In this article I will explain with an example, how to store (save) GridView data in ViewState in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
When a new row is added to GridView, the row data will be added to a DataTable and the DataTable will be saved in ViewState in ASP.Net.
 
 
HTML Markup
The following HTML Markup consists of an ASP.Net GridView along with some TextBoxes and a Button in order to insert data in GridView control.
<asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" CssClass="Grid" AutoGenerateColumns="false"
    EmptyDataText="No records has been added.">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Name" HeaderText="Name" ItemStyle-Width="120" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" ItemStyle-Width="120" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse">
<tr>
    <td style="padding-bottom: 10px">
        Name:<br />
        <asp:TextBox ID="txtName" runat="server" />
    </td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td style="padding-bottom: 10px">
        Country:<br />
        <asp:TextBox ID="txtCountry" runat="server" />
    </td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td style="width: 100px">
        <asp:Button ID="btnAdd" runat="server" Text="Add" OnClick="Insert" />
    </td>
</tr>
</table>
 
 
Namespace
You will need to import the following namespace.
C#
using System.Data;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
 
 
Binding the GridView using an Empty DataTable
Initially a DataTable has to be created and is saved in the ViewState variable and then the BindGrid method is executed which populates the GridView from the DataTable saved in ViewState variable.
Here the primary reason to use ViewState variable is to preserve the GridView data across PostBacks.
Note: You can also make use of Session variable for saving the DataTable.
 
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
        dt.Columns.AddRange(new DataColumn[2] {new DataColumn("Name"), new DataColumn("Country") });
        ViewState["Customers"] = dt;
        this.BindGrid();
    }
}
 
protected void BindGrid()
{
    GridView1.DataSource = (DataTable)ViewState["Customers"];
    GridView1.DataBind();
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Dim dt As New DataTable()
        dt.Columns.AddRange(New DataColumn(1) {New DataColumn("Name"), New DataColumn("Country")})
        ViewState("Customers") = dt
        Me.BindGrid()
    End If
End Sub
 
Protected Sub BindGrid()
    GridView1.DataSource = DirectCast(ViewState("Customers"), DataTable)
    GridView1.DataBind()
End Sub
 
 
Store (Save) GridView data in ViewState in ASP.Net
First the DataTable is fetched from the ViewState variable and then a new Row is added to the DataTable by making use of the data from the TextBoxes.
Finally the DataTable is saved back in ViewState variable and the BindGrid method is executed which updates the GridView data.
C#
protected void Insert(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    DataTable dt = (DataTable)ViewState["Customers"];
    dt.Rows.Add(txtName.Text.Trim(), txtCountry.Text.Trim());
    ViewState["Customers"] = dt;
    this.BindGrid();
    txtName.Text = string.Empty;
    txtCountry.Text = string.Empty;
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Insert(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    Dim dt As DataTable = DirectCast(ViewState("Customers"), DataTable)
    dt.Rows.Add(txtName.Text.Trim(), txtCountry.Text.Trim())
    ViewState("Customers") = dt
    Me.BindGrid()
    txtName.Text = String.Empty
    txtCountry.Text = String.Empty
End Sub
 
 
Screenshot
Store (Save) GridView data in ViewState in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net
 
 
Demo
View Demo
 
 
Downloads
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