Use the Repeater.DataSourceID property to access the System.Web.UI.Control.ID property of the data source control that the System.Web.UI.WebControls.Repeater control should use to retrieve its data source. The data source control that is referenced by the Repeater.DataSourceID property can be any control that implements the System.Web.UI.IDataSource interface. The data source control must exist either in the same naming container as the System.Web.UI.WebControls.Repeater control that references it or in a parent control of the System.Web.UI.WebControls.Repeater control. When you specify a value for the Repeater.DataSourceID property, the System.Web.UI.WebControls.Repeater control binds to the specified data source control. You do not need to write code that explicitly calls the Repeater.DataBind method.

Alternatively, you can use the Repeater.DataSource property to specify the source of values to bind to the System.Web.UI.WebControls.Repeater control. The data source must be a collection that implements the IEnumerable interface (such as the System.Data.DataView or ArrayList object) or the System.ComponentModel.IListSource interface. When you set the Repeater.DataSource property, you must write the code to perform the data binding.

If values are specified for both the Repeater.DataSource and Repeater.DataSourceID properties, ASP.NET is not able to resolve the data source and an System.Web.HttpException exception is thrown.

The value of this property is stored in view state.