I finally "get" master pages in Whidbey, thanks to Bob
Sometimes, it takes a while to understand how to use something. I have understood the concept of master pages in .NET Whidbey for a while, but I have always had problems trying to get them to work. Well, doink on the head last night, I was able to get them to work. I finally understand how they work and why they work now. I “get” how the pieces come together. There is a content control on the master page that holds where content goes. On the visual page, there is also a content control which specifies the content control to use on the master page. Make that connection, and Bob's your Uncle. The part that I kept missing was the need to put the content control on the visual page and make the connection between the two. Once I did that, it just worked (or at least appeared to). One of the problems I had was that I was trying to put a master page interface into an existing web form. To do that, it required some changes to the html that I had assumed that the visual designer would do for me.
Wally