Question

I see the DisplayAttribute has a ShortName property, but I see no Html.ShortName helper. How can I get to use this short name for my table column headings? Do I have to write my own helper?

Answer 1

You could write your own helper :

Something like

public static IHtmlString ShortLabelFor<TModel, TValue>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> helper, Expression<Func<TModel, TValue>> expression) {
   var metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, helper.ViewData);
   var content = metadata.ShortDisplayName?? metadata.DisplayName ?? /*something else*/ ?? string.Empty;
   return new HtmlString(content);
}

But, from msdn :

The short display name can be used in a tooltip or in other display
contexts such as the title of tabular list views where the complete
display name might not fit. For example, in MVC, this name is used in
tables where the columns are not wide enough to display the complete
field name. If this field is null, DisplayName should be used.

So it looks like it should be automatic (when no room enough), but… untested here. Sounds like it should work with @Html.LabelFor in this way.