How can I get the WebClient to use Cookies?

Question

I would like the VB.net WebClient to remember cookies.

I have searched and tried numerous overloads classes.

I want to login to a website via POST, then POST to another page and get its contents whilst still retaining my session.

Is this possible with VB.net without using WebBrowser control ?

I tried Chilkat.HTTP and it works, but I want to use .Net libraries.

Regards, Jeremy.

Answer 1

You can't make the WebClient class remember the cookies, you have to get the cookie container from the response and use it in the next request.

Answer 2

Create a new class the inherits from WebClient that stores the CookieContainer like @Guffa says. Here's code that I use that does that and also keeps the referer alive:

Public Class CookieAwareWebClient
    Inherits WebClient

    Private cc As New CookieContainer()
    Private lastPage As String

    Protected Overrides Function GetWebRequest(ByVal address As System.Uri) As System.Net.WebRequest
        Dim R = MyBase.GetWebRequest(address)
        If TypeOf R Is HttpWebRequest Then
            With DirectCast(R, HttpWebRequest)
                .CookieContainer = cc
                If Not lastPage Is Nothing Then
                    .Referer = lastPage
                End If
            End With
        End If
        lastPage = address.ToString()
        Return R
    End Function
End Class