Dropdownlist control with <optgroup>s for asp.net (webforms)?

Question

Can anyone recommend a dropdownlist control for asp.net (3.5) that can render option groups? Thanks

Answer 1

I've used the standard control in the past, and just added a simple ControlAdapter for it that would override the default behavior so it could render <optgroup>s in certain places. Here is the class I used (VB.Net). Note that this was for a specific purpose and written in .Net 2.0, so it may not suit you as well. But it should give you a starting point at least. Also, you have to hook it up using a .browserfile in your project.

''#This codes makes the dropdownlist control recognize items with "--"'
''#for the label or items with an OptionGroup attribute and render them'
''#as <optgroup> instead of <option>.'
Public Class DropDownListAdapter
    Inherits System.Web.UI.WebControls.Adapters.WebControlAdapter

    Protected Overrides Sub RenderContents(ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        Dim list As DropDownList = Me.Control
        Dim currentOptionGroup As String
        Dim renderedOptionGroups As New Generic.List(Of String)

        For Each item As ListItem In list.Items
            If item.Attributes("OptionGroup") IsNot Nothing Then
                ''#The item is part of an option group
                currentOptionGroup = item.Attributes("OptionGroup")
                If (renderedOptionGroups.Contains(currentOptionGroup)) Then
                    ''#the option header was already written, just render the list item
                    RenderListItem(item, writer)
                Else
                    ''#the header was not written- do that first
                    If (renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0) Then
                        RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer) ''#need to close previous group
                    End If
                    RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(currentOptionGroup, writer)
                    renderedOptionGroups.Add(currentOptionGroup)
                    RenderListItem(item, writer)
                End If
            ElseIf item.Text = "--" Then ''#simple separator
                RenderOptionGroupBeginTag("--", writer)
                RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer)
            Else
                ''#default behavior: render the list item as normal
                RenderListItem(item, writer)
            End If
        Next item

        If renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0 Then
            RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(ByVal name As String, ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteBeginTag("optgroup")
        writer.WriteAttribute("label", name)
        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar)
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderOptionGroupEndTag(ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteEndTag("optgroup")
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderListItem(ByVal item As ListItem, ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteBeginTag("option")
        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, True)
        If item.Selected Then
            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected", False)
        End If

        For Each key As String In item.Attributes.Keys
            writer.WriteAttribute(key, item.Attributes(key))
        Next key

        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar)
        HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer)
        writer.WriteEndTag("option")
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub
End Class

My browser file was named "App_Browsers\BrowserFile.browser" and looked like this:

<!--
    You can find existing browser definitions at
    <windir>\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<ver>\CONFIG\Browsers
-->
<browsers>
   <browser refID="Default">
      <controlAdapters>
        <adapter controlType="System.Web.UI.WebControls.DropDownList" 
               adapterType="DropDownListAdapter" />
      </controlAdapters>
   </browser>
</browsers>

Answer 2

The Sharp Pieces project on CodePlex solves this (and several other) control limitations.

Answer 3

Thanks Joel! everyone... here's C# version if you want it:

using System;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.Adapters;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web;

//This codes makes the dropdownlist control recognize items with "--"'
//for the label or items with an OptionGroup attribute and render them'
//as  instead of .'
public class DropDownListAdapter : WebControlAdapter
{

    protected override void RenderContents(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        DropDownList list = Control as DropDownList;
        string currentOptionGroup;
        List renderedOptionGroups = new List();

        foreach(ListItem item in list.Items)
        {
            if (item.Attributes["OptionGroup"] != null)
            {
                //'The item is part of an option group'
                currentOptionGroup = item.Attributes["OptionGroup"];
                //'the option header was already written, just render the list item'
                if(renderedOptionGroups.Contains(currentOptionGroup))
                    RenderListItem(item, writer);
                else
                {
                    //the header was not written- do that first'
                    if (renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0)
                        RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer); //'need to close previous group'
                    RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(currentOptionGroup, writer);
                    renderedOptionGroups.Add(currentOptionGroup);
                    RenderListItem(item, writer);
                }
            }
            else if (item.Text == "--") //simple separator
            {
                RenderOptionGroupBeginTag("--", writer);
                RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer);
            }
            else
            {
                //default behavior: render the list item as normal'
                RenderListItem(item, writer);
            }
        }

        if(renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0)
            RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer);
    }

    private void RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(string name, HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteBeginTag("optgroup");
        writer.WriteAttribute("label", name);
        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar);
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

    private void RenderOptionGroupEndTag(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteEndTag("optgroup");
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

    private void RenderListItem(ListItem item, HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteBeginTag("option");
        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
        if (item.Selected)
            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected", false);


        foreach (string key in item.Attributes.Keys)
            writer.WriteAttribute(key, item.Attributes[key]);

