How to access Dataannotation's "GroupName" in mvc view? - asp.net-mvc

I want to access DataAnnotation's GroupName in MVC view.
For example, let's say one of my model properties is like
[Display(Order = 1, GroupName= "Passport Detail", Name = "Passport #")]
[Required()]
[StringLength(20)]
public string PassportNo { get; set; }
Now, How can I access the GroupName in the view?
I want to achieve something like this in MVC.

I was looking into this as well and it seems like you have to do a lot of code for an attribute that should simply just be there...right??
Rather than having to extend the current logic, I went with the AdditionalValuesAttribute to define my own "GroupName". Of course you can get all "fancy pants" with extending this, but it basically works like so:
if (ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues.ContainsKey("GroupName")) {
var groupName = ViewData.ModelMetadata.AdditionalValues["GroupName"].ToString();
}

I found a workaround solution.
We can achive this by using DataAnnotationsModelMetadataProvider.
For Ex.
public class MetadataProvider : DataAnnotationsModelMetadataProvider
{
protected override ModelMetadata CreateMetadata(IEnumerable<Attribute> attributes,
Type containerType, Func<object> modelAccessor,
Type modelType, string propertyName)
{
var metadata = base.CreateMetadata(attributes, containerType, modelAccessor, modelType, propertyName);
var disp = attributes.OfType<DisplayAttribute>().FirstOrDefault();
if (disp != null)
{
if (disp.GroupName != null)
metadata.AdditionalValues.Add("GroupName", disp.GroupName);
}
return metadata;
}
}
In the mvc view we can use AdditionalValues as usual.

Well, I dont see that MVC uses that. DataAnnotations is not really part of MVC so all props may not be used. If you wanted to use it I would say you need to create an HTML helper that could create those groups.
Ok, I think I see what you might want... you want it to auto template it for you. Just use the EditorTemplates. http://www.codecapers.com/post/Display-and-Editor-Templates-in-ASPNET-MVC-2.aspx

How About This!!! must work :
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Mvc;
namespace System.Web.Mvc
{
public static class DisplayGroup
{
public static MvcHtmlString DisplayGroupName(this HtmlHelper helper, string groupName)
{
return MvcHtmlString.Create(groupName);
}
public static MvcHtmlString DisplayGroupNameFor<TModel, TValue>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TValue>> expression)
{
var type = typeof(TModel);
PropertyInfo propertyInfo = null;
var member = (MemberExpression)expression.Body;
var property = (PropertyInfo)member.Member;
var name = property.Name;
var metadataTypeInfo = type.GetCustomAttribute<MetadataTypeAttribute>();
if (metadataTypeInfo != null)
{
var metadataType = metadataTypeInfo.MetadataClassType;
propertyInfo = metadataType.GetProperties().Where(x => x.Name == name).FirstOrDefault();
if (propertyInfo == null)
{
propertyInfo = type.GetProperties().Where(x => x.Name == name).FirstOrDefault();
}
}
else
{
propertyInfo = type.GetProperties().Where(x => x.Name == name).FirstOrDefault();
}
string output = "";
var dattr = propertyInfo.GetCustomAttribute<DisplayAttribute>();
if (dattr != null)
{
if (dattr.GroupName == null)
{
output = propertyInfo.Name;
}
else
{
output = dattr.GroupName;
}
}
else
{
output = propertyInfo.Name;
}
return MvcHtmlString.Create(output);
}
}
}
public class MyModel
{
[Display(Name = "Number",GroupName="Invoice")]
string InvNo { get; set; }
}
and then simply write :
#Html.DisplayGroupNameFor(x => x.InvNo)
Note :
NameSpace should be : System.Web.Mvc
Update :
The cool thing is that , if you have a MetaDataType class defined for your dataAnnotation , then also this will work as expected.

