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ASP.NET Passing Parameter in URL

I wrote a very simple web app in Flask and am porting it to ASP.NET Framework. All the functionality is in JavaScript and HTMl, so the framework should just act as scaffolding. I've got almost everything ported over, except for what seems to be a routing issue. My site expects a string token variable to be appended to the URL, like so: www.mysite.com/token-string. For development, the URL is localhost:*****/string-token, with my Index.cshtml page being displayed as default.
When I pass the URL without the token it works fine and my index page loads. However I get a 404 when I try it with the token. I'm assuming it's identifying the token as a route and is trying to navigate to it? I'm not sure how to fix it. Here are the important parts of my code:
HomeController.cs:
public class HomeController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index(string token)
{
return View();
}
}
RouteConfig.cs:
NB: I've not changed this, not sure what to do with it.
public class RouteConfig
{
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
It's quite important that the token is passed in the way it is, rather than as a ? query parameter or anything like that. Additionally, the C# index view doesn't really need to do anything with the token - it gets extracted by the JavaScript.
Any advice is most welcome. Thanks.

Each segment (i.e. {controller}) in the route is a variable, and in the default route makes them all optional. Therefore, your default route is matching the request www.mysite.com/token-string.
What you need to do is insert a route that has a constraint to only match URLs with your token. Assuming your token is a GUID, you could use a regex route constraint as follows:
public class RouteConfig
{
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
name: "TokenRoute",
url: "{token}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index" },
constraints: new { token = #"^[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}[-][0-9A-Fa-f]{4}[-][0-9A-Fa-f]{4}[-][0-9A-Fa-f]{4}[-][0-9A-Fa-f]{12}$" }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
If your token is not a GUID, you could either use a different regex or implement IRouteConstraint to ensure the route only matches your tokens. The logic you use could be as simple as a == statement (as shown) or more complex (such as a database lookup).
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
name: "TokenRoute",
url: "{token}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index" },
constraints: new { token = new TokenConstraint() }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
public class TokenConstraint : IRouteConstraint
{
public bool Match(HttpContextBase httpContext, Route route, string parameterName, RouteValueDictionary values, RouteDirection routeDirection)
{
if ((string)values[parameterName] == "MyToken")
{
return true;
}
return false;
}
}
Note that you should use the route value key {token} in the url: parameter to match the action method parameter name token.
public ActionResult Index(string token)
{
return View();
}

I guess you could try changing the default route to include token instead of id as shown below.
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{token}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);

The default Route pattern which you have expects the parameter with name as 'id'
Either add (or modify the default route) like below route pattern
routes.MapRoute(
name: "AnotherRoute", //your desired route name
url: "{controller}/{action}/{token-string}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);

How to remove question marks in Asp.net MVC routes multiple parameters

When I pass multiple parameters to a controller action, I get question marks in the parameters like this:
http://localhost:57728/Home/AddAndManageProperties?BaseCategoryId=11&SubCategoryId=14
I want to remove the question marks to be like this:
http://localhost:57728/Home/AddAndManageProperties/BaseCategoryId=11/SubCategoryId=14
here is my code:
public class RouteConfig
{
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "MyRout",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{BaseCategoryId}/{SubCategoryId}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties", BaseCategoryId = UrlParameter.Optional, SubCategoryId = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
And here is the Action Method:
public ActionResult AddAndManageProperties(int? BaseCategoryId, int? SubCategoryId)
{
}
And i call the method AddAndManageProperties by this method
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult AddSubCategory(SubCategory subCategory)
{
return RedirectToAction("AddAndManageProperties", new { BaseCategoryId = subCategory.BaseCategoryId, SubCategoryId = subCategory.SubCategoryId });
}
I am new to ASP.NET MVC so please help me!

Move the MyRout to be before the Default route and change it to
routes.MapRoute(
name: "MyRout",
url: "Home/AddAndManageProperties/{BaseCategoryId}/{SubCategoryId}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties" }
);
Note that only the last parameter can be marked UrlParameter.Optional so the method needs to be
public ActionResult AddAndManageProperties(int BaseCategoryId, int SubCategoryId)
for the above route, or
public ActionResult AddAndManageProperties(int BaseCategoryId, int? SubCategoryId)
if you modify the above route definition to
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties", SubCategoryId = UrlParameter.Optional }
Note, if you also want to include the text "BaseCategoryId" and "SubCategoryId" in the route, use
url: "Home/AddAndManageProperties/BaseCategoryId/{BaseCategoryId}/SubCategoryId/{SubCategoryId}",

That question marks are used for query strings, and they are required because this is how data is assigned to parameters your actions expect. You should not try to remove them, but you could use the [FromBody] attribute, not to send the parameters in query string.

