How to set specific ID for server controls in an ASP.NET Web Form that is using a MasterPage?

Question

Is it possible to set a specific ID on an ASP.NET server control? Everytime I assign an ID and run the web form the ID changes.

For Example:

<asp:TextBox ID="txtName" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>

Gets translated into this:

<input id="ct100_ContentPlaceHolder1_txtName" type="text" />

I think this is do to me using master pages, but if so how can I be sure a control will have a certain ID(for javascript purposes). I placed the auto-generated id in my javascript and it is working, but I would prefer to have used the id's that I originally assigned them. Is this possible?

(This is for version:ASP.NET 3.5)

Answer 1

Starting with .NET 4 you have greater control about how the client-side IDs look like (see this post for details).

To force a specific client-side ID, you have to set the ClientIDMode to static. The following will render an <input> element with id="txtName":

<asp:TextBox ID="txtName" ClientIDMode="static" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>

Although if you do this, you have to ensure that you don't have two controls with identical client-side IDs. Check the article linked above for other options.