ConnectionsZone Web Server Control Overview

Article
12/04/2014

The ConnectionsZone Web server control provides a user interface (UI) that enables users to form connections between WebPart and other server controls that reside in WebPartZoneBase zones.

This topic contains:

Background
Code Examples
Class Reference

Background

Using Web Parts controls, you can enable users to create connections at run time between two server controls to form a connection and share data. One control acts as the provider of data, and the other control acts as the consumer. The two controls can be WebPart controls or any other type of server control. They must be designed to handle connections and they must be in a WebPartZoneBase zone. To learn more about Web Parts connections, see Web Parts Connections Overview and the WebPartConnection and ConnectionPoint class overviews.

After you have configured the controls to form a Web Parts connection, you must still connect the controls. You can connect controls in these ways:

Declare a connection in a Web page.
Create a connection in code.
Add a ConnectionsZone control to the page so that users can connect the controls on demand.

The ConnectionsZone control generates a UI that enables users to connect or disconnect any eligible controls. It is an optional control that is not necessary to form connections. However, it is useful when you want to give users control over which server controls are connected or disconnected.

Web Part Control Properties That Are Controlled Through a ConnectionsZone Control

The user interface provided by the ConnectionsZone control enables users to set the ConnectionPoint object associated with a designated consumer control and a designated provider control. For a code example that shows how to use the ConnectionsZone control, see the ConnectionsZone class overview.

Enabling a ConnectionsZone Control

As a tool zone, the ConnectionsZone control is designed to be visible only when the Web page is in connect mode. (A page is in connect mode when the WebPartManager control on the page has its DisplayMode property set to ConnectDisplayMode.) After users switch a page into connect mode, they must click a connect verb of one of the server controls to display the connection UI.

For more information about how to change display modes on a Web Parts page, see Walkthrough: Changing Display Modes on a Web Parts Page.