title: How do you set a default value for a Html.TextBoxFor( ... ) text box?
body: <p>I know that you can create a textbox using ASP.NET that will automatically be filled with whatever the value in the model is by using</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;%: Html.TextBoxFor(model =&gt; model.FirstName, new { id = "FirstName", placeholder = "[First Name]" }) %&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Is there a way to give it a default value if <code>model.FirstName</code> is null?</p>
  
  <p>I've tried adding a value attribute, but that didn't work.</p>
  
  <p>I also can't pass in a model with that value included, because it will affect other areas of the form.</p>