Bind an XML to DropDownList ASP.Net C#

create an XML file in ur project

Employees.xml

<Employees >
<Employee >
<Name >David </Name >
<ID >101 </ID >
<IsActive >true </IsActive >
</Employee >
<Employee >
<Name >Tom </Name >
<ID >102 </ID >
<IsActive >true </IsActive >
</Employee >
<Employee >
<Name >Rick </Name >
<ID >103 </ID >
<IsActive >false </IsActive >
</Employee >
<Employee >
<Name >Mark </Name >
<ID >104 </ID >
<IsActive >true </IsActive >
</Employee >
</Employees >


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Code sample:

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!IsPostBack)
{
DataSet DS = new DataSet();
DS.ReadXml(Server.MapPath("Employees.xml"));

DataView DV = DS.Tables["Employee"].DefaultView;
DV.RowFilter = "IsActive='true'";
DV.Sort = "Name asc";

DropDownList1.DataSource = DV;
DropDownList1.DataValueField = "ID";
DropDownList1.DataTextField = "Name";
DropDownList1.DataBind();
}
}
protected void DropDownList1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Response.Write("Name Is : " + DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Text + " and ID is " + DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Value);
}

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Code Explanation:

1. Read the XML data from Employees.xml file into a DataSet. We make use of the ReadXml() method. ReadXml method loads the XML data into the dataset DS. DS.ReadXml(Server.MapPath("Employees.xml"));

2. Now you have the Data in a relational format in the dataset. Create a DataView on the employees table in the DataSet. The DefaultView property of DataTable returns the DataView.
DataView DV = DS.Tables["Employee"].DefaultView;

3. After you have created the DataView, apply the RowFilter, to select only the active employees. You apply the RowFilter as shown below.
DV.RowFilter = "IsActive='true'";

4. Now sort the data in the DataView in ascending order. We sort the data on the Name column. You can apply the sort expression on a dataview as shown below.
DV.Sort = "Name asc";

5. Finally set the DataSource, DataValueField and DataTextField properties of the dropdownlist and call the DataBind() method as shown in the below code.
DropDownList1.DataSource = DV;
DropDownList1.DataValueField = "ID";
DropDownList1.DataTextField = "Name";
DropDownList1.DataBind();

Untill now we have seen how to bind an XML file to dropdownlist. We have also seen how to create a DataView on DataTable. DataView is used for sorting and filtering the data. Now we have to get the SelecteValue and SelectedItem Text of a dropdownlist. To achieve this, follow the below steps.

1. Set the autopostback property of the dropdownlist to true. So, when ever a selection in the dropdownlist changes, the webform is posted back to the server automatically.

2. In the DropDownList1_SelectedIndexChanged event handler we can capture the employee name and id using the DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Text and DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Value properties as shown below.

protected void DropDownList1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Response.Write("Name Is : " + DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Text + " and ID is " + DropDownList1.SelectedItem.Value);
}


Source: http://venkataspinterview.blogspot.com/2008/10/bind-xml-file-to-dropdownlist.html