Question

@Html.DropDownList(
   "CreatedByUser_ID",
   new SelectList(
          Model.GetUsers(), 
          "ID", 
          "Name", 
          (int)Model.CreatedByUser_ID),
   "select one user----") 

CreatedByUser_ID property on model has no Required attribute, but on client side the generated select box is validated. If I remove optionLabel (select one user—-) then validation is turned off.

Why mvc3 automatically validate my dropdownbox without required field ?

Thank you

Answer 1

I guess if your model property CreatedByUser_ID is an int, the HTML rendered by the helper will not specify a value attribute for the “select one user” option. You can’t give an int a null value, so the validation kicks in.

Surely you would want the user to select an option? If not, try making your CreatedByUser_ID a nullable int – int? in C#.