RichDatePicker
By Ben Higgins
December 7, 2004

If you are looking for a component to enhance your calendar or date/time selection web page, RicherComponents.com has released a new component called RichDatePicker. It provides a point-and-click popup calendar window that allows you to select a variety of date and time appearances. This feature will resolve any issues end users might have with date/time formats and will also improve the accuracy of the dates entered into your online forms.

I couldn't keep this example any simpler to show you how easy it is to use this component. First either copy the RichDatePicker.dll file to your application's bin folder or into the GAC. Then add the following line to the top of your ASPX file.

<%@ Register TagPrefix="DP" Assembly="RichDatePicker" Namespace="RicherComponents.DatePickerControl" %>

Within the body of your HTML add the RichDatePicker Tag as shown below. I have also added the built in .NET calendar tag for this example.

<form id="Form1" method="post" runat="server">
   <P><dp:richdatepicker ID="RDP1" runat="server"></dp:richdatepicker></P>
   <P><asp:Button id="button1" runat="server" Text="Submit"></asp:Button></P>
   <P><asp:Calendar id="Calendar1" runat="server"></asp:Calendar></P>
</form>

In your code behind page or between your script tags add the following code. If you are using inline ASP.NET code not Visual Studio .NET then you will need to remove "Handles button1.click".

Private Sub button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles button1.Click

Calendar1.SelectedDate = RDP1.SelectedDate

End Sub

In this example, the DP.RichDatePicker tag by default creates a text box with today’s date in it. Next to the text box is a browse button. Once you select a date by clicking on the browse button and submitting it, the date you selected will be hi-lighted on the ASP.NET Calendar.

For a complete list of features the RichDatePicker component offers and an evaluation copy, go to www.richercomponents.com

Ben Higgins is a Internet Support Specialist with ORCS Web, Inc. Webteam - a company that provides managed hosting solutions for clients who develop and deploy their applications on Microsoft Windows platforms. Services include shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and webfarm hosting, with specialty in .Net, SQL Server, and architecting highly scalable solutions.