The Toolbar > CurrentToolItem property is not being honored by the Map control.

To set the current tool when the application first initializes, add the following code to the PreRender event for the page in which the Map and Toolbar controls reside:

Code:

if (!IsPostBack)
{
    // Set variables to Map and Toolbar controls in page.
    // These references are merely provided for convenience.
    ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Map adfMap = Map1;
    ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Toolbar adfToolbar = Toolbar1;

    // Use the Toolbar current tool to set the Map current tool
    ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.MapToolItem mapToolItem =
        adfMap.ToolItems.Find(adfToolbar.CurrentTool) as ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.MapToolItem;

    adfMap.CurrentToolItem = mapToolItem;

    string scriptKeyCustom = "customOnLoad";
    if (!this.Page.ClientScript.IsStartupScriptRegistered(GetType(), scriptKeyCustom))
    {
        // Use ADF JavaScript to set the current tool for the map control on the client.
        ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.ToolbarItem toolbarItem =
            adfToolbar.ToolbarItems.Find(adfToolbar.CurrentTool);

        ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Tool currentTool =
            toolbarItem as ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Tool;

        string startupScript = string.Format(@"
        
                function onLoadFunction(){{
                        var clientAction = Toolbars['{0}'].items['{1}'].clientAction;
                        var clientFunction = clientAction + ""('{2}', '{1}', {3}, '{4}')"";    
                        eval(clientFunction);
                }}
                
                Sys.Application.add_load(onLoadFunction);", 
                  adfToolbar.ClientID, 
                  currentTool.Name, 
                  adfMap.ClientID, 
                  currentTool.ShowLoading.ToString().ToLower(), 
                  currentTool.Cursor);

        this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(GetType(), scriptKeyCustom, startupScript, true);
    }
}

To set the current tool during an operation at runtime (e.g., return results from a task), use the following code as a guide:

Code:

// Current tool name
string newCurrentTool = "MapPan";

ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Map adfMap = Map1;
ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Toolbar adfToolbar = Toolbar1;

// Set Toolbar current tool - server
adfToolbar.CurrentTool = newCurrentTool;

ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.ToolbarItem toolbarItem =
            adfToolbar.ToolbarItems.Find(adfToolbar.CurrentTool);

ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Tool currentTool =
    toolbarItem as ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.Tool;

// Set Map Current tool - server
ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.MapToolItem mapToolItem =
    adfMap.ToolItems.Find(adfToolbar.CurrentTool) as ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.MapToolItem;

adfMap.CurrentToolItem = mapToolItem;

// Set current tool on the client (sync toolbar and map controls in browser)
string setActiveToolScript = string.Format(@"
    // Set toolbar current tool - client
    var toolbar = Toolbars['{0}'];
    var currentToolField = $get(toolbar.currentToolField);
    currentToolField.value = '{1}';
    toolbar.selectTool();
    toolbar.refreshGroup();

    // Set map current tool - server
    var clientAction = toolbar.items['{1}'].clientAction;
    var clientFunction = clientAction + ""('{2}', '{1}', {3}, '{4}')"";    
    eval(clientFunction);
    ",
     adfToolbar.ClientID,
     currentTool.Name,
     adfMap.ClientID,
     currentTool.ShowLoading.ToString().ToLower(),
     currentTool.Cursor);

ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.CallbackResult cr =
    ESRI.ArcGIS.ADF.Web.UI.WebControls.CallbackResult.CreateJavaScript(setActiveToolScript);