Serialize class that inherits dictionary is not serializing properties

Question

I have a class that inherits from Dictionary and has a couple of properties on it. When I serialize it only serializes the dictionary and not the properties. If I have a payload that includes the properties it does deserialize to them. How can I make it serialize my object including the properties?

public class Maintenance : Dictionary<string, dynamic>
{
    public int PersonId { get; set; }
}

return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T>(jsonString); //Populates PersonId and all other properties end up in the dictionary.
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(maintenance); //Only returns dictionary contents

I'd appreciate suggestions on how to make serialization use the same behavior as deserialization seems to use.

That might not be the best way to do it. I cant get intellisense to see the class properties, though they are there. If the class implements a Dictionary as a property though (ie as a collection class), it works fine. — Ňɏssa Pøngjǣrdenlarp, Jun 28 '15 at 12:31
The intellisense works fine for me, and I can't use the dictionary as a property because I don't have control over the structure of the json payload. — Jon Helms, Jun 28 '15 at 12:46

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

From Json.Net documentation: "Note that only the dictionary name/values will be written to the JSON object when serializing, and properties on the JSON object will be added to the dictionary's name/values when deserializing. Additional members on the .NET dictionary are ignored during serialization."

Taken from this link: http://www.newtonsoft.com/json/help/html/SerializationGuide.htm

Assuming you want the keys & values of the dictionary on the same hierarchy level as PersonId in the json output, you can use the JsonExtensionData attribute with composition instead of inheritance, like this:

public class Maintenance
{
    public int PersonId { get; set; }

    [JsonExtensionData]
    public Dictionary<string, dynamic> ThisNameWillNotBeInTheJson { get; set; }
}

Also look at this question: How to serialize a Dictionary as part of its parent object using Json.Net

Serialize class that inherits dictionary is not serializing properties

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