How to create Static Dropdownlist values in MVC Model - asp.net-mvc

Question

How can I prepare a model for Dropdownlist static values (not retrieved from database) like enum or list in MVC Model so that it could be used many times in a project? I would appreciate if you can give a good article? Thanks.

Answer 1

As always you could start with a view model:
public class MyViewModel
{
public string SelectedValue { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> Values
{
get
{
return new[]
{
new SelectListItem { Value = "1", Text = "Item 1" },
new SelectListItem { Value = "2", Text = "Item 2" },
new SelectListItem { Value = "3", Text = "Item 3" },
};
}
}
}
then a controller:
public ActionResult Index()
{
var model = new MyViewModel();
return View(model);
}
and finally a view:
#model MyViewModel
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.SelectedValue, Model.Values)
For enums you could use some of the many posts out there illustrating custom helpers. Here's one blog post illustrating such helper: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/stuartleeks/archive/2010/05/21/asp-net-mvc-creating-a-dropdownlist-helper-for-enums.aspx

Answer 2

Finally I have found the solution by describing the parameters as hidden input. I am not sure if there is a more elegant method in order to pass the parameters from View to Controller. Thank you so much for your good sample. I also marked as helpful all of your replies. Here is my final code for those who might encounter a similar problem:
ApplicantViewModel:
public class ApplicantViewModel
{
public IEnumerable<Applicant> Applicants { get; set; }
//Codes for Dropdownlist values
public string SelectedValue { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> Values
{
get
{
return new[]
{
new SelectListItem { Value = "pdf", Text = "Pdf" },
new SelectListItem { Value = "excel", Text = "Excel" },
new SelectListItem { Value = "word", Text = "Word" }
};
}
}
}
ApplicantController:
public ViewResult Reporting()
{
var model = new ApplicantViewModel();
return View(model);
}
public ActionResult RenderReport(string SelectedValue, string name, string fileName, string dataSource, string table, string filter)
{
//Codes for rendering report
...
}
Reporting.cshtml:
#model MyProject.Models.ApplicantViewModel
#using (Html.BeginForm("RenderReport", "Applicant", FormMethod.Post,
new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
<div>
#Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.SelectedValue, Model.Values, "-- select an option --")
<input type="hidden" name="name" value="Report1"/>
<input type="hidden" name="fileName" value="image rapor"/>
<input type="hidden" name="dataSource" value="ApplicantDataset"/>
<input type="hidden" name="table" value="ApplicantsView"/>
<input type="hidden" name="filter" value="David"/>
<input type="submit" value="submit" />
</div>
}