I've got an interesting client requirement.
I have a control that needs to be displayed like so:
Date of xxx [ mm ][ yy ]
There is a label with two textfields - one for month in digits and one for year in digits.
Although there are two text fields, we want the validation to run once validating both fields.
Also there are a number of these controls on a page. How would be the best way to package this up so that I can call:
#Laberfor(x => x.Datexxx)
#EditorFor(x => x.Datexxx)
Thanks in advance
If your control is strongly typed, you could implement IValidatableObject and its Validate method.
Assuming your model looks like this:
public class CombinedDateViewModel : IValidatableObject
{
[Required]
public int month { get; set; }
[Required]
public int year { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
if(month > 12 || month < 1)
yield return new ValidationResult("Month is out of range");
if(year < 0 || year > 2020)
yield return new ValidationResult("Year is out of range");
}
}
The yielded validation results will manifest in the validation summary.
Related
I want to select year from my drop down list and that year will be passed to my procedure in the where clause and will get the results. It works fine but on the view the selected value is only visible.
Example If I select 2015 from my drop down list which has 2015 and 2016 values then on the view only 2015 is visible on the drop down.
Records are perfectly fetched.
Model
public class Data
{
[Key]
public string DataName { get; set; }
public int Year { get; set; }
}
Controller
public ActionResult Test()
{
VMNews objnews = new VMNews();
if (Request["ddlYear"] != null)
{
string selectedValue = Request["ddlYear"];
objnews.DataName = db.Database.SqlQuery<Data>("usp_year #Year",new SqlParameter("#Year",selectedValue)).ToList();
}
Response.Write("Nothing Selected");
return View("Index",objnews);
}
View
using (Html.BeginForm("Test","Home"))
{
#Html.DropDownList("ddlYear", new SelectList(Model.MovieName, "Year", "Year"), "ALL")
<button type="submit">Button</button>
}
}
Problem is there at the view level only, I had used the HTTPPost option on the controller and on the view ForMethod.POST but it didnt worked.
If I get this straight, u want to add a listItem with more than 1 value?
In this case you should concat data into a sigle string value
(remove public int Year { get; set; }/ add public string Year { get; set; } ) and then split it on the POST (ActionResult Test) and use them on your procedure.
I'm still fairly new to ASP.NET and MVC and despite days of googling and experimenting, I'm drawing a blank on the best way to solve this problem.
I wrote a BirthdayAttribute that I want to work similar to the EmailAddressAttribute. The birthday attribute sets the UI hint so that the birthday DateTime will be rendered using an editor template that has 3 dropdown lists. The attribute can also be used to set some additional meta data that tells the year dropdown how many years it should display.
I know I could use jQuery's date picker, but in the case of a birthday I find the 3 dropdowns much more usable.
#model DateTime
#using System;
#using System.Web.Mvc;
#{
UInt16 numberOfVisibleYears = 100;
if (ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues.ContainsKey("NumberOfVisibleYears"))
{
numberOfVisibleYears = Convert.ToUInt16(ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues["NumberOfVisibleYears"]);
}
var now = DateTime.Now;
var years = Enumerable.Range(0, numberOfVisibleYears).Select(x => new SelectListItem { Value = (now.Year - x).ToString(), Text = (now.Year - x).ToString() });
var months = Enumerable.Range(1, 12).Select(x => new SelectListItem{ Text = new DateTime( now.Year, x, 1).ToString("MMMM"), Value = x.ToString() });
var days = Enumerable.Range(1, 31).Select(x => new SelectListItem { Value = x.ToString("00"), Text = x.ToString() });
}
#Html.DropDownList("Year", years, "<Year>") /
#Html.DropDownList("Month", months, "<Month>") /
#Html.DropDownList("Day", days, "<Day>")
I also have a ModelBinder to rebuild my date afterwards. I've removed the content of my helper functions for brevity, but everything works great up to this point. Normal, valid dates, work just fine for creating or editing my members.
