Dropdownlist control with s for asp.net

Question

Can anyone recommend a dropdownlist control for asp.net (3.5) that can render option groups? Thanks

Answer 1

Based on the posts above I've created a c# version of this control with working view state.

        public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        string tag;
        string optgroupLabel;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                tag = OptionTag;
                optgroupLabel = null;
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
                    {
                        tag = OptionGroupTag;
                        optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];
                    }
                    writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
                    // NOTE(cboivin): Is optionGroup
                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
                    {
                        writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        if (item.Selected)
                        {
                            if (flag)
                            {
                                this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                            }
                            flag = true;
                            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                        }
                        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                        if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
                        {
                            item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                        }
                        if (this.Page != null)
                        {
                            this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                        }
                    }
                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
                    writer.WriteLine();
                }
            }
        }
    }

        protected override object SaveViewState()
    {
        object[] state = new object[this.Items.Count + 1];
        object baseState = base.SaveViewState();
        state[0] = baseState;
        bool itemHasAttributes = false;

        for (int i = 0; i < this.Items.Count; i++)
        {
            if (this.Items[i].Attributes.Count > 0)
            {
                itemHasAttributes = true;
                object[] attributes = new object[this.Items[i].Attributes.Count * 2];
                int k = 0;

                foreach (string key in this.Items[i].Attributes.Keys)
                {
                    attributes[k] = key;
                    k++;
                    attributes[k] = this.Items[i].Attributes[key];
                    k++;
                }
                state[i + 1] = attributes;
            }
        }

        if (itemHasAttributes)
            return state;
        return baseState;
    }

        protected override void LoadViewState(object savedState)
    {
        if (savedState == null)
            return;

        if (!(savedState.GetType().GetElementType() == null) &&
            (savedState.GetType().GetElementType().Equals(typeof(object))))
        {
            object[] state = (object[])savedState;
            base.LoadViewState(state[0]);

            for (int i = 1; i < state.Length; i++)
            {
                if (state[i] != null)
                {
                    object[] attributes = (object[])state[i];
                    for (int k = 0; k < attributes.Length; k += 2)
                    {
                        this.Items[i - 1].Attributes.Add
                            (attributes[k].ToString(), attributes[k + 1].ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            base.LoadViewState(savedState);
        }
    }

I hope this helps some people :-)

Answer 2

I use the reflector to see why is not supported. There is why. In the render method of the ListControl no condition is there to create the optgroup.

protected internal override void RenderContents(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    writer.WriteBeginTag("option");
                    if (item.Selected)
                    {
                        if (flag)
                        {
                            this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                        }
                        flag = true;
                        writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                    }
                    writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                    if (item.HasAttributes)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                    }
                    if (this.Page != null)
                    {
                        this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                    }
                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag("option");
                    writer.WriteLine();
                }
            }
        }
    }

So i create my own dropdown Control with an override of the method RenderContents. There is my control. Is working fine. I use exactly the same code of Microsoft, just add a little condition to support listItem having attribute optgroup to create an optgroup and not a option.

Give me some feed back

public class DropDownListWithOptionGroup : DropDownList
  {
    public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
      ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
      int count = items.Count;     
      string tag;
      string optgroupLabel;
      if (count > 0)
      {
        bool flag = false;
        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
        {
          tag = OptionTag;
          optgroupLabel = null;
          ListItem item = items[i];
          if (item.Enabled)
          {
            if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
            {
              tag = OptionGroupTag;
              optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];
            }           
            writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
            // NOTE(cboivin): Is optionGroup
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
            {
              writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
            }
            else
            {
              if (item.Selected)
              {
                if (flag)
                {
                  this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                }
                flag = true;
                writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
              }
              writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
              if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
              {
                item.Attributes.Render(writer);
              }
              if (this.Page != null)
              {
                this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
              }
            }
            writer.Write('>');
            HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
            writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
            writer.WriteLine();
          }
        }
      }

    }
  }

Answer 3

Thanks Joel! everyone... here's C# version if you want it:

using System;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.Adapters;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web;

