Include a Button, LinkButton, or ImageButton in a control template.

Set the button's CommandName property to a string that identifies its function, such as "sort" or "copy".

Create a method for the ItemCommand event of the containing control. In the method, do the following:

1. Check the CommandName property of the event-argument object to see what string was passed.

2. Perform the appropriate logic for the button that the user clicked.

The following example shows how you can respond to a button click in a DataList control. In the example, the ItemTemplate contains an ImageButton control that displays a shopping cart. The button sends the command AddToCart. The ItemCommand event handler determines which button was clicked, and — if it was the shopping cart button — performs the appropriate logic.

Protected Sub DataList1_ItemCommand(ByVal source As Object, _
        ByVal e As DataListCommandEventArgs)
    If e.CommandName = "AddToCart" Then
        ' Add code here to add the item to the shopping cart.
        ' Use the value of e.Item.ItemIndex to retrieve the data 
        ' item in the control.
    End If
End Sub

protected void DataList1_ItemCommand(object source, 
    DataListCommandEventArgs e)
{
   if (e.CommandName == "AddToCart")
   {      
      // Add code here to add the item to the shopping cart.
      // Use the value of e.Item.ItemIndex to retrieve the data 
      // item in the control.
   }
}

For an example using the DataList Web server control, see How to: Allow Users to Select Items in DataList Web Server Controls.