Server controls null in Page_Load - asp.net

Question

I have a page that has some server controls in it. For some reason these controls are null in the page's Page_Load event handler.
<asp:Content ID="mainContent" runat="server" ContentPlaceHolderID="mainPlaceholder">
<asp:Label ID="userIdLockedLabel" runat="server" EnableViewState="False" ForeColor="Red"
Visible="False">
</asp:Label>
<asp:Panel ID="standardLoginPanel" runat="server">
<asp:Login ID="loginControl" runat="server"
DisplayRememberMe="false"
PasswordRecoveryUrl="?action=lostpass"
TextBoxStyle-Font-Names="verdana"
TextBoxStyle-Font-Size="Small"
DestinationPageUrl="Home.aspx"
OnLoggingIn="OnLoggingIn"
OnLoginError="OnError"
TitleText="" >
<TextBoxStyle Font-Names="verdana" Font-Size="Small"></TextBoxStyle>
<LoginButtonStyle CssClass="btn" />
</asp:Login>
</asp:Panel>
<asp:Panel ID="canadaLoginPanel" runat="server" Visible="false">
<asp:Label ID="userFailureLabel" runat="server"></asp:Label>
<table>
<tr>
<td><%= Utility.RetrieveResource("CompanyNumberLabel") %></td>
<td><asp:TextBox ID="companyNumberTextbox" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><%= Utility.RetrieveResource("UserIdLabel")%></td>
<td><asp:TextBox ID="userIdTextbox" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><%= Utility.RetrieveResource("PasswordLabel")%></td>
<td><asp:TextBox ID="userPasswordTextbox" runat="server" TextMode="Password"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<asp:CheckBox ID="rememberMeCheckBox" runat="server" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><asp:Button ID="userSubmit" runat="server" CssClass="btn" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><%= Utility.RetrieveResource("ForgotPasswordLinkText") %></td>
</tr>
</table>
</asp:Panel>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small">
<span class="bold">
<%= Utility.RetrieveResource("TroubleLogginIn") %>
</span><br />
<%= Utility.RetrieveResource("ForgotPasswordText") %>
</div>
The page, login.aspx inherits from LogOnBasePage, and that is where the Page_Load code is. In there, I use the following code:
if (this.Company.SiteType == Ceridian.KB.Entities.SiteType.CAN)
{
this.FindControlRecursive("standardLoginPanel").Visible = false;
this.FindControlRecursive("canadaLoginPanel").Visible = true;
((Button)this.FindControlRecursive("userSubmit")).Text = Utility.RetrieveResource("LoginButtonText");
this.Login = null;
CheckBox rememberMe = (CheckBox)this.FindControlRecursive("rememberMeCheckBox");
rememberMe.Text = Utility.RetrieveResource("RememberMeText");
}
Here is the content of the FindControlRecursive method.
public static Control FindControlRecursive(this Control control, string controlId)
{
if (string.Compare(control.ID, controlId, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == 0)
{
// We found the control!
return control;
}
else
{
// Recurse through ctrl's Controls collections
foreach (Control child in control.Controls)
{
Control lookFor = FindControlRecursive(child, controlId);
if (lookFor != null)
{
// We found the control
return lookFor;
}
}
// If we reach here, control was not found
return null;
}
}
I always get a null reference on the first line inside the if check. I don't see how this is possible.

Answer 1

It might be that you need to wait later in the page lifecycle. try putting it in the page_prerendercomplete event like this
Page_PreRenderComplete(Object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (this.Company.SiteType == Ceridian.KB.Entities.SiteType.CAN)
{
this.FindControlRecursive("standardLoginPanel").Visible = false;
this.FindControlRecursive("canadaLoginPanel").Visible = true;
((Button)this.FindControlRecursive("userSubmit")).Text = Utility.RetrieveResource("LoginButtonText");
this.Login = null;
CheckBox rememberMe = (CheckBox)this.FindControlRecursive("rememberMeCheckBox");
rememberMe.Text = Utility.RetrieveResource("RememberMeText");
}

Answer 2

Does the page you are inheriting from use a markup file (e.g. LogOnBasePage.aspx)?
If so then I think you are out of luck inheriting from it. The markup page generates a class that inherits from the class defined in the code behind page. One of the responsibilities of this generated class is to instantiate the controls defined in the markup. If you inherit from LogOnBasePage your new page will not have the code necessary to instantiate the controls from LogOnBasePage markup and therefore you will get null references.