//This codes makes the dropdownlist control recognize items with "--"'
//for the label or items with an OptionGroup attribute and render them'
//as  instead of .'
public class DropDownListAdapter : WebControlAdapter
{

    protected override void RenderContents(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        DropDownList list = Control as DropDownList;
        string currentOptionGroup;
        List renderedOptionGroups = new List();

        foreach(ListItem item in list.Items)
        {
            if (item.Attributes["OptionGroup"] != null)
            {
                //'The item is part of an option group'
                currentOptionGroup = item.Attributes["OptionGroup"];
                //'the option header was already written, just render the list item'
                if(renderedOptionGroups.Contains(currentOptionGroup))
                    RenderListItem(item, writer);
                else
                {
                    //the header was not written- do that first'
                    if (renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0)
                        RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer); //'need to close previous group'
                    RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(currentOptionGroup, writer);
                    renderedOptionGroups.Add(currentOptionGroup);
                    RenderListItem(item, writer);
                }
            }
            else if (item.Text == "--") //simple separator
            {
                RenderOptionGroupBeginTag("--", writer);
                RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer);
            }
            else
            {
                //default behavior: render the list item as normal'
                RenderListItem(item, writer);
            }
        }

        if(renderedOptionGroups.Count > 0)
            RenderOptionGroupEndTag(writer);
    }

    private void RenderOptionGroupBeginTag(string name, HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteBeginTag("optgroup");
        writer.WriteAttribute("label", name);
        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar);
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

    private void RenderOptionGroupEndTag(HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteEndTag("optgroup");
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

    private void RenderListItem(ListItem item, HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        writer.WriteBeginTag("option");
        writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
        if (item.Selected)
            writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected", false);


        foreach (string key in item.Attributes.Keys)
            writer.WriteAttribute(key, item.Attributes[key]);

        writer.Write(HtmlTextWriter.TagRightChar);
        HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
        writer.WriteEndTag("option");
        writer.WriteLine();
    }

}

Answer 4

    // How to use:
    // 1. Create items in a select element or asp:DropDownList control
    // 2. Set value of an option or ListItem to "_group_", those will be converted to optgroups
    // 3. On page onload call createOptGroups(domElement), for example like this:
    //    - var lst = document.getElementById('lst');
    //    - createOptGroups(lst, "_group_");
    // 4. You can change groupMarkerValue to anything, I used "_group_"
    function createOptGroups(lst, groupMarkerValue) {
        // Get an array containing the options
        var childNodes = [];
        for (var i = 0; i < lst.options.length; i++)
            childNodes.push(lst.options[i]);

        // Get the selected element so we can preserve selection
        var selectedIndex = lst.selectedIndex;
        var selectedChild = childNodes[selectedIndex];
        var selectedValue = selectedChild.value;

        // Remove all elements
        while (lst.hasChildNodes())
            lst.removeChild(lst.childNodes[0]);

        // Go through the array of options and convert some into groups
        var group = null;
        for (var i = 0; i < childNodes.length; i++) {
            var node = childNodes[i];
            if (node.value == groupMarkerValue) {
                group = document.createElement("optgroup");
                group.label = node.text;
                group.value = groupMarkerValue;
                lst.appendChild(group);
                continue;
            }

            // Add to group or directly under list
            (group == null ? lst : group).appendChild(node);
        }

        // Preserve selected, no support for multi-selection here, sorry
        selectedChild.selected = true;
    }

Tested on Chrome 16, Firefox 9 and IE8.

Answer 5

I've done this using an outer repeater for the select and optgroups and an inner repeater for the items within that group:

<asp:Repeater ID="outerRepeater" runat="server">
    <HeaderTemplate>
        <select id="<%= outerRepeater.ClientID %>">
    </HeaderTemplate>
    <ItemTemplate>
            <optgroup label="<%# Eval("GroupText") %>">
                <asp:Repeater runat="server" DataSource='<%# Eval("Items") %>'>
                    <ItemTemplate>
                        <option value="<%# Eval("Value") %>"><%# Eval("Text") %></option>
                    </ItemTemplate>
                </asp:Repeater>
            </optgroup>
    </ItemTemplate>
    <FooterTemplate>
        </select>
    </FooterTemplate>
</asp:Repeater>

The data source for outerRepeater is a simple grouping as follows:

var data = (from o in thingsToDisplay
            group oby GetAlphaGrouping(o.Name) into g
            orderby g.Key
            select new
            {
                Alpha = g.Key,
                Items = g
            });

And to get the alpha grouping character:

private string GetAlphaGrouping(string value)
{
    string firstChar = value.Substring(0, 1).ToUpper();
    int unused;

    if (int.TryParse(firstChar, out unused))
        return "#";

    return firstChar.ToUpper();
}

It's not a perfect solution but it works. The correct solution would be to no longer use WebForms, but us MVC instead. :)

