Prevent HTML encoding in auto-generated GridView columns

Question

I have a GridView bound to a DataTable that I construct. Most columns in the table contain the raw HTML for a hypelinklink, and I would like that HTML to render as a link i

Answer 1

Another way is to add something like the following to the RowDataBound event handler...

    If e.Row.RowType = DataControlRowType.Header Then
        For Each col As TableCell In e.Row.Cells
            Dim encoded As String = col.Text
            col.Text = Context.Server.HtmlDecode(encoded)
        Next
    End If

Answer 2

I was able to achieve this by using the solution that Jørn Schou-Rode provided, I modified a little bit to make it work from the RowDataBound Event of my Gridview.

protected void GridView1_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
    {
           for (int j = 0; j < e.Row.Cells.Count; j++) 
           {
               string encoded = e.Row.Cells[j].Text;
               e.Row.Cells[j].Text = Context.Server.HtmlDecode(encoded);
           }

    }
}

Answer 3

Use OnRowCreated

    protected void gvFm_RowCreated(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
    {
        foreach (TableCell cell in e.Row.Cells)
        {
            BoundField fldRef = (BoundField)((DataControlFieldCell)cell).ContainingField;
            switch (fldRef.DataField)
            {
                case "ColToHide":
                    fldRef.Visible = false;                        
                    break;
                case "ColWithoutEncode":
                    fldRef.HtmlEncode = false;                        
                    break;
            }
        }
    }

Answer 4

You can use this code in RowDataBound event if you want to disable HTML encoding in all rows and columns.

protected void GV_Product_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
    {
        foreach (TableCell ObjTC in e.Row.Cells)
        {
            string decodedText = HttpUtility.HtmlDecode(ObjTC.Text);
            ObjTC.Text = decodedText;
        }
    }
}

Answer 5

Since all the answers seem to be in C# and the questions was not specific, I ran into this issue using ASP.Net and VB.Net and the accepted solution did not work for me in VB (though I imagine it does work in C#). Hopefully this helps anyone working with VB.Net in ASP who stumbles upon this as I have.

In VB.Net BoundColumn cannot be added to Gridview.Columns as it is not a System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataControlField so instead one must use a BoundField which is a DataControlField.

BoundColoumn also does not have an HtmlEncode property however BoundField does. Also, in VB.Net DataSource becomes DataField.

        For Each dataCol As DataColumn In dv.Table.Columns
            Dim boundCol As New BoundField With {
                .DataField = dataCol.ColumnName,
                .HeaderText = dataCol.ColumnName,
                .HtmlEncode = False
            }

            gvResult.Columns.Add(boundCol)
        Next

        gvResult.DataSource = dv
        gvResult.Databind()

Also note that you must explicitly set AutoGenerateColumns="False" or the GridView will still generate columns along with the columns added above.

Answer 6

Well since the html for the link is in your db already, you could just output the html to a literal control.

<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="myLink" SortExpression="myLink">
    <ItemTemplate>
        <asp:Literal ID="litHyperLink" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("myLink", "{0}") %>' />
    </ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateField>

This should render your link as raw text allowing the browser to render it as the link you expect it to be.