SelectExtensions.DropDownList Method (HtmlHelper, String, IEnumerable(Of SelectListItem), String)

Returns a single-selection select element using the specified HTML helper, the name of the form field, the specified list items, and an option label.

Namespace:  System.Web.Mvc.Html
Assembly:  System.Web.Mvc (in System.Web.Mvc.dll)

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'Declaration
<ExtensionAttribute> _
Public Shared Function DropDownList ( _
	htmlHelper As HtmlHelper, _
	name As String, _
	selectList As IEnumerable(Of SelectListItem), _
	optionLabel As String _
) As MvcHtmlString
'Usage
Dim htmlHelper As HtmlHelper 
Dim name As String 
Dim selectList As IEnumerable(Of SelectListItem)
Dim optionLabel As String 
Dim returnValue As MvcHtmlString 

returnValue = htmlHelper.DropDownList(name, _
	selectList, optionLabel)

Parameters

htmlHelper
Type: System.Web.Mvc.HtmlHelper

The HTML helper instance that this method extends.

name
Type: System.String

The name of the form field to return.

selectList
Type: System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable(Of SelectListItem)

A collection of SelectListItem objects that are used to populate the drop-down list.

optionLabel
Type: System.String

The text for a default empty item. This parameter can be Nothing.

Return Value

Type: System.Web.Mvc.MvcHtmlString
An HTML select element with an option subelement for each item in the list.

Usage Note

In Visual Basic and C#, you can call this method as an instance method on any object of type HtmlHelper. When you use instance method syntax to call this method, omit the first parameter. For more information, see https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb384936(v=vs.108) or https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb383977(v=vs.108).

ExceptionCondition
ArgumentException

The name parameter is Nothing or empty.

The DropDownList method renders an element that enables the user to select one item from a drop-down list. Each item in the list is a SelectListItem object.

The difference between calling the DropDownList method and using a select element is that the DropDownList method is designed to make it easy to bind to view data or model data.

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