ASP MVC 5 @Html.EnumDropDownListFor Defaults to first Item

Question

I have the following enum:

public enum EmploymentType
{
  FullTime,
  PartTime,
  Contract
}

public class MyViewModel
{
   public string searchTerm { get; set; }
   public EmploymentType EmploymentType { get; set; }
}

 public ActionResult Index(string searchTerm, string EmploymentType)
{
     // some other stuff

     var viewModel = new MyViewModel {  SearchTerm = search };

     return View(viewModel);      
}

@Html.EnumDropDownListFor(m => m.EmploymentType, "", new { @class = "form-control" })

When I load the page the dropdown default to the first item FullTime instead of the empty option. I am not setting the default value in my controller so why does it default to the first item and how can i get it to default to the empty option value instead?

Answer 1

If you add an empty option to your enum, that is a guarantee:

public enum EmploymentType
{
  [Display(Name = "< Select >")]
  Select = 0,
  FullTime = 1,
  PartTime = 2,
  Contract = 3
}

By its very nature, it will select the first item in the list, so adding a generic "select" option is a way to ensure there is a default item.

If you rely on order, I'd highly recommend assigning a value to the enum value, so the numbers don't shift if you convert it to the integer equivalent.

Answer 2

You must add numbers to your enum values, which are NOT 0. Then "Select an option" will show automatically, if you haven't assigned any into your model.

public enum EmploymentType
{
  FullTime = 1,
  PartTime = 2,
  Contract = 3
}

Other answers here works as well, but contributes little bit more work.