Help creating A - Z search buttons

[ssmith147]

I have been asked to include a search page for my database that uses a simple A - Z button interface to select customer records by last name, and allow the end user to scroll through a datagridview to pick the user they want.

I can handle 95% of this additional form with any trouble (in fact, if I wanted to do it the hard way, I could get all of it!). However, I want to make these buttons as efficient as possible by using only one subroutine to handle all of them. Basically, how can I pass the Tag information from the button into the subroutine and use it for the query?

I'm thinking the sub declaration wil include a strTag as String in the () section, but I don't know how to send the Tag from the button to that declaration.

Any help?

[jmcilhinney]

E.g.

Private Sub Search(ByVal text As String)
    Using connection As New SqlConnection("connection string here")
        Using command As New SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE Name LIKE @Name", connection)
            command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Name", text & "%")
 
            '...
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
Private Sub Buttons_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles ButtonA.Click, ... , ButtonZ.Click
    Me.Search(CStr(DirectCast(sender, Button).Tag))
End Sub

[ssmith147]

Thanks, jcm, that's pretty straight-forward and I think it will work.