Question

The Include() method works quite well for Lists on objects. But what if I need to go two levels deep? For example, the method below will return ApplicationServers with the included properties shown here. However, ApplicationsWithOverrideGroup is another container that holds other complex objects. Can I do an Include() on that property as well? Or how can I get that property to fully load?

As it stands now, this method:

public IEnumerable<ApplicationServer> GetAll()
{
    return this.Database.ApplicationServers
        .Include(x => x.ApplicationsWithOverrideGroup)                
        .Include(x => x.ApplicationWithGroupToForceInstallList)
        .Include(x => x.CustomVariableGroups)                
        .ToList();
}

Will populate only the Enabled property (below) and not the Application or CustomVariableGroup properties (below). How do I make this happen?

public class ApplicationWithOverrideVariableGroup : EntityBase
{
    public bool Enabled { get; set; }
    public Application Application { get; set; }
    public CustomVariableGroup CustomVariableGroup { get; set; }
}

Answer 1

For EF 6

using System.Data.Entity;

query.Include(x => x.Collection.Select(y => y.Property))

Make sure to add using System.Data.Entity; to get the version of Include that takes in a lambda.

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For EF Core

Use the new method ThenInclude

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;

query.Include(x => x.Collection)
     .ThenInclude(x => x.Property);