Dropdownlist validation in Asp.net Using Required field validator

I have Dropdownlist whose value field and text field are bind at runtime.
it has --select-- as first item with a value of 0
and the rest of the values are bind at runtime.

I have given validaton group for both the control and the validator as "g1"
and Intialvalue=0

But still the page is posting back even if I select --select-- option.

<asp:DropDownList AutoPostBack="true" CssClass="dropdown" ValidationGroup="g1" 
    ID="ddlReportType" runat="server" 
    OnSelectedIndexChanged="ddlReportType_SelectedIndexChanged"></asp:DropDownList>

<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ControlToValidate="ddlReportType" ID="RequiredFieldValidator1"
ValidationGroup="g1" CssClass="errormesg" ErrorMessage="Please select a type"
InitialValue="0" runat="server"  Display="Dynamic">
</asp:RequiredFieldValidator>

And code Behind to Bind the Dropdown

ddlReportType.Items.Clear();
ddlReportType.DataSource = dt.Tables[0];
ddlReportType.DataTextField = "ReportType";
ddlReportType.DataValueField = "ReportTypeID";
ddlReportType.DataBind();
ddlReportType.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem("--Select--", "0"));
//ddlReportType.Items[0].Value = "0";
ddlReportType.SelectedIndex = 0;

Answers:

Thank you for visiting the Q&A section on Magenaut. Please note that all the answers may not help you solve the issue immediately. So please treat them as advisements. If you found the post helpful (or not), leave a comment & I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Method 1

<asp:RequiredFieldValidator InitialValue="-1" ID="Req_ID" Display="Dynamic" 
    ValidationGroup="g1" runat="server" ControlToValidate="ControlID"
    Text="*" ErrorMessage="ErrorMessage"></asp:RequiredFieldValidator>

Method 2

Here use asp:CompareValidator, and compare the value to “select” option.

Use Operator="NotEqual" ValueToCompare="0" to prevent the user from submitting the “select”.

<asp:CompareValidator ControlToValidate="ddlReportType" ID="CompareValidator1"
    ValidationGroup="g1" CssClass="errormesg" ErrorMessage="Please select a type"
    runat="server" Display="Dynamic" 
    Operator="NotEqual" ValueToCompare="0" Type="Integer" />

When you do above, if you select the “select ” option from dropdown it will show the ErrorMessage.

Method 3

I was struggling with this for a few days until I chanced on the issue when I had to build a new Dropdown. I had several DropDownList controls and attempted to get validation working with no luck. One was databound and the other was filled from the aspx page. I needed to drop the databound one and add a second manual list. In my case Validators failed if you built a dropdown like this and looked at any value (0 or -1) for either a required or compare validator:

<asp:DropDownList ID="DDL_Reason" CssClass="inputDropDown" runat="server">
<asp:ListItem>--Select--</asp:ListItem>                                                                                                
<asp:ListItem>Expired</asp:ListItem>                                                                                                
<asp:ListItem>Lost/Stolen</asp:ListItem>                                                                                                
<asp:ListItem>Location Change</asp:ListItem>                                                                                            
</asp:DropDownList>

However adding the InitialValue like this worked instantly for a compare Validator.

<asp:ListItem Text="-- Select --" Value="-1"></asp:ListItem>

Method 4

Add InitialValue="0" in Required field validator tag

 <asp:RequiredFieldValidator InitialValue="-1" ID="Req_ID"
      Display="Dynamic" ValidationGroup="g1" runat="server"
      ControlToValidate="ControlID"
      InitialValue="0" ErrorMessage="ErrorMessage">
 </asp:RequiredFieldValidator>

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0