CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#asp.net.net
dmngrsk
dmngrsk

Reputation: 209

DataTextFormatString not working in DropDownList

Let's say I'm writing an ASP.NET app that uses a DropDownList to display a single column, which contains DateTime objects, from a programatically created DataTable. I would like to use a specific format of DateTime, so I added a DataTextFormatString parameter to my DropDownList.

Page.aspx (website):

[...]

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddList1" runat="server"
 DataTextField="MyDate" DataTextFormatString="{0:d}" />

[...]

Page.aspx.cs (script):

[...]

DataTable dt = new DataTable();
dt.Columns.Add("MyDate");

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    DataRow dr = dt.NewRow();
    dr["MyDate"] = DateTime.Now.AddDays(i);
    dt.Rows.Add(dr);
}

ddList1.DataSource = dt.DefaultView;
ddList1.DataBind();

[...]

However, that format does not change at all. If I add dummy text outside of {0:d}, it does appear on my page, but the DateTime object just does not want to format how I want it to. After looking for a solution, literally everyone says that I need to set DataTextFormatString properly. But come on, am I not doing that? What am I missing here?

Huge note: I would like DataTextFormatString to stay declarative (in Page.aspx).

Upvotes: 2

Views: 638

Answers (1)

VDWWD
VDWWD

Reputation: 35514

The problem is in the DataTable, not The DataTextFormatString.

You need to specify the DataType of the column in the DataTable, otherwise it will default to string and you cannot apply formatting. So use 

dt.Columns.Add("MyDate", typeof(DateTime));

And then the formatting in DataTextFormatString will work

DataTextFormatString="{0:dd-MM-yyyy}"

Upvotes: 2

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