Pass string value as int from view to controller

Question

Lets i have following view model:

public class ViewModel
{
     public string SomeValue {get; set;}
     public int CountryId {get; set;}
}

And country list

var countryList = new[]{new[]{Country="Russia", Value=1},new[]{Country="USA", Value=2},new[]{Country="Germany", Value=3} }

I want to create a form with these fields. The problem is that country input must be TEXTBOX.

So i cannt just write something like Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.CountryId) . What is best practices for such tasks? Is it hidden field or maybe something else?

---

EDIT

Interface looks like :

    SomeValue: |_______|

    Country:   |_______|

                |Submit button|

In field Country we can type only country name. In SomeValue some other value it doesnt matter what(you can imagine that SomeValue doesnt exists).

Answer 1

This is certainly a strange requirement when a dropdown list seems far more appropriate, but we've all had strange requirements before. :) Here's a simple example which will hopefully demonstrate everything you need to know in order to get this working.

Firstly, a simple model to relate a country name with an id:

public class CountryModel
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Country { get; set; }
}

Now the controller:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(string country)
    {
        var countryId = GetCountries()
                        .Where(c => c.Country.ToLower() == country.ToLower())
                        .Select(c => c.Id)
                        .SingleOrDefault();

        if (countryId != 0)
            return RedirectToAction("Thanks");
        else
            ModelState.AddModelError("CountryNotSelected", "You have selected an invalid country.");

        return View();
    }

    private List<CountryModel> GetCountries()
    {
        return new List<CountryModel>
        {
            new CountryModel { Id = 1, Country = "Russia" },
            new CountryModel { Id = 2, Country = "USA" },
            new CountryModel { Id = 3, Country = "Germany" }
        };
    }
}

Here's the view:

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Index";
}

<h2>Index</h2>

<script src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.validate.min.js")" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.validate.unobtrusive.min.js")" type="text/javascript"></script>

@using (Html.BeginForm()) {
    @Html.ValidationSummary(false)
    <fieldset>
        <div class="editor-field">
            @Html.TextBox("Country")
        </div>

        <p>
            <input type="submit" value="Create" />
        </p>
    </fieldset>
}

There are a couple of things to note here. Firstly, you've already stated that you have extra properties in this view. In that case, I'd put them in a CountryViewModel and model bind to an instance of that in the HTTP POST method, rather than simply binding to a string. So, something like this:

public class CountryViewModel
{
    public string SomeValue { get; set; }
    public string SomeMoreFormData { get; set; }
    public string Country { get; set; }
}

Then from here, the POST method would change to something like this:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(CountryViewModel viewModel)
{
    var countryId = GetCountries()
                    .Where(c => c.Country.ToLower() == viewModel.Country.ToLower())
                    .Select(c => c.Id)
                    .SingleOrDefault();

    if (countryId != 0)
        return RedirectToAction("Thanks");
    else
        ModelState.AddModelError("CountryNotSelected", "You have selected an invalid country.");

    return View(viewModel);
}

Secondly, notice how I'm creating the country list via GetCountries() . This would allow you to easily refactor this later to grab a country list from a database if your requirements change.

Answer 2

@using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Home")) {    
<p>
Page number:
@Html.TextBox("CountryId")

<input type="submit" value="CountryId" />
</p>
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(int countryId)
{ 
CountryId= countryId;
}

Answer 3

I don't understand your question 100%. Am I correct in saying that the user can type in the country id and name?

It is better to send a view model to your view. Lets say that you have the following view model:

public class YourViewModel
{
     public string CountryName {get; set;}
     public string CountryId {get; set;}
}

Your action method could look like:

public ActionResult Index()
{
     YourViewModel viewModel = new YourViewModel();

     return View(viewModel);
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(YourViewModel viewModel)
{
     // Check viewModel for nulls
     // Whatever was typed in on the view you have here,
     // so now you can use it as you like
     string country = viewModel.CountryName;
     string id = viewModel.CountryId;

     // Do whatever else needs to be done
}

Your view could look like this:

@model YourProject.DomainModel.ViewModels.YourViewModel

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
     <div>
          @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.CountryName)<br />
          @Html.ValidationMessageFor(x => x.CountryName)
     </div>

     <div>
          @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.CountryId)<br />
          @Html.ValidationMessageFor(x => x.CountryId)
     </div>

     <button id="SaveButton" type="submit">Save</button>
}

I hope this helps.