public class DateSelector_DropdownListBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
if (controllerContext == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("controllerContext");
if (bindingContext == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("bindingContext");
if (IsDropdownListBound(bindingContext))
{
int year = GetData(bindingContext, "Year");
int month = GetData(bindingContext, "Month");
int day = GetData(bindingContext, "Day");
DateTime result;
if (!DateTime.TryParse(string.Format("{0}/{1}/{2}", year, month, day), out result))
{
//TODO: SOMETHING MORE USEFUL???
bindingContext.ModelState.AddModelError("", string.Format("Not a valid date."));
}
return result;
}
else
{
return base.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
}
}
private int GetData(ModelBindingContext bindingContext, string propertyName)
{
// parse the int using the correct value provider
}
private bool IsDropdownListBound(ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
//check model meta data UI hint for above editor template
}
}
Now that I'm looking at it, I should probably be using a nullable DateTime, but that's neither here nor there.
The problem I'm having is with very basic validation of invalid dates such as February 30th, or September 31st. The validation itself works great, but the invalid dates aren't ever saved and persisted when the form is reloaded.
What I'd like is to remember the invalid date of February 30th and redisplay it with the validation message instead of resetting the dropdowns to their default value. Other fields, like the email address (decorated with the EmailAddressAttribute) preserve invalid entries just fine out of the box.
At the moment I am just trying to get the server side validation working. To be honest, I haven't even started thinking about the client side validation yet.
I know there is lots I could do with javascript and ajax to make this problem a moot point, but I would still rather have the proper server side validation in place to fall back on.
I finally managed to solve my problem, so I wanted to share my solution.
DISCLAIMER:
Although I used to be great with .NET 2.0 back in the day, I'm only now updating my skills to the latest versions of C#, ASP.NET, MVC, and Entity Framework. If there are better ways to do anything I've done below please I'm always open to feedback.
TODO:
Implement client side validation for invalid dates such as February 30th. Client side validation for [Required] attribute is already built in.
Add support for cultures so that the date shows up in desired format
The solution came to me when I realized that the problem I was having is that DateTime will not allow itself to be constructed with an invalid date such as February 30th. It simply throws an exception. If my date wouldn't construct, I knew of no way to pass my invalid data back through the binder to the ViewModel.
To solve this problem, I had to do away with the DateTime in my view model and replace it with my own custom Date class. The solution below will provide fully functioning server side validation in the event that Javascript is disabled. In the event of a validation error the invalid selections will persist after the validation message is displayed allowing the user to easily fix their mistake.
It should be easy enough to map this view-ish Date class to the DateTime in your date model.
Date.cs
public class Date
{
public Date() : this( System.DateTime.MinValue ) {}
public Date(DateTime date)
{
Year = date.Year;
Month = date.Month;
Day = date.Day;
}
[Required]
public int Year { get; set; }
[Required, Range(1, 12)]
public int Month { get; set; }
[Required, Range(1, 31)]
public int Day { get; set; }
public DateTime? DateTime
{
get
{
DateTime date;
if (!System.DateTime.TryParseExact(string.Format("{0}/{1}/{2}", Year, Month, Day), "yyyy/M/d", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out date))
return null;
else
return date;
}
}
}
This is just a basic date class that you can construct from a DateTime. The class has properties for Year, Month, and Day as well as a DateTime getter that can try to retrieve you a DateTime class assuming you have a valid date. Otherwise it returns null.
When the built in DefaultModelBinder is mapping your form back to this Date object, it will take care of the Required and Range validation for you. However, we will need a new ValidationAtribute to make sure that invalid dates such as February 30th aren't allowed.
DateValidationAttribute.cs
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property | AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = false, Inherited = true)]
public sealed class DateValidationAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
public DateValidationAttribute(string classKey, string resourceKey) :
base(HttpContext.GetGlobalResourceObject(classKey, resourceKey).ToString()) { }
public override bool IsValid(object value)
{
bool result = false;
if (value == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("value");
Date toValidate = value as Date;
if (toValidate == null)
throw new ArgumentException("value is an invalid or is an unexpected type");
//DateTime returns null when date cannot be constructed
if (toValidate.DateTime != null)
{
result = (toValidate.DateTime != DateTime.MinValue) && (toValidate.DateTime != DateTime.MaxValue);
}
return result;
}
}
This is a ValidationAttribute that you can put on your Date fields and properties. If you pass in the resource file class and the resource key it will search the corresponding resource file in your "App_GlobalResources" folder for the error message.