Answer 6

The above code renders the end tag for the optgroup before any of the options, so the options don't get indented like they should in addition to the markup not properly representing the grouping. Here's my slightly modified version of Tom's code:

    public class ExtendedDropDownList : System.Web.UI.WebControls.DropDownList
{
    public const string OptionGroupTag = "optgroup";
    private const string OptionTag = "option";
    protected override void RenderContents(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
    {
        ListItemCollection items = this.Items;
        int count = items.Count;
        string tag;
        string optgroupLabel;
        if (count > 0)
        {
            bool flag = false;
            string prevOptGroup = null;
            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                tag = OptionTag;
                optgroupLabel = null;
                ListItem item = items[i];
                if (item.Enabled)
                {
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0 && item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag] != null)
                    {
                        optgroupLabel = item.Attributes[OptionGroupTag];

                        if (prevOptGroup != optgroupLabel)
                        {
                            if (prevOptGroup != null)
                            {
                                writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                            }
                            writer.WriteBeginTag(OptionGroupTag);
                            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(optgroupLabel))
                            {
                                writer.WriteAttribute("label", optgroupLabel);
                            }
                            writer.Write('>');
                        }
                        item.Attributes.Remove(OptionGroupTag);
                        prevOptGroup = optgroupLabel;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        if (prevOptGroup != null)
                        {
                            writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                        }
                        prevOptGroup = null;
                    }

                    writer.WriteBeginTag(tag);
                    if (item.Selected)
                    {
                        if (flag)
                        {
                            this.VerifyMultiSelect();
                        }
                        flag = true;
                        writer.WriteAttribute("selected", "selected");
                    }
                    writer.WriteAttribute("value", item.Value, true);
                    if (item.Attributes != null && item.Attributes.Count > 0)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Render(writer);
                    }
                    if (optgroupLabel != null)
                    {
                        item.Attributes.Add(OptionGroupTag, optgroupLabel);
                    }
                    if (this.Page != null)
                    {
                        this.Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation(this.UniqueID, item.Value);
                    }

                    writer.Write('>');
                    HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(item.Text, writer);
                    writer.WriteEndTag(tag);
                    writer.WriteLine();
                    if (i == count - 1)
                    {
                        if (prevOptGroup != null)
                        {
                            writer.WriteEndTag(OptionGroupTag);
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    protected override object SaveViewState()
    {
        object[] state = new object[this.Items.Count + 1];
        object baseState = base.SaveViewState();
        state[0] = baseState;
        bool itemHasAttributes = false;

        for (int i = 0; i < this.Items.Count; i++)
        {
            if (this.Items[i].Attributes.Count > 0)
            {
                itemHasAttributes = true;
                object[] attributes = new object[this.Items[i].Attributes.Count * 2];
                int k = 0;

                foreach (string key in this.Items[i].Attributes.Keys)
                {
                    attributes[k] = key;
                    k++;
                    attributes[k] = this.Items[i].Attributes[key];
                    k++;
                }
                state[i + 1] = attributes;
            }
        }

        if (itemHasAttributes)
            return state;
        return baseState;
    }

    protected override void LoadViewState(object savedState)
    {
        if (savedState == null)
            return;

        if (!(savedState.GetType().GetElementType() == null) &&
            (savedState.GetType().GetElementType().Equals(typeof(object))))
        {
            object[] state = (object[])savedState;
            base.LoadViewState(state[0]);

            for (int i = 1; i < state.Length; i++)
            {
                if (state[i] != null)
                {
                    object[] attributes = (object[])state[i];
                    for (int k = 0; k < attributes.Length; k += 2)
                    {
                        this.Items[i - 1].Attributes.Add
                            (attributes[k].ToString(), attributes[k + 1].ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            base.LoadViewState(savedState);
        }
    }
}

Use it like this:

            ListItem item1 = new ListItem("option1");
        item1.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatA");
        ListItem item2 = new ListItem("option2");
        item2.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatA");
        ListItem item3 = new ListItem("option3");
        item3.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatB");
        ListItem item4 = new ListItem("option4");
        item4.Attributes.Add("optgroup", "CatB");
        ListItem item5 = new ListItem("NoOptGroup");

        ddlTest.Items.Add(item1);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item2);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item3);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item4);
        ddlTest.Items.Add(item5);

and here's the generated markup (indented for ease of viewing):

 <select name="ddlTest" id="Select1">
    <optgroup label="CatA">
        <option selected="selected" value="option1">option1</option>
        <option value="option2">option2</option>
    </optgroup>
    <optgroup label="CatB">
        <option value="option3">option3</option>
        <option value="option4">option4</option>
    </optgroup>
    <option value="NoOptGroup">NoOptGroup</option>
 </select>