How to set default value for ASP.NET MVC DropDownList from model

Question

i am new in mvc. so i populate dropdown this way

public ActionResult New()
{
    var countryQuery = (from c in db.Customers
                        orderby c.Country ascending
                        select c.Country).Distinct();
    List<SelectListItem> countryList = new List<SelectListItem>();
    string defaultCountry = "USA";
    foreach(var item in countryQuery)
    {
        countryList.Add(new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = item, 
                        Value = item, 
                        Selected=(item == defaultCountry ? true : false) });
    }
    ViewBag.Country = countryList;
    ViewBag.Country = "UK";
    return View();       
}

@Html.DropDownList("Country", ViewBag.Countries as List<SelectListItem>)

i like to know how can i populate dropdown from model and also set default value. any sample code will be great help. thanks

@Html.DropDownList("Country", ViewBag.Country as List<SelectListItem>, "DefaultValueHere") — Daniel Melo
– Daniel Melo, Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 14:51
you should use Model instead of ViewBag. stackoverflow.com/questions/6807256/… — Ashwini Verma
– Ashwini Verma, Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 15:03
@DanielMelo: actually, that parameter determines the name that should be shown for the "empty" option, not a default value. — Chris Pratt
– Chris Pratt, Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 16:30
Judging by the @Html... snippet, ViewBag.Country = countryList; should read ViewBag.Countries = "UK"; — OutstandingBill
– OutstandingBill, Commented Jul 20, 2016 at 10:56

Menelaos Vergis · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-13 08:25:36Z

6

Well this is not a great way to do this.

Create a ViewModel that will hold everything you want to be rendered at the view.

public class MyViewModel{

  public List<SelectListItem> CountryList {get; set}
  public string Country {get; set}

  public MyViewModel(){
      CountryList = new List<SelectListItem>();
      Country = "USA"; //default values go here
}

Fill it with the data you need.

public ActionResult New()
{
    var countryQuery = (from c in db.Customers
                        orderby c.Country ascending
                        select c.Country).Distinct();
    MyViewModel myViewModel = new MyViewModel ();

    foreach(var item in countryQuery)
    {
        myViewModel.CountryList.Add(new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = item, 
                        Value = item
                        });
    }
    myViewModel.Country = "UK";



    //Pass it to the view using the `ActionResult`
    return ActionResult( myViewModel);
}

At the view, declare that this view is expecting a Model with type MyViewModel using the following line at the top of the file

@model namespace.MyViewModel

And at anytime you may use the Model as you please

@Html.DropDownList("Country", Model.CountryList, Model.Country)

edited Apr 13, 2014 at 8:25

answered Apr 10, 2014 at 15:00

Menelaos Vergis

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1 Comment

Mou Over a year ago

what is this line Selected=(item == defaultCountry ? true : false) }); where is defaultCountry ?? it is not there in code.

Chris Pratt · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-10 16:28:45Z

3

You can't set the default value using Html.DropDownList, if you want to have a default value, the property itself should have a default value.

private string country;
public string Country
{
    get { return country ?? "UK"; }
    set { country = value; }
}

Then, when the drop down list renders, as long as "UK" is actually a value for one of the options, it will be automatically set to that.

answered Apr 10, 2014 at 16:28

Chris Pratt

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Comments

jrbedard · Accepted Answer · 2016-11-25 16:31:48Z

0

If the DropDownList is filled in the controller and sent to the view via ViewBag, you can do:

ViewBag.MyName = new SelectList(DbContextname.Tablename, "Field_ID", "Description",idtobepresented);

edited Nov 25, 2016 at 16:31

jrbedard

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answered Nov 25, 2016 at 16:14

Pajoc

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