Inside the IsValid method, once we're sure we're validating a Date we check it's DateTime property to see if it's not null to confirm that it's valid. I throw in a check for DateTime.MinValue and MaxValue for good measure.
So that's about it really. With this Date class, I managed to do away completely with the custom ModelBinder. This solution relies completely on the DefaultModelBinder, which means all of the validation works right out of the box. It apparently even checks my new DateValidationAttribute, which I was super excited about. I stressed forever thinking I might have to muck with validators in a custom binder. This feels a lot cleaner.
Here is the complete code for the partial view I'm using.
DateSelector_DropdownList.cshtml
#model Date
#{
UInt16 numberOfVisibleYears = 100;
if (ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues.ContainsKey("NumberOfVisibleYears"))
{
numberOfVisibleYears = Convert.ToUInt16(ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues["NumberOfVisibleYears"]);
}
var now = DateTime.Now;
var years = Enumerable.Range(0, numberOfVisibleYears).Select(x => new SelectListItem { Value = (now.Year - x).ToString(), Text = (now.Year - x).ToString() });
var months = Enumerable.Range(1, 12).Select(x => new SelectListItem { Text = new DateTime(now.Year, x, 1).ToString("MMMM"), Value = x.ToString() });
var days = Enumerable.Range(1, 31).Select(x => new SelectListItem { Value = x.ToString(), Text = x.ToString() });
}
#Html.DropDownList("Year", years, "<Year>") /
#Html.DropDownList("Month", months, "<Month>") /
#Html.DropDownList("Day", days, "<Day>")
I'll also include the attribute I use that sets up the template hint and the number of visible years to show.
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property | AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class DateSelector_DropdownListAttribute : DataTypeAttribute, IMetadataAware
{
public DateSelector_DropdownListAttribute() : base(DataType.Date) { }
public void OnMetadataCreated(ModelMetadata metadata)
{
metadata.AdditionalValues.Add("NumberOfVisibleYears", NumberOfVisibleYears);
metadata.TemplateHint = TemplateHint;
}
public string TemplateHint { get; set; }
public int NumberOfVisibleYears { get; set; }
}
I think the solution turned out a lot cleaner than I expected it to. It solves all of my problems in the exact way that I was hoping to. I do wish that I was somehow able to keep the DateTime, but this is the only way I could figure out how to maintain an invalid selection using only server side code.
Are there any improvements you would make?
I have a ViewModel with a String property and the following Data Annotation :
Edit to work with string
[DataType(DataType.Date, ErrorMessage="Not Working !!!")]
public String StringBirthDate1 { get; set; }
That's my view
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.StringBirthDate1 )
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.StringBirthDate1)
If I run my application and put an invalid Date like '---' or 29.02.1900 I don't get any validation error !
Ok I've given up trying to use built-in MVC tools for data validation !
I did a custom Validation Attribute :
public class ValidDateStringAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
public override bool IsValid(object value)
{
DateTime dtout;
if (DateTime.TryParse(value.ToString(), out dtout ))
{
return true;
}
return false;
}
}
Here is my View Model decorated with the custom attribute :
[ValidDateString(ErrorMessage="Invalid date format")]
public String BirthDate1 { get; set; }
Works like a charm :-)
It seems to me, that [DataType(DataType.Date, ErrorMessage="Not Working !!!")] working when it attached to string property. Try to use:
[DataType(DataType.Date, ErrorMessage="Not Working !!!")]
puplic string StringBirthDate1{get;set;}
public DateTime BirthDate1
{
get{return DateTime.Parse(StringBirthDate1);}
set{StringBirthDate1 = value.ToString();}
}
I didn't like any of the solutions I found so I kept poking at possibilities until I came up with one I do like. I added a regular expression validator utilizing the regular expression from this article: http://answers.oreilly.com/topic/226-how-to-validate-traditional-date-formats-with-regular-expressions/
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Birthdate is required. [MM/DD/YYYY]")]
[RegularExpression(#"^([1-9]|0[1-9]|1[0-2])[- / .]([1-9]|0[1-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])[- / .](1[9][0-9][0-9]|2[0][0-9][0-9])$", ErrorMessage = "Birthdate must be in MM/DD/YYYY format.")]
public Nullable<DateTime> Birthdate { get; set; }
The result is, if the field is blank I get the required error message and if anything is in the field, but it is not a valid date, I get the regular expression message.
