Sorting a DropDownList? - C#, ASP.NET

Question

I\'m curious as to the best route (more looking towards simplicity, not speed or efficiency) to sort a DropDownList in C#/ASP.NET - I\'ve looked at a few recommendations b

Answer 1

Try This:

/// 

/// AlphabetizeDropDownList alphabetizes a given dropdown list by it's displayed text.
/// 
/// The drop down list you wish to modify.
/// 
private void AlphabetizeDropDownList(ref DropDownList dropDownList)
{
    //Create a datatable to sort the drop down list items
    DataTable machineDescriptionsTable = new DataTable();
    machineDescriptionsTable.Columns.Add("DescriptionCode", typeof(string));
    machineDescriptionsTable.Columns.Add("UnitIDString", typeof(string));
    machineDescriptionsTable.AcceptChanges();
    //Put each of the list items into the datatable
    foreach (ListItem currentDropDownListItem in dropDownList.Items) {
            string currentDropDownUnitIDString = currentDropDownListItem.Value;
            string currentDropDownDescriptionCode = currentDropDownListItem.Text;
            DataRow currentDropDownDataRow = machineDescriptionsTable.NewRow();
            currentDropDownDataRow["DescriptionCode"] = currentDropDownDescriptionCode.Trim();
            currentDropDownDataRow["UnitIDString"] = currentDropDownUnitIDString.Trim();
            machineDescriptionsTable.Rows.Add(currentDropDownDataRow);
            machineDescriptionsTable.AcceptChanges();
    }
    //Sort the data table by description
    DataView sortedView = new DataView(machineDescriptionsTable);
    sortedView.Sort = "DescriptionCode";
    machineDescriptionsTable = sortedView.ToTable();
    //Clear the items in the original dropdown list
    dropDownList.Items.Clear();
    //Create a dummy list item at the top
    ListItem dummyListItem = new ListItem(" ", "-1");
    dropDownList.Items.Add(dummyListItem);
    //Begin transferring over the items alphabetically from the copy to the intended drop
     downlist
    foreach (DataRow currentDataRow in machineDescriptionsTable.Rows) {
            string currentDropDownValue = currentDataRow["UnitIDString"].ToString().Trim();
            string currentDropDownText = currentDataRow["DescriptionCode"].ToString().Trim();
            ListItem currentDropDownListItem = new ListItem(currentDropDownText, currentDropDownValue);
    //Don't deal with dummy values in the list we are transferring over
    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(currentDropDownText.Trim())) {
        dropDownList.Items.Add(currentDropDownListItem);
    }
}

}

This will take a given drop down list with a Text and a Value property of the list item and put them back into the given drop down list. Best of Luck!