Simple vs Advanced

Advanced binding with NeedDataSource event handling

There are several approaches you can use to bind RadTreeList control. However in all of them you should make sure that the DataKeyNames and ParentDataKeyNames properties for the TreeList control are set.

The key to the advanced data binding of Telerik RadTreeList is handling correctly the NeedDataSource event. That's why we choose this exact name. 'Need' in this case actually means that if at an exact moment the data-source property does not point to a valid data-source object,the treelist will not behave correctly. This event fires in the following cases:

• Right after OnLoad, Telerik RadTreeList checks the ViewState for storedTreeList-related information. If such information is missing (when the page loads for the first time), the NeedDataSource event is fired. This also means that if the EnableViewState property of the control has been set to false,the treelist will bind each time the page loads (not only the first time)

• After expand/collapse

• When paging event occurs

• When other operations requiring Rebind occurs

The advantages of using this event are that the developer does not need to write any code handling the logic about when and how the data-binding should be processed. It is still the developer's responsibility to construct properly a data source object and assign it to the RadTreeList's DataSource property. In the code of the NeedDataSource handler you should prepare the data source (list of objects) for the RadTreeList and assign it to the treelist's DataSource property. Also you should set the DataKeyNames and ParentDataKeyNames properties for the treelist control.

You should never call the DataBind() method from inside the NeedDataSource handler or mix simpledata-binding mode with advanced data-binding.

Alternatively, you can use AccessDataSource/SqlDataSource/ObjectDataSource/XmlDataSource controls to populate Telerik RadTreeList with data - this is another advanced data-binding mode of the control. See the the rest of the examples in this section for more information.

Simple binding

Simple data-binding with the DataBind() method can be used in simple scenarios which does not require complex operations. The correct approach when using simple data-binding is to call the DataBind() method on the first page load when !Page.IsPostBack and after handling some event (sort event for example). Keep in mind that if you choose simple data-binding, you will need to assign datasource and rebind the treelist after each operation (expanding/collapsing, paging, sorting, etc.)

Example

The code snippets below illustrate direct comparison between the simple and advanced binding regime of RadTreeList:

ASPNET

<telerik:RadTreeList RenderMode="Lightweight" runat="server" ID="RadTreeList1" AllowPaging="true" PageSize="3"
	DataKeyNames="EmployeeID" OnItemCommand="RadTreeList1_ItemCommand" OnPageIndexChanged="RadTreeList1_PageIndexChanged"
	ParentDataKeyNames="ReportsTo">
</telerik:RadTreeList>
<telerik:RadTreeList RenderMode="Lightweight" runat="server" ID="RadTreeList2" AllowPaging="true" PageSize="3"
	DataKeyNames="EmployeeID" ParentDataKeyNames="ReportsTo" OnNeedDataSource="RadTreeList2_NeedDataSource">
</telerik:RadTreeList>

C#

public DataTable GetDataTable()
{
	String ConnString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["NorthwindConnectionString"].ConnectionString;
	SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(ConnString);
	SqlDataAdapter adapter = new SqlDataAdapter();
	adapter.SelectCommand = new SqlCommand("SELECT EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, ReportsTo FROM Employees", conn);
	DataTable myDataTable = new DataTable();
	conn.Open();
	try
	{
		adapter.Fill(myDataTable);
	}
	finally
	{
		conn.Close();
	}
	return myDataTable;
}
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
	if (!IsPostBack)
	{
		RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable();
		RadTreeList1.DataBind();
	}
}
protected void RadTreeList1_ItemCommand(object sender, TreeListCommandEventArgs e)
{
	if (e.CommandName == RadTreeList.ExpandCollapseCommandName)
	{
		RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable();
		RadTreeList1.DataBind();
	}
}
protected void RadTreeList1_PageIndexChanged(object source, TreeListPageChangedEventArgs e)
{
	RadTreeList1.CurrentPageIndex = e.NewPageIndex;
	RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable();
	RadTreeList1.DataBind();
}
protected void RadTreeList2_NeedDataSource(object source, TreeListNeedDataSourceEventArgs e)
{
	RadTreeList2.DataSource = GetDataTable();
}  

VB.NET

Public Function GetDataTable() As DataTable
	Dim ConnString As [String] = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("NorthwindConnectionString").ConnectionString
	Dim conn As New SqlConnection(ConnString)
	Dim adapter As New SqlDataAdapter()
	adapter.SelectCommand = New SqlCommand("SELECT EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, ReportsTo FROM Employees", conn)
	Dim myDataTable As New DataTable()
	conn.Open()
	Try
		adapter.Fill(myDataTable)
	Finally
		conn.Close()
	End Try
	Return myDataTable
End Function
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
	If Not IsPostBack Then
		RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable()
		RadTreeList1.DataBind()
	End If
End Sub
Protected Sub RadTreeList1_ItemCommand(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As TreeListCommandEventArgs)
	If e.CommandName = RadTreeList.ExpandCollapseCommandName Then
		RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable()
		RadTreeList1.DataBind()
	End If
End Sub
Protected Sub RadTreeList1_PageIndexChanged(ByVal source As Object, ByVal e As TreeListPageChangedEventArgs)
	RadTreeList1.CurrentPageIndex = e.NewPageIndex
	RadTreeList1.DataSource = GetDataTable()
	RadTreeList1.DataBind()
End Sub
Protected Sub RadTreeList2_NeedDataSource(ByVal source As Object, ByVal e As TreeListNeedDataSourceEventArgs)
	RadTreeList2.DataSource = GetDataTable()
End Sub