Question

I have the following code which works:

ViewBag.Resources = New SelectList(db1.Tbl_Resources, "Resource_ID", "Resource_FirstName")

I want to not only show the first name, but also the last name so I tried this:

ViewBag.Resources = New SelectList(db1.Tbl_Resources, "Resource_ID", "Resource_FirstName" + " " + "Resource_LastName")

However, it didn’t work because it seems to look for a model property called “Resource_FirstNameResource_LastName.” How can I concatenate these for use in the SelectList() method?

Answer 1

Because the SelectList constructor in Mvc uses the dataTextField argument and reflection to “pull” the property value at runtime, there’s no way to accomplish what you are doing there HOWEVER, a simple workaround

Create a new readonly properly on your table class (use partial class if using EF) called “Caption” for example. Then in the getter return Resource_FirstName” + ” ” + Resource_LastName

class db1.Tbl_Resources
{
    public string Caption { get {return Resource_FirstName + " " + Resource_LastName;}}
}

Then in your View or Helper

New SelectList(db1.Tbl_Resources, "Resource_ID", "Caption");

At least that’s how I handle that scenario, which is fairly common.