Hi Bob,

You need to add a blank row to the dropdown after you bind the dropdown to the datasource. Here is an example:

this.DropDownList1.DataBind();
this.DropDownList1.Items.Insert(0,"");

>If I have a combo bound to a collection, how do I tell it that intiall none of those items are 'selected' so for a new record they will show like an empty textbox would.