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While the @Html.Actionlink() helper is very convenient for building <a> elements in the .cshtml files, is it possible to construct them inside C# strings, such that they are subsequently rendered correctly in the HTML output?

For example, if I assign a string variable a value similar to the following:

Book.ReadMore = "Click @Html.ActionLink(\"this link\", \"About\", \"Home\") to read more.";

And then I try to display it (the literal text plus the link) through my .cshtml page, using code similar to:

<p>@Model.ReadMore</p>

All I get in the browser is the whole string exactly as I typed it, including the @Html... etc:

Click @Html.ActionLink("this link", "About", "Home") to read more.

Now, for proper SoC, I know that it's not the best of practices to have HTML stuff included in C# code, but is it at all possible to get the proper <a> link in this scenario, instead of the string itself?

EDIT: More information - This string is just one item in a collection of about 20-30 strings (displayed using a for loop in the View). Only a small handful of those items need a link (which is different in each case). Since, as mentioned above, I agree that it's obviously not good practice to use Razor/HTML in Model code, I'm trying to get a simple approach (if possible) which would give me the flexibility of building the link somewhere at the right place, while still yielding the maintainability of MVC SoC.

There must be a "right" way of doing this, which is simple yet maintainable.

Krishna Gupta
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  • possible duplicate of [How to use MVC 3 @Html.ActionLink inside c# code](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8331041/how-to-use-mvc-3-html-actionlink-inside-c-sharp-code) – Pero P. Nov 01 '13 at 02:18
  • Highest voted (not accepted) answer on the above seems to have what you're looking for – Pero P. Nov 01 '13 at 02:20

2 Answers2

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Your model should not contain HTML, that's a view concern and belongs in view code. Probably you should be using a Razor helper.

In your App_Code folder (create one if you don't have one), add a file, ReadMoreHelpers.cshtml:

@helper ReadMore() {
    <text>Click @Html.ActionLink("this link", "About", "Home") to read more.</text>
}

Then in any view:

@ReadMoreHelpers.ReadMore()

And that will output what you want. If you insist on putting that property in your view, you could do:

Book.ReadMore = "Click " + @Html.ActionLink("this link", "About", "Home").ToHtmlString() + " to read more.";

Then in your view, make sure you use Raw:

@Html.Raw(Book.ReadMore)

However, I couldn't recommend more strongly that you do not put HTML in your model properties.

Kirk Woll
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  • I certainly agree 100% about not having HTML in the model. With the more detailed scenario outlined in my edit to the original post, I'm looking for how to avoid it in fact. I wonder if it's possible (and follows best practices) to achieve clean separation by these steps: (a) In the Model, declare an enum of various tokens, then (b) also in the Model, include those tokens in the string items as required, and finally (c) build a Razor Helper to convert the enum'd tokens into those ActionLinks. – Krishna Gupta Nov 01 '13 at 03:28
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I don't think so. The Razor view engine will interpret the ActionLink code during run-time while stuffing it as part of a C# string will be interpreted during compile time.

Code Monkey
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