Incorrect URL after changing routing in Area - asp.net-mvc

Question

I am having trouble with rendering URL addresses after changing routing.
Routing Configuration
public class AccountArea : AreaRegistration
{
public override void RegisterArea(AreaRegistrationContext context)
{
context.MapRoute(
"Account",
"Account/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
new { controller = "User", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional },
namespaces: new[] {
"Application.Controllers.Account"
}
);
}
public override string AreaName => "AccountArea";
}
public class FrontArea : AreaRegistration
{
public override void RegisterArea(AreaRegistrationContext context)
{
context.MapRoute(
"Front",
"{controller}/{action}/{id}",
new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional },
namespaces: new[] {
"Application.Controllers.Front"
}
);
}
public override string AreaName => "FrontArea";
}
and RouteConfig:
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
}
Controllers
// on folder Controllers/Front/
namespace Application.Controllers.Front
class HomeController : Controller
{
ActionResult Index(){ ... }
}
// on folder Controllers/Account/
Application.Controllers.Account
class UserController : Controller
{
ActionResult Index(){...}
}
I have changed routing because I want to separate the controllers into 2 subfolders, Front and Account.
This configuration allows me to divide the application into 2 parts, differentiated by using URL address.
localhost/Home/Index [namespace: Application.Controllers.Front]
localhost/Account/User/Index- [namespace: Application.Controllers.Account]
after entering the address to the browser
localhost/Home/Index - will start method Index from HomeController
localhost/Account/User/Index - will start method Index from UserController
A problem appears when on URL address localhost/Home/Index and I try rendering URL address belonging to localhost/Account/User/Index.
When I use #Url.Action("Index","User") address will be rendered, but without the "Account" prefix in the URL.
I receive: /User/Index
But, I expect: /Account/User/Index
And vice versa, on localhost/Account/User/Index I can't render correct URL address belonging to localhost/Home/Index.
This problem I can solve using Url.RouteUrl like
#Url.RouteUrl("Account", new {controller = "User", account = "Index"} )
but, this requires route name, which I don't want to provide.

Answer 1

When using Area routes, all of the UrlHelper URL resolution methods (such as ActionLink or Url.Action) will use the same area by default.
Linking from Front Area to Front Area
#Url.Action("Index", "User")
To specify to go to a different area, you must explicitly specify the area in the route values that are passed in to Url.Action.
Linking from Front Area to Account Area
#Url.Action("Index", "User", new { area = "Account" })
The same goes for links generated inside of the Account area. You will need to explicitly override the current area name with Front.
Linking from Account Area to Front Area
#Url.Action("Index", "User", new { area = "Front" })
this requires route name, which I don't want to provide.
Option 1 - Use Constants for Areas
Make a set of constants that you use for all of your area strings in the application.
public static class Areas
{
public const string Front = "Front";
public const string Account = "Account";
}
And use like
#Url.Action("Index", "User", new { area = Areas.Front })
Option 2 - Use T4MVC
There is a package called T4MVC that generates constants for your project so you can replace routing and URL generation without using magic strings.
#Url.Action(MVC.Areas.Front.User.Index)
Option 3 - Use Extension Methods
Another option would be to build your own extension methods to replace Url.Action, Html.ActionLink, RedirectToAction, etc.
#Url.ActionToFront("Index", "User")
This is a lot of action methods to create, though.