ASP.NET DropDownList with DataSource doesn't select any item

Question

I'm using a DropDownList with a data source which successfully populates the list. However, I want one of the items to be selected, namely the one where the value matches the path and query of the current request.

ddlTopics.DataSource = pdc;
ddlTopics.DataBind();
foreach (ListItem item in ddlTopics.Items)
{
    item.Selected = item.Value.Equals(this.Page.Request.Url.PathAndQuery);
}

Using the debugger in Visual Studio 2008 reveals that item.Selected becomes true exactly once in the loop, but the rendered select has no option that is selected.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Set theddlTopics.SelectedIndex property to the index of the item you wanted selected.

Answer 2

I've always used

ddlTopics.SelectedIndex

to indicate that a row is selected, rather than assigning to the row individually.

Answer 3

This is how I do it...

  foreach (var itm in cboOffice.Items) {
        if (itm.Value == Session("office")) {
            itm.Selected = true;
            break; //OR EXIT FOR
        }
    }

Answer 4

You can try this:

ddlTopics.SelectedIndex = ddlTopics.Items.IndexOf(ddlTopics.Items.FindByValue(this.Page.Request.Url.PathAndQuery));

Answer 5

Use

ddlTopics.SelectedValue = this.Page.Request.Url.PathAndQuery;

    // Summary:
    //     Gets the value of the selected item in the list control, or selects the item
    //     in the list control that contains the specified value.