Fill a DropDownList with an Enum which has a value = -1, and place it in first position

Question

I'm working with ASP.NET MVC3 and I'm trying to fill a DropDownList with an Enum.
My problem is that the enum begins at -1 and the DropDownList is correctly filled, but the first item (whichever has the -1 value) is always the last item of my DropDownList ; however, I need it in first position.

Here is my .cshtml

@Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.MyEnumMax, new SelectList(Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyEnum))), new { @id = "myId", @class = "myClass" })

Here, MyEnumMax is a string property representing a MyEnum member (maybe is this the problem ? However, it really helps me elsewhere in the project to have this string property)

and the enum just looks like

public enum MyEnum
{
    Undefined = -1,
    Member1,
    Member 2
}

So in my view, I have my ddl lloks like :

• Member1
• Member2
• Undefined

whereas I need :

• Undefined
• Member1
• Member2

I tried some OrderBy(x => x.Value) but it doesn't care and still displays Undefined at last position. Any help (with code sample) appreciated

Answer 1

You just need to order Enum by its int value,

code:

@Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.TestEnumValue,Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyEnum))
.Cast<MyEnum>()
.OrderBy(e => (int)e)
.Select(e => new  SelectListItem 
{ 
    Text  = e.ToString(), 
    Value  = ((int)e).ToString()
} ))

You also need to cast GetValues to get typed version: GetValues(typeof(MyEnum)).Cast<MyEnum>

result: