Binding in an ASP.NET DropDownList

Recently, I needed to bind a DataTable object with a DropDownList in ASP.NET, where the value of the DropDownList items was different than the text.

If you need to bind two seperate database columns bound with the Value and Text properties of a DropDownList control, it can be done using the DataValueField and DataTextField properties of DropDownList.

I have a DataTable with two columns called - Name and IdCode. I wanted to display Name as the text of a DropDownList items but IdCode as value so it can be use for other purposes.

This is how you do it.

MyList.DataSource = ds.Tables(0)
MyList.DataValueField = "IdCode"
MyList.DataTextField = "Name"