Question

I have the following code that populates two drop down lists, it all works great in the one view “BeachSearch” but I would like to re use it in a number of other views.

public ActionResult BeachSearch()
{
    var db = new PeninsulaGuideEntities();

    //Populate Coastline Dropdown
    var coastlines = db.CoastLines.Select(c => new { c.CoastLineID, c.CoastLineName });
    ViewBag.CoastLineId = new SelectList(coastlines.AsEnumerable(), "CoastLineID", "CoastLineName", 0);

    //Populate Town Dropdown
    var towns = (from bf in db.Towns
                    join f in db.Beaches on bf.TownID equals f.TownFK
                    select new
                    {
                        bf.TownID,
                        bf.TownName
                    }).Distinct();

    ViewBag.TownId = new SelectList(towns.AsEnumerable(), "TownID", "TownName", 0);

    return View();
}

How can I reuse this code, e.g.. a Partial View or an HTML Helper? If so, where should I put the file in my file structure remembering that all the views that will use it are derived from my HomeController.

Answer 1

In the view (assuming the BeachSearch method is in the HomeController) :

    <h2>Beaches</h2>
    @Html.Action("BeachSearch", "Home")

In the controller change this:

public ActionResult BeachSearch()
{
    ...

    return PartialView();
}

The sample uses asp.net MVC3 and a razor view