How can I cast int to enum?

Question

How can an int be cast to an enum in C#?

Answer 1

Just cast it:

MyEnum e = (MyEnum)3;

You can check if it's in range using Enum.IsDefined:

if (Enum.IsDefined(typeof(MyEnum), 3)) { ... }

Answer 2

To convert a string to ENUM or int to ENUM constant we need to use Enum.Parse function. Here is a youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nhx4VwdRDk which actually demonstrate's with string and the same applies for int.

The code goes as shown below where "red" is the string and "MyColors" is the color ENUM which has the color constants.

MyColors EnumColors = (MyColors)Enum.Parse(typeof(MyColors), "Red");

Answer 3

The easy and clear way for casting an int to enum in C#:

public class Program
{
    public enum Color : int
    {
        Blue   = 0,
        Black  = 1,
        Green  = 2,
        Gray   = 3,
        Yellow = 4
    }

    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // From string
        Console.WriteLine((Color) Enum.Parse(typeof(Color), "Green"));

        // From int
        Console.WriteLine((Color)2);

        // From number you can also
        Console.WriteLine((Color)Enum.ToObject(typeof(Color), 2));
    }
}

Answer 4

Sometimes you have an object to the MyEnum type. Like

var MyEnumType = typeof(MyEnum);

Then:

Enum.ToObject(typeof(MyEnum), 3)

Answer 5

From a string: (Enum.Parse is out of Date, use Enum.TryParse)

enum Importance
{}

Importance importance;

if (Enum.TryParse(value, out importance))
{
}

Answer 6

This is an flags enumeration aware safe convert method:

public static bool TryConvertToEnum<T>(this int instance, out T result)
  where T: Enum
{
  var enumType = typeof (T);
  var success = Enum.IsDefined(enumType, instance);
  if (success)
  {
    result = (T)Enum.ToObject(enumType, instance);
  }
  else
  {
    result = default(T);
  }
  return success;
}