HTML.ActionLink vs Url.Action in ASP.NET Razor - asp.net-mvc

Question

Is there any difference between HTML.ActionLink vs Url.Action or they are just two ways of doing the same thing?
When should I prefer one over the other?

Answer 1

Yes, there is a difference. Html.ActionLink generates an tag whereas Url.Action returns only an url.
For example:
#Html.ActionLink("link text", "someaction", "somecontroller", new { id = "123" }, null)
generates:
link text
and Url.Action("someaction", "somecontroller", new { id = "123" }) generates:
/somecontroller/someaction/123
There is also Html.Action which executes a child controller action.

Answer 2

Html.ActionLink generates an tag automatically.
Url.Action generates only an url.
For example:
#Html.ActionLink("link text", "actionName", "controllerName", new { id = "<id>" }, null)
generates:
link text
and
#Url.Action("actionName", "controllerName", new { id = "<id>" })
generates:
/controllerName/actionName/<id>
Best plus point which I like is using Url.Action(...)
You are creating anchor tag by your own where you can set your own linked text easily even with some other html tag.
<a href="#Url.Action("actionName", "controllerName", new { id = "<id>" })">
<img src="<ImageUrl>" style"width:<somewidth>;height:<someheight> />
#Html.DisplayFor(model => model.<SomeModelField>)
</a>

Answer 3

#HTML.ActionLink generates a HTML anchor tag. While #Url.Action generates a URL for you. You can easily understand it by;
// 1. Item Definition
#HTML.ActionLink("Item Definition", "ActionMethod", "ControllerName")
// 2. /ControllerName/ActionMethod
#Url.Action("ActionMethod", "ControllerName")
// 3. Item Definition
Item Definition
Both of these approaches are different and it totally depends upon your need.

Answer 4

<p>
#Html.ActionLink("Create New", "Create")
</p>
#using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Company", FormMethod.Get))
{
<p>
Find by Name: #Html.TextBox("SearchString", ViewBag.CurrentFilter as string)
<input type="submit" value="Search" />
<input type="button" value="Clear" onclick="location.href='#Url.Action("Index","Company")'"/>
</p>
}
In the above example you can see that If I specifically need a button to do some action, I have to do it with #Url.Action whereas if I just want a link I will use #Html.ActionLink.
The point is when you have to use some element(HTML) with action url is used.

Answer 5

You can easily present Html.ActionLink as a button by using the appropriate CSS style.
For example:
#Html.ActionLink("Save", "ActionMethod", "Controller", new { #class = "btn btn-primary" })

Answer 6

I used the code below to create a Button and it worked for me.
<input type="button" value="PDF" onclick="location.href='#Url.Action("Export","tblOrder")'"/>