Create a simple Html.DropDownListFor() dropdown in ASP.NET MVC

In ASP.NET MVC, it is very easy to display static options in the drop-down list. Let's see how this can be achieved.

How to create a simple Html.DropDownListFor()

To generate a basic drop-down list, you can use the Html.DropDownListFor helper method. This requires a model property to bind the selected value, and a SelectList object that represents the options to be displayed.

Example usage

Consider the following list of models and color options:

public class PageModel 
{
   public int MyColorId { get; set; }
}

public static IEnumerable Colors = new List { 
    new Color {
        ColorId = 1,
        Name = "Red"
    },
    new Color {
        ColorId = 2,
        Name = "Blue"
    }
};

In your view, you can create a dropdown list like this:

@Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.MyColorId, new SelectList(PageModel.Colors, "ColorId", "Name"))

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