Angular 2 - Setting selected value on dropdown list

Question

I have run into an issue in pre-selecting values on a dropdown list in Angular 2.

I set an array of colours in the component which I bind successfully to the dropdown list. The issue I'm experiencing is with pre-selecting a value on page init.

The line [selected]="car.color.id == x.id" should be selecting the value which has been set on the car model this.car.color = new Colour(-1,''); however this only works when I set the car colour id to the last item in the list (in this case black) this.car.color = new Colour(4,'');

I am using the latest version of Angular (rc3) and have experienced the same issues in rc1 and rc2.

Here is a plunker showing the issue.

https://plnkr.co/edit/yIVEeLK7PUY4VQFrR48g?p=preview

Another odd aspect is that when looking at the meta data Angular has set the selected value to true.

But the dropdown still appears empty.

It appears to be a seperate issue from these related questions.

Angular 2 Set begin value of select

Binding select element to object in Angular 2

How to use select/option/NgFor on an array of objects in Angular2

Regards

Steve

Component template

   <div>
        <label>Colour</label>
        <div>
            <select [(ngModel)]="car.colour"">
                <option *ngFor="let x of colours" [value]="x.id" [selected]="car.color.id == x.id">{{x.name}}</option>
            </select>
        </div>
    </div>

Component

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import {AbstractControl,FORM_DIRECTIVES } from '@angular/common';

@Component({
    selector:'dropdown',
    templateUrl:'app/components/dropdown/dropdown.component.html',
    directives:[FORM_DIRECTIVES]
})
export class DropdownComponent implements OnInit
{
    car:Car = new Car();
    colours = Array<Colour>();

    ngOnInit(): void {

        this.colours = Array<Colour>();
        this.colours.push(new Colour(-1, 'Please select'));
        this.colours.push(new Colour(1, 'Green'));
        this.colours.push(new Colour(2, 'Pink'));
        this.colours.push(new Colour(3, 'Orange'));
        this.colours.push(new Colour(4, 'Black'));

        this.car = new Car();
        this.car.color = new Colour(-1,'');        
    }
}

export class Car
{
    color:Colour;
}

export class Colour
{
    constructor(id:number, name:string) {
        this.id=id;
        this.name=name;
    }

    id:number;
    name:string;
}

Answer 1

Setting car.colour to the value you want to have initially selected usually works.

When car.colour is set, you can remove [selected]="car.color.id == x.id".

If the value is not a string [ngValue]="..." must be used. [value]="..." only supports strings.