VB.Net Datatable into Dropdowlist using 2 rows as one Item

Question

I got a DataTable filled with forename and surname and I want to display both as one item in a DropdownList

Dim strSql As String = "SELECT * FROM Personen"
    dtb.Clear()
    Using dad As New OleDbDataAdapter(strSql, connection)
        dad.Fill(dtb)
    End Using
    ddlName.Items.Clear()
    ddlName.DataSource = dtb.DefaultView
    ddlName.DataTextField = "Nachname"
    ddlName.DataValueField = "sozNr"
    ddlName.DataBind()

Thats what I have right now but it only displays the surname("Nachname") So my question is how to display the forename + surname as one Item in the Dropdownlist?

Answer 1

You can create a calculated column in the DataTable that is the union of these two fields and display it in the DropDownList column

dtb.Columns.Add("DataTextField", GetType(String), "forename + ' ' + surname")
ddlName.DataTextField = "DataTextField"
ddlName.DataValueField = "sozNr"