Question

I have the following in my view:

<div class="editor-field">
   @Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.Subject, (IEnumerable<SelectListItem>) ViewBag.Clients)
</div>

This is how I’m calling the View:

var list = new List<SelectListItem>
               {
                   new SelectListItem {Text = "Gas Order", Value = "delivery"},
                   new SelectListItem {Text = "Account Services", Value = "account"},
                   new SelectListItem {Text = "Service Call", Value = "service"},
                   new SelectListItem {Text = "Inquiry", Value = "inquiry"}
               };
ViewBag.Clients = list;

return View();

And this is in my model:

[Required]
[StringLength(100, ErrorMessage = "The {0} must be at least {2} characters long.", MinimumLength = 6)]
[DataType(DataType.Text)]
[Display(Name = "Subject")]
public string Subject { get; set; }

I am trying to return back the selected value.

When I reload the screen due to an error on the screen, I am getting this error:

The ViewData item that has the key ‘Subject’ is of type
‘System.String’ but must be of type ‘IEnumerable’.

I’m assuming it is due to this line:

public string Subject { get; set; }

If that is the case, how do I get the selected item back to my model?

Answer 1

When I reload the screen due to an error on the screen, I am getting this error…

Make sure ViewBag.Clients has the right value on refresh.

This is why you should avoid using ViewBag and use only ViewModel.
Put all the relevant data there.