asp.net mvc html Drop down list helper isn't selecting option

Question

In my controller I generated a SelectList that I pass to the dropdown helper:

  <%= Html.DropDownList("abc123", Model.SomeList) %>

I look at the querystring for a value, which is a ID.

I then loop through all the items in the SelectList and if it is equal to the ID, I do:

item.Selected = true;

The controller action then passes this SelectList to the view and then to the Html helper.

In debug mode I can see the value does get set to true, but the html renders without selecting the item.

What can the issue be?

In the view, temporarily comment out the dropdownlist, loop through Model.SomeList and confirm that the right item is "selected". — Raj Kaimal
– Raj Kaimal, Commented Jul 4, 2010 at 18:13
Could you show the controller action that performs the steps you described in your post? — Darin Dimitrov
– Darin Dimitrov, Commented Jul 4, 2010 at 19:13

Darin Dimitrov · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-04 19:19:13Z

2

I don't know what you are doing wrong as you've shown 0 code but this definitely works:

public ActionResult Index(int? id)
{
    var model = new SelectList(new[]
    {
        new { Id = 1, Name = "item 1" },
        new { Id = 2, Name = "item 2" },
    }, "Id", "Name", id);
    return View(model);
}

and in your view:

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<SelectList>" %>
<asp:Content ID="Content2" ContentPlaceHolderID="MainContent" runat="server">

    <%= Html.DropDownList("abc123", Model) %>

</asp:Content>

Now if you navigate to /home/index/1 the first item is selected, if you navigate to /home/index/2 the second item item selected.

Also if you are using ASP.NET MVC 2.0 I would recommend you the strongly typed DropDownListFor helper instead of DropDownList.

answered Jul 4, 2010 at 19:19

Darin Dimitrov

1.0m276 gold badges3.3k silver badges3k bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Blankman Over a year ago

thanks it works when you pass the selectedValue in the constructor of selectList.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:48:44Z

0

This seems to be a common MVC problem:

Html.DropDownListFor not behaving as expected ASP.net MVC

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:48

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Jul 4, 2010 at 18:59

Yakimych

17.8k7 gold badges55 silver badges70 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

asp.net mvc html Drop down list helper isn't selecting option

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related