We are currently trying to optimize the performance of an ASP.NET based website which has been in development for quite a long time. We are using MS Ajax with UpdatePanels and such. ComponentArt is also part of the picture.

The page load method is very heavy and we are trying to trim some fat from here. Is there any way we can avoid calling page load during a partial postback by a control within an update panel. Is this possible at all without hampering other functionality on the page?

The thread closest to what we are trying to achieve is [c# updatepanel with timer page\_load](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1099330/c-updatepanel-with-timer-pageload). But we don't want to check the event target explicitly because there are dozens of them.