Question

The title pretty much asks the whole question – How can I clear ONLY the databound items from a ASP.NET DropDownList and NOT any items added in Source? If I have the following ddl:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddl1" runat="server" 
                  Width="300px" AppendDataBoundItems="true">
    <asp:ListItem Text="(Please Select)" Value="0" />
</asp:DropDownList>

…and then call the following:

ddl1.Items.Clear()

The all the DDL ListItems go away and next time I rebind, the “(Please Select)” default option is gone.

Is there a more streamlined or elegant way to clear only the databound items but leave the “(Please Select)” default ListItem added in the source? I think I could call the Items.Clear() and pop that default item back in like ddl1.Items.Add(New ListItem("(Please Select)", "0")) as a new ListItem object, but I wondered if there was a better way to do this?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I found no other streamlined or better way than clearing the list and then adding the default item back into the collection like shown below:

ddl1.Items.Clear()
ddl1.Items.Add(New ListItem("(Please Select)", "0"))