Question

I have a DropDownList, when the form is first opened it selects the first entry found in the database. What I want it to do is display “Select.” But I don’t want the “Select” message to hold any value towards my database (I don’t want the system to think this is an option to edit into the database).

What I’m trying at the moment is:

<asp:DropDownList ID="DropDownListEmployee" runat="server"  
                  AutoPostBack="True" 
                  OnSelectedIndexChanged="SelectionHasChanged"
                  DataSourceID="SqlDataSource1" DataTextField="Fullname"  
                  DataValueField="Employee_ID" Width="214px">
    <asp:ListItem>Select</asp:ListItem>

I have tried using:

dropdownList.DataBind();
dropdownList.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem("Select")); 

This solution kept setting “Select” into txt/data fields in which it did not belong, causing issues when trying to update, insert, or delete from database.

Also, how do I edit my posts so that it shows the code?

================ Code Behind File ================

namespace MyProject.Update
{
    public partial class UpdateEmployee : System.Web.UI.Page
    {
        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {

        }

        protected void SelectionHasChanged(Object sender, System.EventArgs e)
        {

            string connectionString = WebConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["DBConnectionString1"].ConnectionString;


            SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
            SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("Retreive", con);
            cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@ID", SqlDbType.Int, 7));
            cmd.Parameters["@ID"].Value = Convert.ToInt32(DropDownListEmployee.SelectedValue.ToString());


            try
            {
                con.Open();
                SqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader();

                if (reader.Read())
                {
                    txt1.Text = (string)reader["1"];
                    txt2.Text = (string)reader["2"];
                    txt3.Text = (string)reader["3"];
                    txt4.Text = (string)reader["4"];
                    txt5.Text = (string)reader["5"];
                    txt6.Text = (string)reader["6"];
                    txt7.Text = (string)reader["7"];
                    txt8.Text = DropDownListEmployee.SelectedValue.ToString();
                }

                reader.Close();

            }

            catch (SqlException err)
            {
                // Replace the error with something less specific.
                // You could also log the error now.
                throw new ApplicationException("Data error.");
            }
            finally
            {
                con.Close();
            }
        }


        protected void UpdateEmployeeBTN_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            string connectionString = WebConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["DBConnectionString1"].ConnectionString;


            SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
            SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("Change", con);
            cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@ID", SqlDbType.Int, 7));
            cmd.Parameters["@ID"].Value = Convert.ToInt32(DropDownListEmployee.SelectedValue.ToString());



            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@1", SqlDbType.VarChar, 20));
            cmd.Parameters["@1"].Value = txt1.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@2", SqlDbType.VarChar, 20));
            cmd.Parameters["@2"].Value = txt2.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@3", SqlDbType.VarChar, 100));
            cmd.Parameters["@3"].Value = txt3_Address.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@4", SqlDbType.VarChar, 100));
            cmd.Parameters["@4"].Value = txt4.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@5", SqlDbType.Char, 12));
            cmd.Parameters["@5"].Value = txt5.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@6", SqlDbType.Char, 12));
            cmd.Parameters["@6"].Value = txt6.Text;

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@7", SqlDbType.VarChar, 50));
            cmd.Parameters["@7"].Value = txt7.Text;


            try
            {
                con.Open();
                cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
                txtID.Text = Convert.ToString(cmd.Parameters["@ID"].Value);
            }
            catch (SqlException err)
            {
                // Replace the error with something less specific.
                // You could also log the error now.
                throw new ApplicationException("Data error.");
            }
            finally
            {
                con.Close();
            }

        }

Answer 1

Try using the AppendDataBoundItems attribute:

<asp:DropDownList ID="DropDownListEmployee" runat="server"  
                  AutoPostBack="True" 
                  OnSelectedIndexChanged="SelectionHasChanged"
                  DataSourceID="SqlDataSource1" DataTextField="Fullname"  
                  DataValueField="Employee_ID" Width="214px"
                  AppendDataBoundItems="true">
    <asp:ListItem Value="" Text="Select" />

This will allow you to add the databound items to the list without affecting anything you declared prior. Just make sure you add any items to the list before you call DataBind().

ListControl.AppendDataBoundItems Property

ADDED

Based on the code behind you pasted, I believe both ShankarSangoli and rudeovski ze bear have viable approaches for you. You need to check to ensure the user has made a selection in the DropDownList, and either throw an error if they didn’t or provide some default value.