Can this be done? Capture HTML rendered from an aspx page request into a string variable.

[Hose B]

HI all,

I have a legacy app in which users can pick various page templates. There is
a template preview dialog. It works such that they view a list of icons in
an asp page that represent each available page template. Each template is a
straight-forward HTML file (not an asp or aspx) When a user clicks on an
icon, the text comprising the selected template's HTML file is read into a
string variable that is then injected into a <DIV> tag that (has the style
ZOOM: 50%. This DIV tag with the injected HTML provides the user with a
"preview" of template. This is all works very well and good with raw HTML
files (that are the templates).

My question: When I move to templates that are ASPX files and not simple
HTML files, how can I provide the page preview as described above? The
current method of reading the HTML of the an ASPX file into the DIV tag
would not work - given that the ASPX file would first need to be processed.
Is there a way to make ASP.NET process an ASPX request and capture the
results into a string variable that I could then inject into the <DIV> tag?
Or would there be another/better/possible way? Here's specifically what I
think I need (and I'd like your input on steps 3 and 4 - I can do everything
else).

1. Provide use with list of icons representing templates.

2. When user clicks on an icon - fire a postback

During Postback:

3. Somehow have ASP.NET process the ASPX file that corresponds with the
template the user selected.

4. Capture the resulting HTML from step 3 into a string variable (rather
than rendering it to the client).

5. Inject the captured HTML from step 4 into the DIV tag.

Thanks you very very very much!!!

 

[Scott Allen]

Try using the Execute method of HttpServerUtility:

StringWriter writer = new StringWriter();
Server.Execute("otherpage.aspx", writer);
string text = writer.ToString();

HTH,