Related

ASP .Net Core Custom Tag Helper to Convert CamelCase Properties to spaces

Is it possible in ASP.Net Core to automatically convert camel case property names in view models to insert spaces into the corresponding labels when using tag helpers?
If my view model looks like this...
[Display(Name = "First Name")]
public string FirstName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Last Name")]
public string LastName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Referral Date")]
public DateTime ReferralDate { get; set; }
It seems like a lot of extra configuration applying data annotations such as
[Display(Name = "First Name")]
to simply insert a space between words. It would make sense that Tag Helpers would insert the space by default to avoid this manual configuration and potential typos.
If not could a custom tag helper assist in this situation and if so how would it work?
If you only care about label, you can easily override LabelTagHelper.
[HtmlTargetElement("label", Attributes = "title-case-for")]
public class TitleCaseTagHelper : LabelTagHelper
{
public TitleCaseTagHelper(IHtmlGenerator generator) : base(generator)
{
}
[HtmlAttributeName("title-case-for")]
public new ModelExpression For { get; set; }
public override async Task ProcessAsync(TagHelperContext context, TagHelperOutput output)
{
if (context == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("context");
if (output == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("output");
string name = For.ModelExplorer.Metadata.DisplayName ?? For.ModelExplorer.Metadata.PropertyName;
name = name.Humanize(LetterCasing.Title);
TagBuilder tagBuilder = this.Generator.GenerateLabel(
this.ViewContext,
this.For.ModelExplorer,
this.For.Name,
name,
(object) null);
if (tagBuilder == null)
return;
output.MergeAttributes(tagBuilder);
if (output.IsContentModified)
return;
TagHelperContent childContentAsync = await output.GetChildContentAsync();
if (childContentAsync.IsEmptyOrWhiteSpace)
output.Content.SetHtmlContent((IHtmlContent) tagBuilder.InnerHtml);
else
output.Content.SetHtmlContent((IHtmlContent) childContentAsync);
}
}
Usage
<label title-case-for="RememberMe" class="col-md-2 control-label"></label>
Please ensure to place using statement and #addTagHelper inside _ViewImports.cshtml.
#using YourNameSpace.Helpers
#addTagHelper *, YourNameSpace
Note
I use Humanizer English Only NuGet Package - Humanizer.Core. It is more robust than writing my own method. If you doesn't like overhead, you can just use Regular Expression.
You can achieve this by building and registering a custom display metadata provider. There are libraries that will perform more elaborate "humanization" to the property names, but you can achieve something pretty useful with some trusty regular expressions.
public class HumanizerMetadataProvider : IDisplayMetadataProvider
{
public void CreateDisplayMetadata(DisplayMetadataProviderContext context)
{
var propertyAttributes = context.Attributes;
var modelMetadata = context.DisplayMetadata;
var propertyName = context.Key.Name;
if (IsTransformRequired(propertyName, modelMetadata, propertyAttributes))
{
modelMetadata.DisplayName = () => SplitCamelCase(propertyName);
}
}
private static string SplitCamelCase(string str)
{
return Regex.Replace(
Regex.Replace(
str,
#"(\P{Ll})(\P{Ll}\p{Ll})",
"$1 $2"
),
#"(\p{Ll})(\P{Ll})",
"$1 $2"
);
}
private static bool IsTransformRequired(string propertyName, DisplayMetadata modelMetadata, IReadOnlyList<object> propertyAttributes)
{
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(modelMetadata.SimpleDisplayProperty))
return false;
if (propertyAttributes.OfType<DisplayNameAttribute>().Any())
return false;
if (propertyAttributes.OfType<DisplayAttribute>().Any())
return false;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName))
return false;
return true;
}
}
The IsTransformRequired method ensures that you can still override the provider with a decorated property when you need to.
Register the provider on startup through the AddMvcOptions method on IMvcBuilder:
builder.AddMvcOptions(m => m.ModelMetadataDetailsProviders.Add(new HumanizerMetadataProvider()));
how about using a custom attribute and overriding DisplayNameAttribute
public class DisplayWithSpace : DisplayNameAttribute
{
public DisplayWithSpace([System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerMemberName] string memberName ="")
{
Regex r = new Regex(#"(?!^)(?=[A-Z])");
DisplayNameValue = r.Replace(memberName, " ");
}
}
and your property will be
[DisplayWithSpace]
public string FatherName { get; set; }

