[Solved] ASP.Net DetailsView Error: Databinding methods such as Eval(), XPath(), and Bind() can only be used in the context of a databound control

I did not explain the above clearly 

I bind not to the detailsview but to the dropdownlists in the detailsview

So I add the items to the dropdownlist dynamically and then manually set DropDownList1.SelectedValue

Hi Snooker,

Refer below sample.

Database

I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows.

I have already inserted few records in the table.

You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.

Download SQL file

HTML

<asp:DetailsView ID="DetailsView1" runat="server" AutoGenerateRows="false" AllowPaging="true"
    OnDataBound="OnDataBound" OnPageIndexChanging="OnPageIndexChanging">
    <Fields>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="CustomerId" HeaderText="Customer Id" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Name" HeaderText="Name" />
        <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Country">
            <ItemTemplate>
                <asp:HiddenField ID="hfCountry" runat="server" Value='<%# Eval("Country") %>' />
                <asp:DropDownList runat="server" ID="ddlCountries">
                    <asp:ListItem Text="Please Select" Value="0"></asp:ListItem>
                    <asp:ListItem Text="United States" Value="1"></asp:ListItem>
                    <asp:ListItem Text="India" Value="2"></asp:ListItem>
                    <asp:ListItem Text="France" Value="3"></asp:ListItem>
                    <asp:ListItem Text="Russia" Value="4"></asp:ListItem>
                </asp:DropDownList>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
    </Fields>
</asp:DetailsView>

Namespaces

C#

using System.Configuration;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;

VB.Net

Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient

Code

C#

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        this.BindGrid();
    }
}

protected void OnDataBound(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (((DetailsView)sender).CurrentMode == DetailsViewMode.ReadOnly)
    {
        DataRowView row = (DataRowView)((DetailsView)sender).DataItem;
        string country = ((HiddenField)((DetailsView)sender).FindControl("hfCountry")).Value;
        DropDownList ddlCountries = (DropDownList)((DetailsView)sender).FindControl("ddlCountries");
        if (ddlCountries.Items.FindByText(country) != null)
        {
            ddlCountries.Items.FindByText(country).Selected = true;
        }
    }
}

protected void OnPageIndexChanging(object sender, DetailsViewPageEventArgs e)
{
    DetailsView1.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex;
    this.BindGrid();
}

private void BindGrid()
{
    string conString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(conString))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers", con))
        {
            using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd))
            {
                using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
                {
                    sda.Fill(dt);
                    DetailsView1.DataSource = dt;
                    DetailsView1.DataBind();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

VB.Net

Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Me.BindGrid()
    End If
End Sub

Protected Sub OnDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    If (CType(sender, DetailsView)).CurrentMode = DetailsViewMode.[ReadOnly] Then
        Dim row As DataRowView = CType((CType(sender, DetailsView)).DataItem, DataRowView)
        Dim country As String = (CType((CType(sender, DetailsView)).FindControl("hfCountry"), HiddenField)).Value
        Dim ddlCountries As DropDownList = CType((CType(sender, DetailsView)).FindControl("ddlCountries"), DropDownList)
        If ddlCountries.Items.FindByText(country) IsNot Nothing Then
            ddlCountries.Items.FindByText(country).Selected = True
        End If
    End If
End Sub

Protected Sub OnPageIndexChanging(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DetailsViewPageEventArgs)
    DetailsView1.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex
    Me.BindGrid()
End Sub

Private Sub BindGrid()
    Dim conString As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(conString)
        Using cmd As SqlCommand = New SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers", con)
            Using sda As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter(cmd)
                Using dt As DataTable = New DataTable()
                    sda.Fill(dt)
                    DetailsView1.DataSource = dt
                    DetailsView1.DataBind()
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub

Screenshot