The GridView and ListView controls can let users select a row. In previous versions of ASP.NET, selection has been based on the row index on the page. For example, if you select the third item on page 1 and then move to page 2, the third item on that page is selected. This is not a natural method of selection.
Persisted selection is a new feature that was initially supported only in Dynamic Data projects in the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. When this feature is enabled, the current selected item is based on the data key for the item. This means that if you select the third row on page 1 and move to page 2, nothing is selected on page 2. When you move back to page 1, the third row is still selected. This is a much more natural method of selection than the behavior in earlier versions of ASP.NET. Persisted selection is now supported for the GridView and ListView controls in all projects by using the EnablePersistedSelection property, as shown in the following example:
<asp:GridView id="MyGridView" runat="server" EnablePersistedSelection="true">
</asp:GridView>