How do I create something similar to the HTMLHelper namespace for the business name?

Question

I would like to create something that can be called into any view in a website like this

@MyBusinessName.TelephoneNumber
@MyBusinessName.Address
etc...

In the same way I would call a HtmlHelper

@Html.ActionLink()

How do I add a namespace like "MyBusinessName" for use in an MVC view?

Answer 1

Html in Razor pages is a property of the class that pages inherit from, so of course you can't implement what you want in the same way as the standard HTML helper works. But I can suggest a different solution.

You may define a static class in your project that will work as your own helper (define there static methods/properties you want to use in views). I'd suggest something like the following:

using System.Web.Mvc;

namespace YourProject.Infrastructure {
  public static class YourBusinessHelper {
    public static MvcHtmlString TextBox(string name) {
      string html = string.Format("<input name=\"{0}\" />", name);
      return new MvcHtmlString(html);
    }

    // ...
  }
}

System.Web.Mvc.MvcHtmlString is a class representing HTML markup that an HTML helper method inserts into the view where it is used. You may create it using a constructor that receives a string parameter containing the needed HTML markup — like in my code.

Now you can use this class in your views. You just need to import the containing namespace with this Razor instruction:

@using YourProject.Infrastructure

I'd suggest to put it into the view start file ( _ViewStart.cshtml ) so that it applies to all your views.

The sample helper method above can be used simply:

@YourBusinessHelper.TextBox("TextBoxName")

UPDATE : you may also create an extension method for HtmlHelper :

using System.Web.Mvc;

namespace YourProject.Infrastructure {
  public static class YourBusinessHelper {
    public static string CompanyPhoneNumber(this HtmlHelper helper) {
      return "+82649256720";
    }

    // ...
  }
}

You may use string not MvcHtmlString in helper methods if they return plain text (no HTML markup).

Use it like a built-in helper method:

@:Call us: @Html.CompanyPhoneNumber()