I might add that it seems very silly that [DataType] doesn't accept an error message. I tried exactly like the original author of this thread. That would have been logical and intuitive.
I am teaching myself asp .net mvc3. I have researched a lot but the more I read the more confused I become. I want to create a page where users can register their property for sale or rent.
I have created a database which looks like this:
public class Property
{
public int PropertyId { get; set; }
public int PropertyType { get; set; }
ยทยทยท
public int Furnished { get; set; }
...
}
Now, I want dropdownlistfor = PropertyType and Furnished.
Property type would be
1 Flat
2 House
3 Detached House
...
Furnished would be:
1 Furnished
2 UnFurnished
3 PartFurnished
...
Now, I am really not sure where to keep this information in my code. Should I have 2 tables in my database which store this lookup? Or should I have 1 table which has all lookups? Or should I just keep this information in the model?
How will the model bind to PropertyType and Furnished in the Property entity?
Thanks!
By storing property types and furnished types in the database, you could enforce data integrity with a foreign key, rather than just storing an integer id, so I would definitely recommend this.
It also means it is future proofed for if you want to add new types. I know the values don't change often/will never change but if you wanted to add bungalow/maisonette in the future you don't have to rebuild and deploy your project, you can simply add a new row in the database.
In terms of how this would work, I'd recommend using a ViewModel that gets passed to the view, rather than passing the database model directly. That way you separate your database model from the view, and the view only sees what it needs to. It also means your drop down lists etc are strongly typed and are directly in your view model rather than just thrown into the ViewBag. Your view model could look like:
public class PropertyViewModel
{
public int PropertyId { get; set; }
public int PropertyType { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> PropertyTypes { get; set; }
public int Furnished { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> FurnishedTypes { get; set; }
}
So then your controller action would look like:
public class PropertiesController : Controller
{
[HttpGet]
public ViewResult Edit(int id)
{
Property property = db.Properties.Single(p => p.Id == id);
PropertyViewModel viewModel = new PropertyViewModel
{
PropertyId = property.Id,
PropertyType = property.PropertyType,
PropertyTypes = from p in db.PropertyTypes
orderby p.TypeName
select new SelectListItem
{
Text = p.TypeName,
Value = g.PropertyTypeId.ToString()
}
Furnished = property.Furnished,
FurnishedTypes = from p in db.FurnishedTypes
orderby p.TypeName
select new SelectListItem
{
Text = p.TypeName,
Value = g.FurnishedTypeId.ToString()
}
};
return View();
}
[HttpGet]
public ViewResult Edit(int id, PropertyViewModel propertyViewModel)
{
if(ModelState.IsValid)
{
// TODO: Store stuff in the database here
}
// TODO: Repopulate the view model drop lists here e.g.:
propertyViewModel.FurnishedTypes = from p in db.FurnishedTypes
orderby p.TypeName
select new SelectListItem
{
Text = p.TypeName,
Value = g.FurnishedTypeId.ToString()
};
return View(propertyViewModel);
}
}
And your view would have things like:
#Html.LabelFor(m => m.PropertyType)
#Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.PropertyType, Model.PropertyTypes)
I usually handle this sort of situation by using an enumeration in code:
public enum PropertyType {
Flat = 1,
House = 2,
Detached House = 3
}
Then in your view:
<select>
#foreach(var val in Enum.GetNames(typeof(PropertyType)){
<option>val</option>
}
</select>
You can set the id of the option equal to the value of each item in the enum, and pass it to the controller.
EDIT: To directly answer your questions:
You can store them as lookups in the db, but for small unlikely to change things, I usually just use an enum, and save a round trip.
Also look at this approach, as it looks better than mine:
Converting HTML.EditorFor into a drop down (html.dropdownfor?)
