DropDownList.SelectedIndex = -1

I would like to be able to set a drop down list to null, but prevent the user from selecting a null value. In my windows app I was able to use:

VB Code:

dropdownlist.selectedindex = -1

This doesn't appear to be working with my ASP page. ???

Code:

---

ddl.SelectedItem.Selected = false;

---

or

Code:

---

foreach(ListItem li in ddl.Items)
{
    if(li.Selected) li.Selected = !li.Selected;//aka false
}

---

The proper way:

Code:

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dropdownlist1.ClearSelection();

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You should realize that a dropdownlist allows you to set a null value listItem on the frontside aspx.

Code:

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<asp:dropdownlist id="dropdownlist1" runat="server">
                        <asp:listitem value="">--Select A Color--</asp:listitem>
                        <asp:listitem value="red">Red</asp:listitem>
                        <asp:listitem value="blue">Blue</asp:listitem>
                        </asp:dropdownlist>

---

Then in the code behind, you can check whether the user selected an item by testing for an empty string value.

Code:

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if (dropdownlist1.SelectedValue.Length == 0)
                                Response.Redirect("http://www.google.com");

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very nice to know this .ClearSelection is.....