Filling out Html.DropDownListFor from csv file in Umbraco - asp.net-mvc

Question

My drop down list is filled out like this at the moment and interacts with my model employeeModel:
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => employeeModel.JobTitle,
new SelectList(
new List<Object>
{
new { value = "Job Title 1", text = "Job Title 1"},
new { value = "Job Title 2", text = "Job Title 2"},
new { value = "Job Title 3", text = "Job Title 3"},
new { value = "Job Title 4", text = "Job Title 4"}
},
"value",
"text",
0), "Select...", new { #class = "form-control" })
However, I need a way to so that I can fill this out way more easily than having to either manually do this by hand. The easiest way I thought of doing this was through a CSV file. However, I have no clue as to how I can get my user to upload the file, then grab all the contents of it so that it can fill the above code snippet.
Has anyone ever done such a thing before?

Answer 1

You could add an Upload field where the user could select a text file containing the list of jobs. In this case I'm assuming that the file looks something like this:
Job Title 1
Job Title 2
Job Title 3
Job Title 4
Job Title 5
In your controller you'd have to get the property value and convert it from a relative Uri path to an absolute file path. Then use StreamReader to read through the file and add the items to a list, before using the values to create a list of SelectListItems and add them to your employeeModel.
var fileUri = CurrentPage.GetPropertyValue<string>("jobFile");
var filePath = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(fileUri);
var values = new List<string>();
using (var reader = new StreamReader(filePath))
{
values = reader.ReadToEnd().Split(new string[] { "\r\n" }, StringSplitOptions.None).ToList();
}
employeeModel.Jobs = values.Select(x =>
{
return new SelectListItem
{
Value = x,
Text = x
};
});
Finally, render the drop down list in your view:
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.JobTitle, Model.Jobs, "Select...", new { #class = "form-control" })