Tim,

I've been investigating something along the same lines. I have no definite answers yet but I have a couple of links that may help you.

http://weblogs.asp.net/infinitiesloop/archive/2006/08/03/Truly-Understanding-Viewstate.aspx

and (a four parter)

http://weblogs.asp.net/infinitiesloop/archive/2006/08/25/TRULY-Understanding-Dynamic-Controls-_2800_Part-1_2900_.aspx

HTH
Richard

>Hi All,
>
>I have created a couple of user controls that I want to dynamically add to a page. The first issue is I was under the impression I had to set the value I wanted in my controls within the Page_PreRender as opposed to the Page_Load event. When the Page PreRender fires, my controls are still null. What is the common wisdom of when to set my controls values?
>
>The second question is can I place a User Control in a PlaceHolder? It doesn't throw any exceptions, but doesn't display. I need to place one of two controls in a specific location on my page and don't know which control until the data is retrieved but before the page is loaded. What is the best way to do this?
>Thanks
>Tim