Find Control in Gridview and DataList

Try this :

//--- DataList
protected void DataList1_ItemDataBound(object sender, DataListItemEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Item.ItemType == ListItemType.Item
e.Item.ItemType == ListItemType.AlternatingItem)
{
Label lbl_Desc = (Label)e.Item.FindControl("lbl_Desc");
lbl_Desc.Text = lbl_Desc.Text.Substring(0, 180).ToString() + "...";
}
}

//--- Gridview
protected void GridView1_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
{

//-- find control in row
if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
{
DropDownList ddl_Type= (DropDownList)e.Row.FindControl("ddl_Type");
}

//-- find control in footer
if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.Footer)
{
DropDownList ddl_Type = (DropDownList)e.Row.FindControl("ddl_Type");
}
}

Good Luck