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I'm working with an ASP MVC application and attempting to create a session variable in one controller and then later access that session variable in a different controller. I've found articles about this for PHP but I'm having trouble finding a solution for ASP MVC.

My code right now makes an ajax call to one controller to update an account number: 

                $.ajax({
                    type: "PUT",
                    url: defender.techWebBaseUrl + "jobsinprogress/storenewmonitoringacctnumber/",
                    data: { acctNum: $("#newAcctNumber").val() }
                });

This executes on the controller:

  public void StoreNewMonitoringAcctNumber(string acctNum)
    {
        Session["MAN"] = acctNum;
    }

Which successfully creates the session variable. Later on in my workflow, in a completely separate/different controller I attempt to access this same variable:

.Configure(job, type, "sent", licenseStamp, EmployeeSignatureKey, Session["MAN"].ToString());

But every time that Session variable is NULL. I'm trying to understand how to persist Session variables in MVC because obviously the same rules from ASP.NET Web forms do not apply here. Also, these actions of saving the Session variable then attempting to access the Session variable must exist on different controllers so I absolutely must find a way to persist that variable.

Any advice is appreciated.

Encryption
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  • Are you sure they're executing in the right order? What you posted should work. Although it doesn't make sense to call `Session["MAN"].ToString()`, it already returns a string. – Trevor Elliott Oct 08 '13 at 21:03
  • Yes they execute in the right order. The Configure method executes on a controller that is used downstream from the method on my first controller. – Encryption Oct 08 '13 at 21:09
  • Is session enabled? See if your web.config contains something like this: ``. – Jacek Glen Oct 08 '13 at 21:48
  • I dont think that exists in my web.config. I'll take a look at this. I appreciate you attempting to offer a solution pertaining directly to my question. – Encryption Oct 09 '13 at 04:17

1 Answers1

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You are trying to use webforms mentality in a MVC context, which won't work at all...

Rarely do you need to "persist" variables in MVC the same way you would do in webforms by using viewstate/session. In MVC it's usually done by using a strongly typed view and pass an instance of the model into the view thus accessing the variable from there.

In some rare cases you can use TempData/ViewData/Session but it's really not recommended for what you are doing.

I recommend you read up more on MVC and how to use strongly-typed view. This link is a good start.

Dimo
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  • I get the strongly typed view approach. However, this is just one instance. I dont feel it is beneficial to get in the habit of creating dozens of strongly typed views each specific to some information in it whenever there is a need to persist a variable for a short time between two controllers. This is a fairly large application, already with many parts to it. – Encryption Oct 09 '13 at 04:14