Firstly, and most importantly, your routes are in the wrong order and you have multiple possible URLs that result in calling the wrong route. See Why map special routes first before common routes in asp.net mvc for an explanation.
Secondly, routes cannot contain more than one UrlParamter.Optional.
Third, the = sign is only valid within a query string, unless it is encoded. But IMO, you should not use unsafe characters in a URL to avoid all of the headaches that come with them. A better alternative in this case would be to replace the = with a -.
Finally, if you want to truly make the parameters optional, one approach is to provide multiple routes that allow the parameters in certain routes but not others.
public class RouteConfig
{
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
name: "BaseCategoryAndSubCategoryId",
url: "{controller}/{action}/BaseCategoryId-{BaseCategoryId}/SubCategoryId-{SubCategoryId}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties" }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "BaseCategoryIdOnly",
url: "{controller}/{action}/BaseCategoryId-{BaseCategoryId}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties" }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "SubCategoryIdOnly",
url: "{controller}/{action}/SubCategoryId-{SubCategoryId}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "AddAndManageProperties" }
);
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
NOTE: Stephen's answer is also a good alternative to this approach if your parameters are required to be passed in the URL. IMO, it makes more sense to use required parameters if your action method requires both of them in order to function.
But by far the simplest option is to simply use the query string. The parameters can naturally be optional and appended in any order if you do it that way, and you don't need anything more than your Default route.

MVC Default route with nullable id not working as expected

A simple routing scenario is not working for me.
my route registration looks like this
context.MapRoute(
"Users_default",
"Users/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
new { action = "Index", id= UrlParameter.Optional });
and i am expecting it to honor the requests for
users/profile/
users/profile/1
users/profile/2
with the following controller
public class ProfileController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index(int? id)
{
var user = id == null ? (UserModel)HttpContext.Session["CurrentUser"] : userManager.GetUserById((int)id);
return View(user);
}
}
it works for users/profile but not for users/profile/1
i've tried few different things but i know the answer must be simple, its just my lack of knowledge, what am i missing here.

i dont want index to appear. i want to use the same method for both users/profile/1 and users/profile/
Then don't put action into your URL.
context.MapRoute(
"Users_default",
"Users/{controller}/{id}",
new { action = "Index", id= UrlParameter.Optional });
The route you have defined will not allow index to be optional because it is followed by another parameter (in this case "id"). Only the last parameter can be optional on all but the default route.

This is because your route interprets as:
{controller: "profile", action: "1"}.
You need to point you details action url explicit, something like this:
users/profile/index/1

You can use Attribute routing
The code would look like
public class ProfileController : Controller
{
[Route("users/profile/{id}")]
public ActionResult Index(int? id)
{
var user = id == null ? (UserModel)HttpContext.Session["CurrentUser"] : userManager.GetUserById((int)id);
return View();
}
}
And you have to modify your RouteConfig
public class RouteConfig
{
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
// This will enable attribute routing in your project
routes.MapMvcAttributeRoutes();
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
}
So now you can use users/profile for your default behaviour and users/profile/ for a specific profile.

how to overload controllers in MVC

I am trying to overload the MVC controllers, how can I overload it properly?
I want to list all companies in my website in a ListCompanies() controller like below
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies
and I want to add search criteria if user makes a search like below
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies/sera
"sera" is my search criteria. if search criteria exist, I want to filter my search result according to the search criteria.
here are my controllers
public ActionResult ListCompanies()
{
return View(db.AY_COMPANIES);
}
[ActionName("ListCompaniesFilter")]
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string filter)
{
var filtredCompanies = from c in db.AY_COMPANIES
where c.COMPANY_FULL_NAME.StartsWith(filter)
select c;
return View(filtredCompanies);
}
and here is my ROUTING which behaves not correctly.
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapRoute(
"Default", // Route name
"{controller}/{action}/{id}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional } // Parameter defaults
);
routes.MapRoute(
"Home", // Route name
"{controller}/{action}/{filter}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "Home", action = "ListCompanies", filter = UrlParameter.Optional} // Parameter defaults
);
}
My MapRoutes are not correct because it doesnt get the search criteria properly. how can I fix this?

