SharePoint get value of rich text box control created programatically - sharepoint-2010

Question

I'm writing a custom web part that need to use a couple of rich text box controls. I'm placing the controls onto the web part programatically. When the web part gets a save postback I'm able to capture the data from all the fields except the two rich text box ones. What's the trick to be able to get the value of a rich text box?
The code I"m using to place my form controls is:
private void CreateInputControls()
{
inputPanel.Controls.Clear();
SPList list = SPContext.Current.Site.RootWeb.Lists["MyList"];
SPContentType cType = list.ContentTypes[0];
Table table = new Table();
table.CellPadding = 3;
table.CellSpacing = 0;
SPContext newContext = SPContext.GetContext(System.Web.HttpContext.Current, list.DefaultView.ID, list.ID, list.ParentWeb);
foreach (SPField field in cType.Fields)
{
if (!field.Hidden && field.CanBeDisplayedInEditForm)
{
FieldLabel fieldLabel = new FieldLabel();
fieldLabel.ControlMode = SPControlMode.New;
fieldLabel.ListId = list.ID;
fieldLabel.FieldName = field.InternalName;
fieldLabel.ItemContext = newContext;
fieldLabel.RenderContext = newContext;
fieldLabel.Field.Required = fieldLabel.Field.Required;
FormField formField = new FormField();
formField.ControlMode = SPControlMode.New;
formField.ListId = list.ID;
formField.FieldName = field.InternalName;
formField.ItemContext = newContext;
formField.RenderContext = newContext;
formField.ID = field.InternalName;
formField.EnableViewState = true;
TableRow row = new TableRow();
table.Rows.Add(row);
TableCell cellLabel = new TableCell();
TableCell cellField = new TableCell();
cellLabel.Controls.Add(fieldLabel);
cellField.Controls.Add(formField);
row.Cells.Add(cellLabel);
row.Cells.Add(cellField);
}
}
inputPanel.Controls.Add(table);
}
The code I'm using to save a new item is:
private void UpdateItem(string bannerImageURL, string thumbnailImageURL)
{
SPList list = SPContext.Current.Site.RootWeb.Lists["MyList"];
SPContentType cType = list.ContentTypes[0];
SPItem item = list.AddItem();
foreach (SPField field in cType.Fields)
{
if (!field.Hidden && field.CanBeDisplayedInEditForm)
{
FormField formField = (FormField)inputPanel.FindControl(field.InternalName);
if (formField != null)
{
// Saves data for all fields EXCEPT for rich text box (sharepoint multiline columns).
item[field.Title] = formField.Value;
}
}
}
item.Update();
}

Answer 1

Maybe there's an issue with the field name. Try to use the InternalName.
item[field.InternalName] = formField.Value;

Answer 2

I have been struggling with this and am using a workaround which I thought I'd post as this was quite frustrating.
The problem is that the RTE control is rendered empty and then populated from a hidden control with JavaScript on the client. However this hidden control is accessible server side thus:
switch (formField.Field.Type)
{
case SPFieldType.Note:
var rtf = (RichTextField)formField.Controls[0];
item[field.Title] = rtf.HiddenInput.Value;
break;
default:
item[field.Title] = formField.Value;
break;
}
This may need extending for other field types but you get the idea...