List getting cleared every button click inside Update Panel?

Question

No this isn't a copy of this question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/654423/button-in-update-panel-is-doing-a-full-postback

I've got a drop down inside an update panel, and I am trying to get it to allow the person using the page to add users to a list that is bound to a gridview. The list is a global variable, and on page_load I set that to the gridview's datasource and databind it. However, anytime I click the 'add a user' button, or the button to remove the user from the list. It appears like it is doing a full post back even though all these elements are inside the update Panel.

Code Behind:

Public accomplishmentTypeDao As New AccomplishmentTypeDao()
Public accomplishmentDao As New AccomplishmentDao()
Public userDao As New UserDao()
Public facultyDictionary As New Dictionary(Of Guid, String)
Public facultyList As New List(Of User)
Public associatedFaculty As New List(Of User)
Public facultyId As New Guid

Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load

    Page.Title = "Add a New Faculty Accomplishment"
    ddlAccomplishmentType.DataSource = accomplishmentTypeDao.getEntireTable()
    ddlAccomplishmentType.DataTextField = "Name"
    ddlAccomplishmentType.DataValueField = "Id"
    ddlAccomplishmentType.DataBind()

    facultyList = userDao.getListOfUsersByUserGroupName("Faculty")

    For Each faculty As User In facultyList
        facultyDictionary.Add(faculty.Id, faculty.LastName & ", " & faculty.FirstName)
    Next

    If Not Page.IsPostBack Then
        ddlFacultyList.DataSource = facultyDictionary
        ddlFacultyList.DataTextField = "Value"
        ddlFacultyList.DataValueField = "Key"
        ddlFacultyList.DataBind()
    End If

    gvAssociatedUsers.DataSource = associatedFaculty
    gvAssociatedUsers.DataBind()


End Sub

Protected Sub deleteUser(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.CommandEventArgs)
    facultyId = New Guid(e.CommandArgument.ToString())
    associatedFaculty.Remove(associatedFaculty.Find(Function(user) user.Id = facultyId))
    gvAssociatedUsers.DataBind()
    upAssociatedFaculty.Update()
End Sub

Protected Sub btnAddUser_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles btnAddUser.Click
    facultyId = New Guid(ddlFacultyList.SelectedValue)
    associatedFaculty.Add(facultyList.Find(Function(user) user.Id = facultyId))
    gvAssociatedUsers.DataBind()
    upAssociatedFaculty.Update()
End Sub

Markup:

<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server">
</asp:ScriptManager>
<asp:UpdatePanel ID="upAssociatedFaculty" runat="server" 
    UpdateMode="Conditional">
    <ContentTemplate>
<p><b>Created By:</b> <asp:Label ID="lblCreatedBy" runat="server"></asp:Label></p>
<p><b>Accomplishment Type: </b><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlAccomplishmentType" runat="server"></asp:DropDownList></p>

        <p><b>Accomplishment Applies To: </b><asp:DropDownList ID="ddlFacultyList" runat="server"></asp:DropDownList>
            &nbsp;<asp:Button ID="btnAddUser" runat="server" Text="Add Faculty" /></p>

        <p>
            <asp:GridView ID="gvAssociatedUsers" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" 
                GridLines="None" ShowHeader="false">
                <Columns>
                     <asp:BoundField DataField="Id" HeaderText="Id" Visible="False" />
                     <asp:TemplateField ShowHeader="False">
                         <ItemTemplate>
                             <span style="margin-left: 15px;">
                                <p><%#Eval("LastName")%>, <%#Eval("FirstName")%>
                                <asp:Button ID="btnUnassignUser" runat="server" CausesValidation="false" 
                                     CommandArgument='<%# Eval("Id") %>' CommandName="Delete" OnCommand="deleteUser" Text='Remove' /></p>
                             </span>
                         </ItemTemplate>
                     </asp:TemplateField>
                 </Columns>
                 <EmptyDataTemplate>
                     <em>There are currently no faculty associated with this accomplishment.</em>
                 </EmptyDataTemplate>
            </asp:GridView>
        </p>
    </ContentTemplate>
</asp:UpdatePanel>

Now I thought the point of an update panel was to be able to update things inside of it without doing a full post_back and reloading the page. So if that's the case, why is it calling page_load everytime I click the buttons? I ran this code and debug and I see that even before any of the code associated with button press fires, page_load runs again.

I tried putting the gvAssociatedUser.Datasource = associatedFaculty and the line below inside the Page.IsPostBack check, that prevented the page from working. I tried every combination of settings of the update panel for ChildrenAsTriggers and UpdateMode, and none of them worked.

I know this is something simple, but all the combinations I've tried won't get it to work. How can I make this thing work?

Edited: It wasn't causing a full postback so I was wrong as to the cause. I thought the page was doing a full post back thus resetting my associatedFaculty list global variable, but it isn't doing a full postback.

The issue I am having is everytime I click btnAddUser it will add one element to the associatedFaculty list and thus bound to gvAssociatedusers. This works the first time, but the second time I click it, it overwrites the first element. So it appears like my associatedFaculty list is getting reset each time I click the button?

Answer 1

Are you positive its doing a "FULL" postback?

The post you mentioned has a pretty easy way of testing..

<script type="text/javascript">
   var count=0;
    function incrementCounter()
    {
        count ++;
        alert(count);
    }
</script>

and on your asp button add this

OnClientClick="incrementCounter();"

If your doing a full post back your alert should always show "1"...

If your value is incrementing properly then your getting your expected ajax functionality.

Answer 2

Welp I found out the answer to this:

Even on partial postbacks, the entire page class is destroyed and re-recreated, so all the global variables get called again, so the New() variables will be empty thus why only one item can be saved. I was wrong in thinking that since it was in an UpdatePanel that stuff in there and related to that data would persist through a postback.

Nothing persists through postbacks unless stored in the ViewState or Session.