Visibility on and off for Html helper for model or Any editable field for model

I have a model say
public class Contact
{
[Display(Name = "Phone Number", Description = "This is Phone number to contact")]
[Visibility(ShowForDisplay=false)]
public string Phone { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Mail To Support", Description = "This is Mail for support")]
public string Email { get; set; }
}
Now in Mvc html I m doing at several places like
#Html.DisplayTextFor(x=>x.Phone)
Now I want a attribute based something like this which can manage at model level for turning of this display into the view . Like for eg the #html.DisplayTextFor(x=>x.Phone) should be there but when I do [Visibility(ShowForDisplay=false)] then all the visibility for the values or texts should not be rendered on the html .
How can be done through attribute like custom attribute [Visibility(ShowForDisplay=false)] ?
All Html Helper methods working with Model MetaData, and you can't change ModelMetada class so you should make your own Html helper, and ofcourse you need a custom attribute. Check this code:
First create a custom attribute:
public class VisibilityAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
private bool _isVisible;
public VisibilityAttribute(bool visible = true)
{
_isVisible = visible;
}
public bool ShowForDisplay
{
get
{
return _isVisible;
}
set
{
_isVisible = value;
}
}
}
Then create a Html helper:
public static class MyHtmlExtensions
{
public static MvcHtmlString DisplayTextForCustom<TModel, TResult>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html,
Expression<Func<TModel, TResult>> expression)
{
ExpressionType type = expression.Body.NodeType;
if (type == ExpressionType.MemberAccess)
{
MemberExpression memberExpression = (MemberExpression) expression.Body;
PropertyInfo pi = memberExpression.Member as PropertyInfo;
var attributes = pi.GetCustomAttributes();
foreach (var attribute in attributes)
{
if (attribute is VisibilityAttribute)
{
VisibilityAttribute vi = attribute as VisibilityAttribute;
if (vi.ShowForDisplay)
{
var metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression<TModel, TResult>(expression, html.ViewData);
return MvcHtmlString.Create(metadata.SimpleDisplayText);
}
}
}
}
return MvcHtmlString.Create("");
}
}
Then call it from your View like this:
#Html.DisplayTextForCustom(x=>x.Phone)
PS: To write this code I looked at Html.DisplayTextFor source code and I try to write a code as simple as possible.

Fill in a DropDownListFor with the Display tag in ASP.NET MVC3

I'm trying to write a helper for my ASP.NET MVC3 website which will be able to return a new SelectList containing all the Description attribute tag of an Enum
For example, with the following enum :
public enum Test
{
[Display(Name = "Membre 1")]
Member1,
[Display(Name = "Membre 2")]
Member2
}
I would like to be able to fill a DropDownListFor with something like :
#Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.MyTest, MyHelper(Test))
(with MyTest is a Test variable).
and I expect my DropDownList contains :
Membre 1
Membre 2
I used to use this working helper :
public static string GetEnumDescription(this Enum value)
{
Type enumType = value.GetType();
var enumValue = Enum.GetName(enumType, value);
MemberInfo member = enumType.GetMember(enumValue)[0];
var attrs = member.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DisplayAttribute), false);
var outString = ((DisplayAttribute)attrs[0]).Name;
if (((DisplayAttribute)attrs[0]).ResourceType != null)
{
outString = ((DisplayAttribute)attrs[0]).GetName();
}
return outString;
}
... but I can't get it work in a SelectList
How can I modify this to directly "incorporate" it directly in my #Html.DropDownListFor helper ?
I have seen some helper over the Internet, especially here or here, but no one works for me. Does anyone is able to share a short and elegant helper which returns all the Display attributes of the members of an Enum in order to put them in a DropDownListFor ?
The following is what I use. It's a slightly modified version of something I found online at one point. I'd give credit where credit is due, but I don't remember where I found it originally at this point:
public static SelectList ToSelectList(this Enum enumeration)
{
var list = (from Enum d in Enum.GetValues(enumeration.GetType())
select new { Value = Enum.GetName(enumeration.GetType(), d), Text = d.GetDescription() }).ToList();
var selectedValue = (int)Enum.Parse(enumeration.GetType(), Enum.GetName(enumeration.GetType(), enumeration));
return new SelectList(list, "Value", "Text");
}
public static string GetDescription(this Enum en)
{
Type type = en.GetType();
System.Reflection.MemberInfo[] memInfo = type.GetMember(en.ToString());
if (memInfo != null && memInfo.Length > 0)
{
object[] attrs = memInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.DisplayAttribute), false);
if (attrs != null && attrs.Length > 0)
return ((System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.DisplayAttribute)attrs[0]).GetName();
}
return en.ToString();
}
In your view, you'd use it:
#Html.DropDownListFor(m => m.MyEnumProperty, Model.MyEnumProperty.ToSelectList())
For implementing Enum type data, I think the easiest way is to use custom Enum helper and Templates. Below is how I implement them in my project.
1) Create Enum Helper
public static class EnumHelper
{
public static IEnumerable<SelectListItem> GetItems(this Type enumType, int? selectedValue)
{
if (!typeof (Enum).IsAssignableFrom(enumType))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Type must be an enum");
}
string[] names = Enum.GetNames(enumType);
IEnumerable<int> values = Enum.GetValues(enumType).Cast<int>();
IEnumerable<SelectListItem> items = names.Zip(values, (name, value) =>
new SelectListItem
{
Text = GetName(enumType, name),
Value = value.ToString(),
Selected = value == selectedValue
}
);
return items;
}
// Get Display Name
private static string GetName(Type enumType, string name)
{
string result = name;
DisplayAttribute attribute = enumType.GetField(name)
.GetCustomAttributes(false)
.OfType<DisplayAttribute>()
.FirstOrDefault();
if (attribute != null)
{
result = attribute.GetName();
}
return result;
}
public static string GetItemName(this Type enumType, int selectedValue)
{
if (!typeof (Enum).IsAssignableFrom(enumType))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Type must be an enum");
}
var itemName = GetName(enumType, Enum.GetNames(enumType)[selectedValue]);
return itemName;
}
}
2) Create folder call "DisplayTemplates" in Shared folder.
3) Create View inside "DisplayTemmplates". The view will look like below:
#using Demo.Web.Helper
#{
var itemName = typeof(Test).GetItemName((int)Model);
}
4) Create floder call "EditorTemplates" in Shared folder.
5) Create View inside "EditorTemplates". The view will look like below:
#using Demo.Web.Helper
#{
var items = typeof (Test).GetItems((int?)Model);
}
#Html.DropDownList("",items)
Here you have finished all of helper and templates, ready for use. When you want to implement Enum Type data, just use it like below:
Model
public class MyModel
{
public int Id { get; set; }
//
public Test Test { get; set; }
}
View
#Html.DisplayFor(m => m.Test)
or
#Html.EditorFor(m => m.Test)
Hope it helps.

