ASP.NET MVC Route based on Web Browser/Device (e.g. iPhone)

Question

Is it possible, from within ASP.NET MVC, to route to different controllers or actions based on the accessing device/browser?

I'm thinking of setting up alternative actions and views for some parts of my website in case it is accessed from the iPhone, to optimize display and functionality of it. I don't want to create a completely separate project for the iPhone though as the majority of the site is fine on any device.

Any idea on how to do this?

Answer 1

You can create a route constraint class:

public class UserAgentConstraint : IRouteConstraint
{
    private readonly string _requiredUserAgent;

    public UserAgentConstraint(string agentParam)
    {
        _requiredUserAgent = agentParam;
    }
    public bool Match(HttpContextBase httpContext, Route route, string parameterName, RouteValueDictionary values, RouteDirection routeDirection)
    {
        return httpContext.Request.UserAgent != null &&
               httpContext.Request.UserAgent.ToLowerInvariant().Contains(_requiredUserAgent);
    }
}

And then enforce the constraint to one of the routes like so:

      routes.MapRoute(
           name: "Default",
           url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
           defaults: new {id = RouteParameter.Optional},
           constraints: new {customConstraint = new UserAgentConstraint("Chrome")},
           namespaces: new[] {"MyNamespace.MVC"}
           );

You could then create another route pointing to a controller with the same name in another namespace with a different or no constraint.

Answer 2

Mix: Mobile Web Sites with ASP.NET MVC and the Mobile Browser Definition File

Don't know if the above helps as I havn't watched it yet.

And this one;

How Would I Change ASP.NET MVC Views Based on Device Type?

Answer 3

Best bet would be a custom action filter.

All you have to do is inherit from ActionMethodSelectorAttribute, and override the IsValidRequest class.

public class [IphoneRequest] : ActionMethodSelectorAttribute
    {
        public override bool IsValidForRequest(ControllerContext controllerContext, System.Reflection.MethodInfo methodInfo)
        {
             // return true/false if device is iphone

Then in your controller

[IphoneRequest]
public ActionResult Index()