It is possible for a ModalPopupExtender to be displayed using a postback. You'll need an invisible target control.
<asp:Button runat="server" ID="btnShowModal" Text="Show"
OnClick="btnShowModal_Click" />
<asp:Button runat="server" ID="HiddenForModal" style="display: none" />
<ajaxToolKit:ModalPopupExtener ID="Modal1" runat="server"
TargetControlID="HiddenForModal" PopupControlID="PopupPanel" />
In your message handler in code-behind, you'll show the ModalPopupExtender:
Modal1.Show();
And in the code you're using to dismiss the Modal, call the ModalPopupExtender's Hide function:
Modal1.Hide();
Then use this method for showing a modal that displays detailed data that I retrieve from a database based on what's selected in a GridView.
Thanks for Tim to this trick :)