Get [Display] attribute value from resource in MVC

I have used the [Display] attribute for one of my enums:
public enum eCommentType
{
[Display(ResourceType = typeof(FaultManagementStrings), Name = "NormalComment")]
NormalComment = 0,
[Display(ResourceType = typeof(FaultManagementStrings), Name = "OpenningComment")]
OpenningComment = 1,
[Display(ResourceType = typeof(FaultManagementStrings), Name = "StartProgressComment")]
StartProgressComment = 2,
[Display(ResourceType = typeof(FaultManagementStrings), Name = "ClouserComment")]
ClouserComment = 3,
[Display(ResourceType = typeof(FaultManagementStrings), Name = "ReopennignComment")]
ReopennignComment = 4
}
Is it possible to create an Extention method that will reuse the exsisting MVC finctionallity of getting the Display attribute value from the specified resource ?
I would what something like that...
#Html.GetEnumDisplayAttributeValue(c=> comment.CommentType)
I know i could wirte something that will implement the required reflection and find the value of the resource type and the call resource manager and so on... but i think that maybe it is possible to use the exsisting built in functionally of mvc.. after all it is already done when you call a LabelFor helper.
is is possible or should i reinvent the wheel ?
I have had the same problem and created these extension methods:
using System;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using System.Web.Mvc.Html;
public static class EnumHelper
{
private static readonly SelectListItem[] SingleEmptyItem = new[] { new SelectListItem { Text = string.Empty, Value = string.Empty } };
public static MvcHtmlString EnumDropDownListFor<TModel, TEnum>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> htmlHelper, Expression<Func<TModel, TEnum>> expression)
{
return htmlHelper.EnumDropDownListFor(expression, null);
}
public static MvcHtmlString EnumDropDownListFor<TModel, TEnum>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> htmlHelper, Expression<Func<TModel, TEnum>> expression, object htmlAttributes)
{
var metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, htmlHelper.ViewData);
var enumType = GetNonNullableModelType(metadata);
var values = Enum.GetValues(enumType).Cast<TEnum>();
var items =
values.Select(value => new SelectListItem
{
Text = GetName(value),
Value = value.ToString(),
Selected = value.Equals(metadata.Model)
});
if (metadata.IsNullableValueType)
{
items = SingleEmptyItem.Concat(items);
}
return htmlHelper.DropDownListFor(expression, items, htmlAttributes);
}
private static string GetName<TEnum>(TEnum value)
{
var displayAttribute = GetDisplayAttribute(value);
return displayAttribute == null ? value.ToString() : displayAttribute.GetName();
}
private static DisplayAttribute GetDisplayAttribute<TEnum>(TEnum value)
{
return value.GetType()
.GetField(value.ToString())
.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DisplayAttribute), false)
.Cast<DisplayAttribute>()
.FirstOrDefault();
}
private static Type GetNonNullableModelType(ModelMetadata modelMetadata)
{
var realModelType = modelMetadata.ModelType;
var underlyingType = Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(realModelType);
return underlyingType ?? realModelType;
}
}
You can use these extension methods in your views as follows:
#Html.EnumDropDownListFor(c=> comment.CommentType)
You should now see a dropdownlist containing the enum values' names according to their DisplayAttribute.
The actual retrieval of the displayed enum value is done in the GetName method, which first uses the GetDisplayAttribute method to try to retrieve the DisplayAttribute of the enum value. If the enum value was indeed decorated with a DisplayAttribute, it will use that to retrieve the name to be displayed. If there is no DisplayAttribute, we just return the name of the enum value.
As was to be expected, Microsoft included an EnumDropDownListFor HTML Helper method in MVC 5.1 (RC1).

