I guess my question is, is there any way I can change this behavior in the DataList, or do I need to create some type of user control that will spit out better HTML?

I've tried to make myself clear, but I am not very web-savvy, so please let me know if I missed anything.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Alex

[small]----signature below----[/small]
I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs

My Crummy Web Page

 

[ca8msm]

Hey Alex,

You can add to following to your web.config file which will help render some attributes to a better specification:

	<system.web>
		[!]<xhtmlConformance mode="Strict"/>[/!]
                ...

However, whilst it is good practice, I don't think it will necessarily help in this case.

I think you have two options:

1) Ditch the DataList and use a Repeater. This will be more work but will give you better control over the output.

2) Use a Control Adaptor to alter the output (maybe just changing the span to a div would suffice).




-------------------------------------------------------

Mark,
[URL unfurl="true"]http://aspnetlibrary.com[/url]
[URL unfurl="true"]http://mdssolutions.co.uk[/url] - Delivering professional ASP.NET solutions
[URL unfurl="true"]http://weblogs.asp.net/marksmith[/url]

 

[AlexCuse]

Thanks Mark, seems that you're always the guy to bail me out when I've got a problem with this stuff.

I got it all squared away by using the repeater control, and putting the post contents in a div. The repeater does seem to be a lot more flexible than the DataList, and I'm glad I know how to use it now

[small]----signature below----[/small]
I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs

My Crummy Web Page

 

[ca8msm]

No problem Alex, did you manage to get the paging side of it working with a repeater?


-------------------------------------------------------

Mark,
[URL unfurl="true"]http://aspnetlibrary.com[/url]
[URL unfurl="true"]http://mdssolutions.co.uk[/url] - Delivering professional ASP.NET solutions
[URL unfurl="true"]http://weblogs.asp.net/marksmith[/url]

 

[AlexCuse]

Someone is paying attention

I have not tried that yet but I don't foresee any problems. The paging is handled by a user control, and is mostly done at the database level, so I think that I should be able to plug a repeater in instead of a data list in the user control fairly easily. Hopefully I'll be able to get to it today.

I'll post back to this thread if I run into any problems with that.

Thanks again,

Alex

[small]----signature below----[/small]
I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs

My Crummy Web Page