You can't overload in this manner because there is dispatch issue due to two routes on having the same three parts, they are essentially the same.
"{controller}/{action}/{id}"
and
"{controller}/{action}/{filter}"
One way is to collapse the two action methods into one
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string filter)
then if filter is null return the full list else return the filtered list.
I am not fond of this approach.
A better yet simple way to fix this is:
1) remove the second route (the one with the filter)
2) change the signature of the action method from
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string filter)
to
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string id)
allowing the first route to match the parameter on name.
3) Since you can't overload methods you'll need to use your ActionName when requesting the filtered result,
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompaniesFilter/sera

First these routes are exactly the same:
routes.MapRoute(
"Default", // Route name
"{controller}/{action}/{id}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "Home", action = "Index",
id = UrlParameter.Optional } // Parameter defaults
);
routes.MapRoute(
"Home", // Route name
"{controller}/{action}/{filter}", // URL with parameters
new { controller = "Home", action = "ListCompanies",
filter = UrlParameter.Optional} // Parameter defaults
);
They are exactly the same because the number of parameters exactly match (what you name parameters nor the parameter type does not change the signature of the http request method).
There are few different ways to make this work. You could write a MapRoute Constraint for Default that would prevent it from working if the controller/action/id matched a specific set of criteria. Probably not the best course of action.
Since
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies/sera
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies/text
http://localhost:21047/Home/ListCompanies/search
are programmatically the same request with {id} having a null value for your method ListCompanies() I would probably write it like:
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string id)
{
var query = db.AY_COMPANIES;
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(id))
{
query.Where(c => c.COMPANY_FULL_NAME.StartsWith(id))
}
var model = query.ToList();
return View(model);
}
And remove your "Home" MapRoute, it won't be needed.

What happens if you have only one action with an optional parameter? Something like as the following:
public ActionResult ListCompanies(string filter = null)
{
var filteredCompanies = string.IsNullOrEmpty(filter)
? db.AY_COMPANIES
: from c in db.AY_COMPANIES
where c.COMPANY_FULL_NAME.StartsWith(filter)
select c;
return View(filteredCompanies);
}

How do I pass DateTime parameters from View to Controller in ASP.net MVC5?

I am trying to pass 3 parameters, one int, and 2 datetime to a controller with no luck. I have created custom Routes, but no matter what I do it never connects.
In My View I have
#Html.ActionLink("Check Availability", "Check", new { id = item.RoomID, AD = ArrivalDate.Date.ToString("dd-MM-yyyy"), DD = DepartureDate.Date.ToString("dd-MM-yyyy") }, null)
In my Controller I have
[RoutePrefix("RoomInfoes")]
[Route("Check/{ID},{AD},{DD}")]
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Check(int? id, string AD, string DD) {
I have tried numerous arrangements of routes and views, but never can connect.
The code above returns a 404 with
Requested URL: /RoomInfoes/Check/1,06-11-2014,06-11-2014
Thanks

Before you use attribute routing make sure you have it enabled:
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapMvcAttributeRoutes(); // add this line in your route config
routes.MapRoute(
name: "Default",
url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);
}
then decorate your action like this:
[Route("RoomInfoes/Check/{ID},{AD},{DD}")]
public ActionResult Test(int? id, string AD, string DD)
The RoutePrefix has been removed because it can be used only on class declaration (the code will even doesn't compile). I removed the HttpPost attribute because I assumed that you want make a GET instead of POST.
then to generate a link pointing to this action you can simply write:
#Html.ActionLink("test", "Test", "Home", new { id = 5, AD="58", DD = "58" }, null)
the result will be:
test (the commas in your url will be url encoded)

Do also have the Check Action method for serving HttpGet requests? If not, you will get 404 error.
Have you also done the routes.MapRoute in the RouteConfig.cs? This is required to render the correct URL with #Html.ActionLink helper method.
Try adding below code in RouteConfig.cs, if not already exists.
routes.MapRoute(
name: "RoomInfoes",
url: "Check/{ID},{AD},{DD}",
defaults: new
{
controller = "RoomInfoes",
action = "Check",
ID = UrlParameter.Optional,
AD = UrlParameter.Optional,
DD = UrlParameter.Optional
}
);
You don't Need Route and the RoutePrefix attribute on the Action method.