        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar);
        HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
        writer.WriteEndTag("option");
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

}

Answer 4

Hello guys,

I use the reflector to see why is not supported. There is why. In the render method of the ListControl no condition is there to create the optgroup.

protected internal override void RenderContents(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    writer.WriteBeginTag("option");
                    if (item.Selected)
                    {
                        if (flag)
                        {
                            this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                        }
                        flag = true;
                        writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                    }
                    writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                    if (item.HasAttributes)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                    }
                    if (this.Page != null)
                    {
                        this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                    }
                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag("option");
                    writer.WriteLine();
                }
            }
        }
    }

So i create my own dropdown Control with an override of the method RenderContents. There is my control. Is working fine. I use exactly the same code of Microsoft, just add a little condition to support listItem having attribute optgroup to create an optgroup and not a option.

Give me some feed back

public class DropDownListWithOptionGroup : DropDownList
  {
    public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
      ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
      int count = items.Count;     
      string tag;
      string optgroupLabel;
      if (count > 0)
      {
        bool flag = false;
        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
        {
          tag = OptionTag;
          optgroupLabel = null;
          ListItem item = items[i];
          if (item.Enabled)
          {
            if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
            {
              tag = OptionGroupTag;
              optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];
            }           
            writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
            // NOTE(cboivin): Is optionGroup
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
            {
              writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
            }
            else
            {
              if (item.Selected)
              {
                if (flag)
                {
                  this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                }
                flag = true;
                writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
              }
              writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
              if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
              {
                item.Attributes.Render(writer);
              }
              if (this.Page != null)
              {
                this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
              }
            }
            writer.Write('>');
            HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
            writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
            writer.WriteLine();
          }
        }
      }

    }
  }

Answer 5

As the answers above that overload the RenderContents method do work. You also have to remember to alter the viewstate. I have come into an issue when using the non-altered viewstate in UpdatePanels. This has parts taken from the Sharp Pieces Project.

 Protected Overloads Overrides Sub RenderContents(ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        Dim list As DropDownList = Me

        Dim currentOptionGroup As String
        Dim renderedOptionGroups As New List(Of String)()

        For Each item As ListItem In list.Items
            If item.Attributes("OptionGroup") Is Nothing Then
                RenderListItem(item, writer)
            Else
                currentOptionGroup = item.Attributes("OptionGroup")

                If renderedOptionGroups.Contains(currentOptionGroup) Then
                    RenderListItem(item, writer)
                Else
                    If renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0 Then
                        RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer)
                    End If

                    RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(currentOptionGroup, writer)
                    renderedOptionGroups.Add(currentOptionGroup)

                    RenderListItem(item, writer)
                End If
            End If
        Next

        If renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0 Then
            RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(ByVal name As String, ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteBeginTag("optgroup")
        writer.WriteAttribute("label", name)
        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar)
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderOptionGroupEndTag(ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteEndTag("optgroup")
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RenderListItem(ByVal item As ListItem, ByVal writer As HtmlTextWriter)
        writer.WriteBeginTag("option")
        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, True)

        If item.Selected Then
            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected", False)
        End If

        For Each key As String In item.Attributes.Keys
            writer.WriteAttribute(key, item.Attributes(key))
        Next

        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar)
        HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer)
        writer.WriteEndTag("option")
        writer.WriteLine()
    End Sub
    Protected Overrides Function SaveViewState() As Object
        ' Create an object array with one element for the CheckBoxList's
        ' ViewState contents, and one element for each ListItem in skmCheckBoxList
        Dim state(Me.Items.Count + 1 - 1) As Object 'stupid vb array
        Dim baseState As Object = MyBase.SaveViewState()

        state(0) = baseState
        ' Now, see if we even need to save the view state
        Dim itemHasAttributes As Boolean = False

