Save RadGrid ViewState in Session

Updated on Oct 7, 2026

When RadGrid uses features that require ViewState, disabling EnableViewState is not an option. You can instead move ASP.NET page state from the hidden field to Session to reduce the amount of state sent to the browser.

This approach requires ASP.NET Session state and increases server-side memory or session-storage usage. Evaluate session capacity, serialization, and load-balancing requirements before applying it. The ASP.NET SessionPageStatePersister does not store control state in Session by default, so configure RequiresControlStateInSession=true when the page depends on control state.

Configure SessionPageStatePersister

Add the following field and PageStatePersister property to the page code-behind. The example applies to ASP.NET 3.x and 4.x.

Store ASP.NET page state in Session for a RadGrid page

C#

using System.Web.UI;

private PageStatePersister _persister;

protected override PageStatePersister PageStatePersister
{
    get
    {
        if (_persister == null)
        {
            _persister = new SessionPageStatePersister(this);
        }

        return _persister;
    }
}

VB

Imports System.Web.UI

Private _persister As PageStatePersister

Protected Overrides ReadOnly Property PageStatePersister As PageStatePersister
    Get
        If _persister Is Nothing Then
            _persister = New SessionPageStatePersister(Me)
        End If

        Return _persister
    End Get
End Property

Store control state in Session with ASP.NET page state

XML

<system.web>
    <browserCaps>
        <case>
            RequiresControlStateInSession=true
        </case>
    </browserCaps>
</system.web>

For more information, see the PageStatePersister class reference.

See Also

• Grid Performance Optimizations
• Optimizing ViewState usage