How do you set a default value for a Html.TextBoxFor( ... ) text box?

Question

I know that you can create a textbox using ASP.NET that will automatically be filled with whatever the value in the model is by using

<%: Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.FirstName, new { id = "FirstName", placeholder = "[First Name]" }) %>

Is there a way to give it a default value if model.FirstName is null?

I've tried adding a value attribute, but that didn't work.

I also can't pass in a model with that value included, because it will affect other areas of the form.

same idea. however, as I stated in my question, I tried both the top voted answer, and the accepted answer, and neither worked. — Alex, May 07 '12 at 16:23

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered May 07 '12 at 16:21

You could change the model property to return a default value if it's null (or setting default values when creating the model) or you can use the Html.TextBox helper instead of Html.TextBoxFor:

<%: Html.TextBox("FirstName", Model.FirstName ?? "The default value", new { id = "FirstName", placeholder = "[First Name]" }) %>

or use the value-attribute:

<%: Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.FirstName, new { @Value = "The default value", id = "FirstName", placeholder = "[First Name]" }) %>

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered May 07 '12 at 16:30

Would something like a watermark work for what you're trying to accomplish?

There are a number of different implementation for jquery - this looks like it would work, and there is an option to use the title attribute for the watermark, which could be part of your model.

How do you set a default value for a Html.TextBoxFor( ... ) text box?

2 Answers2