If action name found then call action, if not call a default action in MVC Routing - asp.net-mvc

Question

this is my current routing
routes.MapRoute(
"Default", // Route name
"{action}/{id}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "MarketingSite", action = "index", id = "" } // Parameter defaults
);
so whenever I visit domain.com/test
This would invoke the test action in the controller called MarketingSite.
What I want to achieve is when I visit domain.com/load-from-db and since I don't have an action called load-from-db, I want to direct the request to a specific action and load-from-db becomes the parameter for that action. In that action, i'm going to read something from the database based on the parameter and then return a view. If I specify an action that exist, then it would just call that action.
Any help?

Answer 1

First note - the routing engine will apply the routes in the order you list them, checking each, and continuing if it cannot match. You currently have the "default" route setup as a catch-all - if is doesn't find a controller it uses "MarketingSite", if there is no action it uses "index". If I am understanding your problem, you don't want an "Index" action at all, you want to call another action, and pass the query to that.
You could try:
//Look for a matching action
routes.MapRoute(
"MatchAction", // Route name
"{action}/{id}",
new { controller = "MarketingSite", id = UrlParameter.Optional}
);
//With a single segment, pass that to a specific action as a parameter.
routes.MapRoute(
"load-from-db", // Route name
"{load-from-db}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "MarketingSite", action = "MyAction"}
);
//With no segments (ex. domain.com/) use the Index on MarketingSite as default.
routes.MapRoute(
"Default", // Route name
"", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "MarketingSite", action = "Index"}
);
However, these routes might not accomplish exactly what you are looking for - getting your routes mapped in MVC can be a bit tricky. You should check this this out, and design your routes accordingly.
Hope that helps,
Chris

Answer 2

Override the HandleUnknownAction method on the MarketingSite controller:
protected override void HandleUnknownAction(string actionName) {
// TODO: check for actionName in database
}