Question

Is there a way I can add extra data to my Ajax ActionResult in MVC?

I want my controller to create a new PartialView and then add extra data to it which can then be picked up in the Ajax OnSuccess function.

I have tried passing back a Json result from the controller with my custom data in it and using that in the OnSuccess function, but then, because I was only passing back my custom data and no HTML, the Ajax UpdateTarget div now goes blank because Ajax fills the div with my Json result which is not HTML.

I would like a way for my controller to send back a PartialView so my UpdateTarget div gets updated, that also contains my own custom data which I can use in the OnSuccess function.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

Answer 1

You can use the following method in your controller:

  public string UpdateDivWithContent()
  {
      var yourModel = ... //make custom data to create your partial    
      return RenderPartialViewToString("YourPartialViewName", yourModel)
  }

I put this method into basic controller:

  protected string RenderPartialViewToString(string viewName, object model)
    {
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(viewName))
        {
            viewName = ControllerContext.RouteData.GetRequiredString("action");
        }

        ViewData.Model = model;

        using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
        {
            ViewEngineResult viewResult = ViewEngines.Engines.FindPartialView(ControllerContext, viewName);
            ViewContext viewContext = new ViewContext(ControllerContext, viewResult.View, ViewData, TempData, sw);
            viewResult.View.Render(viewContext, sw);

            return sw.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
        }
    }

Call this action from your view using manual ajax call, for example:

$.ajax({
    url: '@(Url.Action("UpdateDivWithContent","YourControllerName")'
    type: 'POST',
    data: {
        //some params to be passed to the controller
    },
    success: function (result) {
        //result is an html string of your customized partial view
        $("#yourDivId").html(result);
    }
});