How to select table rows in ASP.NET MVC

Question

I'm trying to figure out the right way to do something in MVC that won't be difficult in WebForms, and I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Basically, I am showing a data table, and the user should be able to select zero or more rows. When they click the submit button, I want my controller to know which rows were selected, as this will affect other data on the screen.

My view is as follows:

<form action="/Summary/Index" method="post"> <table> <thead> <tr> <th></th> <th>Name</th> <th>Age</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <% foreach (Person p in Model) { %> <tr> <td> <input type="checkbox" name="" /> <!-- HOW SHOULD THIS BE RENDERED? --> </td> <td><%= p.Name %></td> <td><%= p.Age %></td> </tr> <% } %> </tbody> </table> <input type="submit" value="Update" /> </form> 

So, when the submit button is clicked, the form will be sent to the current URL. Please note that the "Man" model is just a ViewModel, so I can add any necessary interface properties if necessary. Should I add the "Selected" property for Person and make my controller take a list / array of Person and check each selected property?

Please note that I need a solution that will work without JavaScript, and I don’t want my controller to worry about how the checkbox values ​​are retrieved - I am happy to write my own ModelBinder, if necessary.

Can someone give me an idea how to do this?

Thanks a lot, Simon.

Answer 1

If there is a person’s identifier or some other unique identifier, then structure it this way:

  <% foreach (Person p in Model) { %> <tr> <td> <input type="checkbox" name="selectedNames" value="<%= p.ID %>" /> <!-- HOW SHOULD THIS BE RENDERED? --> </td> <td><%= p.Name %></td> <td><%= p.Age %></td> </tr> <% } %> 

Then you can add a return to your controller method "string [] selectedNames", i.e.

 public void ProcessReturn(string[] selectedNames) { foreach (string nameID in selectedNames) { ProcessNameByID(nameID); } } 

The array will include the "value" of each flag that has been checked, and only those that have been checked!