Generating SelectList with default selected item in MVC - html

Question

I'm trying to generate a selectList with a default selected item in MVC. I assign a selectlist to the viewbag and try to render it in my view and keep getting the below error.
Does anyone know what I might be doing wrong?
Create the list in my controller:
ViewBag.MasterAccountSelect = new SelectList(masterAccountsList, "MasterAccount", "MasterAccount", userSettingsViewModel.MasterAccountName);
Render the SelectList in my view:
<div class="editor-label">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.MasterAccountSelect, "MasterAccountSelect")
</div>
<div class="editor-field">
#Html.DropDownList("MasterAccountSelect")
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.MasterAccountSelect)
</div>
I get this error:
Compiler Error Message: CS1061: 'UserSettingsViewModel' does not
contain a definition for 'MasterAccountSelect' and no extension method
'MasterAccountSelect' accepting a first argument of type
'UserSettingsViewModel' could be found (are you missing a using
directive or an assembly reference?)
I also get this error when I

Answer 1

You view model does not have a property named MasterAccountSelect hence the error. From the code you are assigning to ViewBag, you appear to be wanting to bind to a property in your model named MasterAccountName in which case your model should be
public class UserSettingsViewModel
{
[Display(Name = "Master Account Name")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Please select a master account name")]
public string MasterAccountName { get; set; }
public SelectList MasterAccountNameList { get; set; }
....
}
Then in the GET method
UserSettingsViewModel model = new UserSettingsViewModel
{
MasterAccountName = ..... ,
MasterAccountNameList = new SelectList(masterAccountsList, "MasterAccount", "MasterAccount")
}
return View(model);
And in the view
<div class="editor-label">
#Html.LabelFor(m => m.MasterAccountName)
</div>
<div class="editor-field">
#Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.MasterAccountName, Model.MasterAccountNameList, "-Please select-")
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.MasterAccountName)
</div>
Side note: Since you wanting the options value and display text to be the same (using property MasterAccount), you can also use
MasterAccountNameList = new SelectList(masterAccountsList.Select(x => x.MasterAccount))

Answer 2

try Label instead of LabelFor, You can not use LabelFor strictly type html helper if you don't have property in your model.
<div class="editor-label">
#Html.Label("MasterAccountSelect")
</div>
<div class="editor-field">
#Html.DropDownList("MasterAccountSelect")
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.MasterAccountSelect)
</div>
One good Suggestion
Whenever you are using Viewbag for filling dropdown, Keep your Viewbag and property name different because it will not auto select your selected value.