        For i As Integer = 0 To Me.Items.Count - 1
            If Me.Items(i).Attributes.Count > 0 Then
                itemHasAttributes = True
                ' Create an array of the item's Attribute's keys and values
                Dim attribKV(Me.Items(i).Attributes.Count * 2 - 1) As Object 'stupid vb array
                Dim k As Integer = 0
                For Each key As String In Me.Items(i).Attributes.Keys
                    attribKV(k) = key
                    k += 1
                    attribKV(k) = Me.Items(i).Attributes(key)
                    k += 1
                Next
                state(i + 1) = attribKV
            End If
        Next
        ' return either baseState or state, depending on whether or not
        ' any ListItems had attributes
        If (itemHasAttributes) Then
            Return state
        Else
            Return baseState
        End If
    End Function


    Protected Overrides Sub LoadViewState(ByVal savedState As Object)
        If savedState Is Nothing Then Return
        ' see if savedState is an object or object array
        If Not savedState.GetType.GetElementType() Is Nothing AndAlso savedState.GetType.GetElementType().Equals(GetType(Object)) Then

            ' we have just the base state
            MyBase.LoadViewState(savedState(0))
            'we have an array of items with attributes
            Dim state() As Object = savedState
            MyBase.LoadViewState(state(0))   '/ load the base state
            For i As Integer = 1 To state.Length - 1
                If Not state(i) Is Nothing Then
                    ' Load back in the attributes
                    Dim attribKV() As Object = state(i)
                    For k As Integer = 0 To attribKV.Length - 1 Step +2
                        Me.Items(i - 1).Attributes.Add(attribKV(k).ToString(), attribKV(k + 1).ToString())
                    Next
                End If
            Next
        Else
            'load it normal
            MyBase.LoadViewState(savedState)
        End If
    End Sub

Answer 6

Hi,

I have used JQuery to achieve this task. I first added an new attribute for every ListItem from the backend and then used that attribute in JQuery wrapAll() method to create groups

Backend Code

foreach (ListItem item in ((DropDownList)sender).Items)
            {
                if (System.Int32.Parse(item.Value) < 5)
                    item.Attributes.Add("classification", "LessThanFive");
                else
                    item.Attributes.Add("classification", "GreaterThanFive");

            } 

JQuery Part:

<script>
        $(document).ready(function() {
            //Create groups for dropdown list
            $("select.listsmall option[@classification='LessThanFive']").wrapAll("<optgroup label='Less than five'>");
            $("select.listsmall option[@classification='GreaterThanFive']").wrapAll("<optgroup label='Greater than five'>"); 
        });
</script>

You can see the output here... Dropdownlist control with grouping ()

Answer 7

Based on the posts above I've created a c# version of this control with working view state.

        public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        string tag;
        string optgroupLabel;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                tag = OptionTag;
                optgroupLabel = null;
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
                    {
                        tag = OptionGroupTag;
                        optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];
                    }
                    writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
                    // NOTE(cboivin): Is optionGroup
                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
                    {
                        writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        if (item.Selected)
                        {
                            if (flag)
                            {
                                this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                            }
                            flag = true;
                            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                        }
                        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                        if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
                        {
                            item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                        }
                        if (this.Page != null)
                        {
                            this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                        }
                    }
                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
                    writer.WriteLine();
                }
            }
        }
    }

        protected override object SaveViewState()
    {
        object[] state = new object[this.Items.Count + 1];
        object baseState = base.SaveViewState();
        state[0] = baseState;
        bool itemHasAttributes = false;

        for (int i = 0; i < this.Items.Count; i++)
        {
            if (this.Items[i].Attributes.Count > 0)
            {
                itemHasAttributes = true;
                object[] attributes = new object[this.Items[i].Attributes.Count * 2];
                int k = 0;

                foreach (string key in this.Items[i].Attributes.Keys)
                {
                    attributes[k] = key;
                    k++;
                    attributes[k] = this.Items[i].Attributes[key];
                    k++;
                }
                state[i + 1] = attributes;
            }
        }

        if (itemHasAttributes)
            return state;
        return baseState;
    }

        protected override void LoadViewState(object savedState)
    {
        if (savedState == null)
            return;

        if (!(savedState.GetType().GetElementType() == null) &&
            (savedState.GetType().GetElementType().Equals(typeof(object))))
        {
            object[] state = (object[])savedState;
            base.LoadViewState(state[0]);

            for (int i = 1; i < state.Length; i++)
            {
                if (state[i] != null)
                {
                    object[] attributes = (object[])state[i];
                    for (int k = 0; k < attributes.Length; k += 2)
                    {
                        this.Items[i - 1].Attributes.Add
                            (attributes[k].ToString(), attributes[k + 1].ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            base.LoadViewState(savedState);
        }
    }

