I have am using an asp:FormView control with elements such as:
<asp:TextBox id="FirstName"
runat="server" MaxLength="20"
Columns="15" Text='<%# Bind("FirstName") %>' />
I cannot access the value of this field by its id -> "FirstName" in the code behind file.
Any ideas on how I can access that value in the code behind file?
You'll have to use FindControl on the FormView to get access to the textbox:
var firstNameTextbox = FormViewId.FindControl("FirstName") as TextBox;
string myValue = firstNameTextbox.Text;
You should also note that this will only work after you have bound the data to the FormView. Typically you would handle the DataBound event of the FormView and do it there.