In this article I will explain with an example, how to read and bind XML File to ASP.Net DropDownList control in C# and VB.Net.
 
 
XML file
The following XML file will be used to populate the DropDownList.
<?xml version="1.0"  encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Customers>
    <Customer>
        <CustomerId>1</CustomerId>
        <Name>John Hammond</Name>
        <Country>United States</Country>
    </Customer>
    <Customer>
        <CustomerId>2</CustomerId>
        <Name>Mudassar Khan</Name>
        <Country>India</Country>
    </Customer>
    <Customer>
        <CustomerId>3</CustomerId>
        <Name>Suzanne Mathews</Name>
        <Country>France</Country>
    </Customer>
    <Customer>
        <CustomerId>4</CustomerId>
        <Name>Robert Schidner</Name>
        <Country>Russia</Country>
    </Customer>
</Customers>
 
 
HTML Markup
The following HTML Markup consists of:
DropDownList – For displaying XML File data.
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlCustomers" runat="server"></asp:DropDownList>
 
 
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespace.
C#
using System.Data;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
 
 
Binding XML Data to DropDownList
Inside the Page_Load event handler, first the data from the XML file is read into a DataSet object using its ReadXml method to which absolute path of the XML file is passed as parameter.
Then, DataTextField and DataValueField properties of DropDownList are set.
Finally, the DataSet object is assigned to the DataSource property of the DropDownList and the DropDownList is populated.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        using (DataSet ds = new DataSet())
        {
            ds.ReadXml(Server.MapPath("~/Customers.xml"));
            ddlCustomers.DataTextField = "Name";
            ddlCustomers.DataValueField = "CustomerId";
            ddlCustomers.DataSource = ds;
            ddlCustomers.DataBind();
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Using ds As DataSet = New DataSet()
            ds.ReadXml(Server.MapPath("~/Customers.xml"))
            ddlCustomers.DataTextField = "Name"
            ddlCustomers.DataValueField = "CustomerId"
            ddlCustomers.DataSource = ds
            ddlCustomers.DataBind()
        End Using
    End If
End Sub
 
 
Screenshot
Read and Bind XML File to ASP.Net DropDownList Control
 
 
Downloads
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