Dashless GUID not used DropDownListFor

Question

I have a page, which accepts a parameter x (which is a GUID). On the page I have a

HTML.DropDownListFor(x => x.SomeGuidProperty).

If I specify parameter x in URL as 43f67d68-066d-4fda-94a8-3e3e4c7c278a (with dashes), drop down selects respeced option. But if I specify parameter x in URL as 43f67d68066d4fda94a83e3e4c7c278a (still GUID, but no dashes) - DropDownList ignores it.

It is impossible to ensure single format of GUID, as page is used by different sources.

What can be done to make DropDownList understand parameter x?

Answer 1

Instead of binding directly to a Guid, you'll need to bind to a string and then programmatically convert to a Guid. For example, instead of something like:

public ActionResult Foo(Guid x)

You'll need:

public Actionresult Foo(string x)

Then inside, you'll want to format x as a Guid should be formatted, if it's not already before converting it to an actual Guid: var guid = new Guid(x).