Creating Custom Application Settings in the web.config File

The web.config file has a predefined section for application settings, called

appSettings

.This section can be placed in any .config file, and must reside with the

<configuration> section.The following is an example of a simple web.config file:

<configuration>

<appSettings>

<add key="PageSize" value="25" />

</appSettings>

</configuration>

Values can be retrieved using the Configuration API. However, all values are returned as

string types:

Dim pageSize As Integer

pageSize = CType(ConfigurationSettings.ApplicationSettings("PageSize"),

Integer)

Comments

Storing common values within configuration, such as database connection strings, is a

common feature that many applications take advantage of. Requiring developers to

write customer configuration section handlers to store simple values is overkill; hence

the existence of the <appSettings/> section.

Any simple data that you need stored in a central location and that must be available

anywhere within your Web application is a good candidate for the <appSettings/>

section. For other more complicated configuration data structures, you'll probably want

to create a custom configuration section handler.