I hope this helps some people :-)

Answer 8

The above code renders the end tag for the optgroup before any of the options, so the options don't get indented like they should in addition to the markup not properly representing the grouping. Here's my slightly modified version of Tom's code:

    public class ExtendedDropDownList : System.Web.UI.WebControls.DropDownList
{
    public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        string tag;
        string optgroupLabel;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            string prevOptGroup = null;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                tag = OptionTag;
                optgroupLabel = null;
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
                    {
                        optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];

                        if (prevOptGroup != optgroupLabel)
                        {
                            if (prevOptGroup != null)
                            {
                                writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                            }
                            writer.WriteBeginTag(OptionGroupTag);
                            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
                            {
                                writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
                            }
                            writer.Write('>');
                        }
                        item.Attributes.Remove(OptionGroupTag);
                        prevOptGroup = optgroupLabel;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        if (prevOptGroup != null)
                        {
                            writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                        }
                        prevOptGroup = null;
                    }

                    writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
                    if (item.Selected)
                    {
                        if (flag)
                        {
                            this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                        }
                        flag = true;
                        writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                    }
                    writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                    }
                    if (optgroupLabel != null)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Add(OptionGroupTag, optgroupLabel);
                    }
                    if (this.Page != null)
                    {
                        this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                    }

                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
                    writer.WriteLine();
                    if (i == count - 1)
                    {
                        if (prevOptGroup != null)
                        {
                            writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    protected override object SaveViewState()
    {
        object[] state = new object[this.Items.Count + 1];
        object baseState = base.SaveViewState();
        state[0] = baseState;
        bool itemHasAttributes = false;

        for (int i = 0; i < this.Items.Count; i++)
        {
            if (this.Items[i].Attributes.Count > 0)
            {
                itemHasAttributes = true;
                object[] attributes = new object[this.Items[i].Attributes.Count * 2];
                int k = 0;

                foreach (string key in this.Items[i].Attributes.Keys)
                {
                    attributes[k] = key;
                    k++;
                    attributes[k] = this.Items[i].Attributes[key];
                    k++;
                }
                state[i + 1] = attributes;
            }
        }

        if (itemHasAttributes)
            return state;
        return baseState;
    }

    protected override void LoadViewState(object savedState)
    {
        if (savedState == null)
            return;

        if (!(savedState.GetType().GetElementType() == null) &&
            (savedState.GetType().GetElementType().Equals(typeof(object))))
        {
            object[] state = (object[])savedState;
            base.LoadViewState(state[0]);

            for (int i = 1; i < state.Length; i++)
            {
                if (state[i] != null)
                {
                    object[] attributes = (object[])state[i];
                    for (int k = 0; k < attributes.Length; k += 2)
                    {
                        this.Items[i - 1].Attributes.Add
                            (attributes[k].ToString(), attributes[k + 1].ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            base.LoadViewState(savedState);
        }
    }
}

Use it like this:

            ListItem item1 = new ListItem("option1");
        item1.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatA");
        ListItem item2 = new ListItem("option2");
        item2.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatA");
        ListItem item3 = new ListItem("option3");
        item3.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatB");
        ListItem item4 = new ListItem("option4");
        item4.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatB");
        ListItem item5 = new ListItem("NoOptGroup");

        ddlTest.Items.Add(item1);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item2);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item3);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item4);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item5);

and here's the generated markup (indented for ease of viewing):

 <select name="ddlTest" id="Select1">
    <optgroup label="CatA">
        <option selected="selected" value="option1">option1</option>
        <option value="option2">option2</option>
    </optgroup>
    <optgroup label="CatB">
        <option value="option3">option3</option>
        <option value="option4">option4</option>
    </optgroup>
    <option value="NoOptGroup">NoOptGroup</option>
 </select>