Asp.net MVC Dynamically set TextArea

Question

I'm working on an Asp.net MVC5 application.

I need to write some XML into a textarea, so it could be parsed by some JavaScript later in my project. As of now I have loaded the XML info into a ViewBag and was wondering how I could dynamically set a textarea with this information.

my controller (Index):

        XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
        doc.Load("C:\\Tasks.xml");
        ViewBag.xml = doc.InnerXml();

Thanks, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Do you want to edit and save the XML after you show it in the `` or do you need it just to be shown there? — Lukas G, Jul 22 '14 at 15:42
Just need it to show there, I will using it as a load, so every time a user reloads (including first load) the info to be displayed will be read from the textarea — Stephen Sugumar, Jul 22 '14 at 16:58

AliRıza Adıyahşi · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-22T13:49:46.777

4

-- html form

    @Html.TextArea("xml")
    <input type="submit" value="Save" />

-- html form

post action

[HttpPost]
public Actionresult SomeAction(string xml){...}

better solution (using strongly typed views)

model

public class XmlViewModel
{
    public string Xml { get; set; }
}

controller

public Actionresult SomeAction()
{
    XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
    doc.Load("C:\\Tasks.xml");
    var model = new XmlViewModel
    {
        Xml = doc.InnerXml();
    }

    return View(model);
}

[HttpPost]
public Actionresult SomeAction(XmlViewModel model)
{
    ...       

    return View(model);
}

view

@model XmlViewModel 

-- html form

    @Html.TextAreaFor(x => x.Xml)
    <input type="submit" value="Save" />

-- html form

edited Jul 22 '14 at 13:49

answered Jul 22 '14 at 13:44

AliRıza Adıyahşi

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Thanks, ill try implementing the better approach using the Model. one question, Why do I need the helper function in a form? – Stephen Sugumar Jul 22 '14 at 13:56
You dont need to use helpers, this is an optional, of course you can use pure html (). You need to set the name and id attribute of textarea with the model property name. HtmlHelpers are have more elegant syntax. There is no difference. – AliRıza Adıyahşi Jul 22 '14 at 14:00
I understand the use of helpers, I meant to say, why do i have to put the @Html.textareafor inside of a form? Also, how would I add an ID to this textarea? – Stephen Sugumar Jul 22 '14 at 14:01
You dont have to use helpers, if use @HtmlTextAreaFor(x=>x.Xml) then your textarea id will be "Xml", you can see it in your page source. you can set it manually, too. Read some article about html helpers... – AliRıza Adıyahşi Jul 22 '14 at 19:40

Asp.net MVC Dynamically set TextArea

1 Answers1