ASP.MVC 2.0 How display Blank textbox for Model property of Integer when integer value is zero

Question

I have the following code:

<div class="editor-field">
<%: Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.MyId) %>
<%: Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.MyId) %>
</div>

The 'MyId' property of the model is of type integer.

When the form is in 'Create' mode, MyId value is 0. How can I, prevent 0 displaying and rather render the textbox with an empty string / blank / no value?

I have tried various forms of String.Format without success.

Answer 1

You could use a nullable integer:

public int? MyId { get; set; }

Answer 2

Maybe you could use the TextBox() method instead, which allows you to specify the value to be shown:

<%: Html.TextBox("MyId", model.MyId == 0 ? "" : model.MyId.ToString()) %>