Block DataPager With <div>

ASP.NET 3.5 brought us some really cool controls like the ListView control and the DataPager control.  My biggest gripe though is that the DataPager doesn't use a block level element to encapsulate it.  It uses a <span> element instead.  So is using the DataPager a forgone loss?  No way!  All we have to do is play the inheritance game and we can override that goofy choice of a <span>.

Fire up a new Class Library project and create a new class.  Make sure to add references to the following namespaces:

• System.Web
• System.Web.Extensions
• System.Web.Mobile
• System.Web.Services

Since we don't want to have to reinvent all the things that a DataPager does, we can just inherit all its attributes and behaviors.  Now, all we have to do is add the following method:

That's it!  Now save the class and create a new web application.  Add a reference to the newly created class library, create a new page, and add the following directive to the top:

<%@ Register Namespace="WhatEverTheNamespaceIs" Assembly="WhatEverTheAssemblyNameIs" TagPrefix="Prefix"@%>

Now, you should be able to add