Validation does not work when I use Validator.TryValidateObject

DataAnnotations does not work with buddy class. The following code always validate true. Why ?
var isValid = Validator.TryValidateObject(new Customer(), Context, results, true);
and here is the buddy class.
public partial class Customer
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }
}
[MetadataType(typeof(CustomerMetaData))]
public partial class Customer
{
public class CustomerMetaData
{
[Required(ErrorMessage = "You must supply a name for a customer.")]
public string Name { get; set; }
}
}
Here is another thread with same question., but no answer.
link text
I found the answer here: http://forums.silverlight.net/forums/p/149264/377212.aspx
MVC recognizes the MetaDataType attribute, but other projects do not. Before validating, you need to manually register the metadata class:
TypeDescriptor.AddProviderTransparent(
new AssociatedMetadataTypeTypeDescriptionProvider(typeof(Customer), typeof(CustomerMetadata)), typeof(Customer));
var isValid = Validator.TryValidateObject(new Customer(), context, results, true);
After some research I couldn't find any reason why TryValidateObject always return true if I use MetadataType (buddy class). But it works with the following code (xVal).
public static IEnumerable<ErrorInfo> GetErrors(object instance, string name)
{
var metadataAttrib = instance.GetType()
.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(MetadataTypeAttribute), true)
.OfType<MetadataTypeAttribute>().FirstOrDefault();
var buddyClassOrModelClass = metadataAttrib != null
? metadataAttrib.MetadataClassType
: instance.GetType();
var buddyClassProperties = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(buddyClassOrModelClass)
.Cast<PropertyDescriptor>();
var modelClassProperties = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(instance.GetType())
.Cast<PropertyDescriptor>();
var list = from buddyProp in buddyClassProperties
join modelProp in modelClassProperties on
buddyProp.Name equals modelProp.Name
from attribute in buddyProp.Attributes.OfType<ValidationAttribute>()
where !attribute.IsValid(modelProp.GetValue(instance))
select new ErrorInfo(
buddyProp.Name,
attribute.FormatErrorMessage(modelProp.Name),
instance);
if (name != null)
list = list.Where(x => x.PropertyName == name);
return list;
}
Although I did not test your code in .NET 4.0, in .NET 3.5 / Silverlight 3, your metadata class should look like this:
[MetadataType(typeof(Customer.CustomerMetaData))]
public partial class Customer
{
internal sealed class CustomerMetaData
{
private CustomerMetaData()
{
}
[Required(ErrorMessage = "You must supply a name for a customer.")]
public string Name;
}
}
There is an issue where the MetadataType attribute is not being recognized by the object context. While you can manually add the type descriptor before validation:
TypeDescriptor.AddProviderTransparent(
new AssociatedMetadataTypeTypeDescriptionProvider(typeof(Customer), typeof(CustomerMetaData)), typeof(Customer));
a more concise way to handle it would be to update the Entity Model .tt file, to add the following to each DTO:
Type currentType = MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType;
object[] attributes = currentType.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(MetadataTypeAttribute),false);
if(attributes.Length > 0)
{
//MetadataType attribute found!
MetadataTypeAttribute metaDataAttribute = (MetadataTypeAttribute)attributes[0];
TypeDescriptor.AddProviderTransparent(
new AssociatedMetadataTypeTypeDescriptionProvider(
currentType, metaDataAttribute.MetadataClassType),currentType);
}
This will allow you to add the attributes to the partial classes:
[MetadataType(typeof(CustomerMetaData))]
public partial class Customer
{
}
public partial class CustomerMetaData
{
[Required]
public string CustomerName { get; set; }
}

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