Storing a pointer to a user control

Question

I have a user control that I want to reference at postback programatically.

In order to do so, I'll need to persist information in viewstate.

I have 2 options:

1. Store the control ID in viewstate and find the control on the page each time
2. Store the control in viewstate i.e. WebControl and do not need to find each time

Is there any downside to going with option 2 over 1?

Answer 1

You cannot store any 'object' in ViewState, as it is created every time during Load phase, and dies during Unload. Control cannot be serialized. Go with the option 1.