MVC 3, EntityFramework 4.1, Database First, Razor customization:
I have an old database that sometimes uses Int16 or Char types for a field that must appear as a CheckBox in the MVC _CreateOrEdit.cshtml View. If it is an Int, 1=true and 0=false. If it is a Char, "Y"=true and "N"=false. This is too much for the Entity Framework to convert automatically. For the Details View, I can use:
#Html.CheckBox("SampleChkInt", Model.SampleChkInt==1?true:false)
But this won't work in place of EditorFor in the _CreateOrEdit.cshtml View.
How to do this? I was thinking of a custom HtmlHelper, but the examples I've found don't show me how to tell EntityFramework to update the database properly. There are still other such customizations that I might like to do, where the MVC View does not match the database cleanly enough for EntityFramework to do an update. Answering this question would be a good example. I am working on a sample project, using the following automatically generated (so I can't make changes to it) model class:
namespace AaWeb.Models
{
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class Sample
{
public int SampleId { get; set; }
public Nullable<bool> SampleChkBit { get; set; }
public Nullable<short> SampleChkInt { get; set; }
public Nullable<System.DateTime> SampleDate { get; set; }
public string SampleHtml { get; set; }
public Nullable<int> SampleInt { get; set; }
public Nullable<short> SampleYesNo { get; set; }
public string Title { get; set; }
public byte[] ConcurrencyToken { get; set; }
}
}
I figured it out. Do not need a model binder or Html Helper extension:
In _CreateOrEdit.cshtml, I made up a new name SampleChkIntBool for the checkbox, and set it according to the value of the model SampleChkInt:
#Html.CheckBox("SampleChkIntBool", Model == null ? false : ( Model.SampleChkInt == 1 ? true : false ), new { #value = "true" })
Then, in the [HttpPost] Create and Edit methods of the Sample.Controller, I use Request["SampleChkIntBool"] to get the value of SampleChkIntBool and use it to set the model SampleChkInt before saving:
string value = Request["SampleChkIntBool"];
// #Html.CheckBox always generates a hidden field of same name and value false after checkbox,
// so that something is always returned, even if the checkbox is not checked.
// Because of this, the returned string is "true,false" if checked, and I only look at the first value.
if (value.Substring(0, 4) == "true") { sample.SampleChkInt = 1; } else { sample.SampleChkInt = 0; }
I believe a custom model binder would be in order here to handle the various mappings to your model.
ASP.NET MVC Model Binder for Generic Type
etc
etc
Here is the way to go from checkbox to database, without the special code in the controller:
// The following statement added to the Application_Start method of Global.asax.cs is what makes this class apply to a specific entity:
// ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof(AaWeb.Models.Sample), new AaWeb.Models.SampleBinder());
// There are two ways to do this, choose one:
// 1. Declare a class that extends IModelBinder, and supply all values of the entity (a big bother).
// 2. Declare a class extending DefaultModelBinder, and check for and supply only the exceptions (much better).
// This must supply all values of the entity:
//public class SampleBinder : IModelBinder
//{
// public object BindModel(ControllerContext cc, ModelBindingContext mbc)
// {
// Sample samp = new Sample();
// samp.SampleId = System.Convert.ToInt32(cc.HttpContext.Request.Form["SampleId"]);
// // Continue to specify all of the rest of the values of the Sample entity from the form, as done in the above statement.
// // ...
// return samp;
// }
//}
// This must check the property names and supply appropriate values from the FormCollection.
// The base.BindProperty must be executed at the end, to make sure everything not specified is take care of.
public class SampleBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
protected override void BindProperty( ControllerContext cc, ModelBindingContext mbc, System.ComponentModel.PropertyDescriptor pd)
{
if (pd.Name == "SampleChkInt")
{
// This converts the "true" or "false" of a checkbox to an integer 1 or 0 for the database.
pd.SetValue(mbc.Model, (Nullable<Int16>)(cc.HttpContext.Request.Form["SampleChkIntBool"].Substring(0, 4) == "true" ? 1 : 0));
// To do the same in the reverse direction, from database to view, use pd.GetValue(Sample object).
return;
}
// Need the following to get all of the values not specified in this BindProperty method:
base.BindProperty(cc, mbc, pd);
}
}