>Hi,
>
>I have a page class declared as:
>
>

>public partial class MyClass : System.Web.UI.Page
>{
>
>      protected void Page_Load( object sender, System.EventArgs e)
>
>// and so on
>}
>

>
>If I add IF code above the line 'protected void' the compiler complains of 'invalid token if in class, struct, or interface
>member declaration'. For example, the following causes compiler error:
>
>

>public partial class MyClass : System.Web.UI.Page
>{
>      //! offending line
>      if ((somecondition))
>      {
>      }
>
>      protected void Page_Load( object sender, System.EventArgs e)
>
>// and so on
>}
>

>
>What am I missing?

You are inside a class definition. At that level you can only define properties, methods, etc.

Inside those property/ method/ function/ etc definitions you can write code (like your IF statement).