Introduction
ASP.NET MVC3 does not provide built in control for implementing CheckBoxList
. While working in my project, I was assigned a User Story which required such an implementation. After searching a lot on the internet, I did not find the feasible solution. Hence, I tried this on my own and have banged my head a lot of times while implementing. Well, this is my first tip, hence excuse me for any mistakes and also help rectify them.
Background
This implementation is on ASP.NET MVC3, NHibernate, linq. It is best suited for fixed size CheckBoxList
.
Using the Code
In the Model
class, include the enum
for which CheckBoxList
is to be created. Enum
value should be of the order 2^n as shown below:
[Flags]public enum ReportTemplateFormat
{
PDF = 1,
Excel = 2,
Word = 4,
CSV = 8
}
Include another enum
which has values similar to below:
public enum ReportFormat
{
PDF = 0,
Excel = 1,
Word = 2,
CSV = 3
}
Include bool
list in the ViewModel
.
public List<bool> ReportFormats { get; set; }
In the Model
, include an int
property. Same to be included in the database.
public virtual int AvailableFormats { get; set; }
In the create viewmodel
from the model:
- When creating
viewmodel
, pass AvailableFormats(int)
from model and assign to List<bool>
used for checking the checkbox:
viewModel.ReportFormats = GetFormats(model.AvailableFormats);
- Method to return
List<bool>
from the AvailableFormats(int)
value passed.
public List<bool> GetFormats(int reportFormats)
{
var reportTemplateFormat = new List<bool>();
var reportTemplateFormatValues =
(ReportTemplateFormat[])Enum.GetValues(typeof(ReportTemplateFormat));
if(reportFormats==0)
{
for (var i = 0; i < reportTemplateFormatValues.Count(); i++)
{
reportFormats += (int)reportTemplateFormatValues[i];
}
}
for (var i = 0; i < reportTemplateFormatValues.Count(); i++)
{
reportTemplateFormat.Add(new bool());
}
foreach (var x in reportTemplateFormatValues)
{
if ((int)x != 0 && (reportFormats & (int)x) == (int)x)
{
ReportFormat reportFormat;
if (Enum.TryParse(x.ToString(), true, out reportFormat))
{
reportTemplateFormat[(int)reportFormat] = true;
}
else
{
throw new ArgumentException(string.Format("Invalid Format '{0}'!", x));
}
}
}
return reportTemplateFormat;
}
In update model from viewmodel
:
- Update the
AvailableFormats
property in the model by passing the List<bool>
which contains the checked values from the checkbox
list.
model.AvailableFormats = GetAvailableFormats(viewModel.ReportFormats);
- Pass the
List<bool>
and return the evaluated AvailableFormats to be saved to model.
public int GetAvailableFormats(List<bool> reportTemplateFormats)
{
int reportTemplateFormat = 0;
var reportTemplateValues = (ReportTemplateFormat[])
Enum.GetValues(typeof (ReportTemplateFormat));
for (int i = 0; i < reportTemplateFormats.Count; i++)
{
if (reportTemplateFormats[i])
reportTemplateFormat += Convert.ToInt32(reportTemplateValues[i]);
}
return reportTemplateFormat;
}
- Implementation of the
CheckBoxList
in view.
<div class="float-editor-row">
<div class="float-editor-label">@Html.Label("* Report Format")</div>
<div class="float-editor-field">
@for (var i = 0; i < Model.ReportFormats.Count; i++)
{
//Using ReportFormats List<bool> to check the checkbox
@Html.CheckBoxFor(x => x.ReportFormats[i], new { @checked = "checked" })
@Html.LabelFor(x => x.ReportFormats[i], ((ReportFormat)i).ToString())<text> </text>
}
</div>
</div>
Points of Interest
Well, this is my first article and I am sure there's lot of mistakes. It's very nice to share knowledge with everyone, that's the way even I have learned and thanks to all of them. I am open to criticism and please suggest to me the points to improve my writing skills.
History
This was implemented in my current project. Soon I would like to create a basic project based on the comments.
Thanks.