HTML.ActionLink method

Question

Let's say I have a class

public class ItemController:Controller
{
    public ActionResult Login(int id)
    {
        return View("Hi", id);
    }
}

On a page that is not located at the Item folder, where ItemController resides, I want to create a link to the Login method. So which Html.ActionLink method I should use and what parameters should I pass?

Specifically, I am looking for the replacement of the method

Html.ActionLink(article.Title,
    new { controller = "Articles", action = "Details",
          id = article.ArticleID })

that has been retired in the recent ASP.NET MVC incarnation.

Answer 1

I think what you want is this:

ASP.NET MVC1

Html.ActionLink(article.Title, 
                "Login",  // <-- Controller Name.
                "Item",   // <-- ActionMethod
                new { id = article.ArticleID }, // <-- Route arguments.
                null  // <-- htmlArguments .. which are none. You need this value
                      //     otherwise you call the WRONG method ...
                      //     (refer to comments, below).
                )

This uses the following method ActionLink signature:

public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, 
                                string linkText,
                                string controllerName,
                                string actionName,
                                object values, 
                                object htmlAttributes)

ASP.NET MVC2

two arguments have been switched around

Html.ActionLink(article.Title, 
                "Item",   // <-- ActionMethod
                "Login",  // <-- Controller Name.
                new { id = article.ArticleID }, // <-- Route arguments.
                null  // <-- htmlArguments .. which are none. You need this value
                      //     otherwise you call the WRONG method ...
                      //     (refer to comments, below).
                )

This uses the following method ActionLink signature:

public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, 
                                string linkText,
                                string actionName,
                                string controllerName,
                                object values, 
                                object htmlAttributes)

ASP.NET MVC3+

arguments are in the same order as MVC2, however the id value is no longer required:

Html.ActionLink(article.Title, 
                "Item",   // <-- ActionMethod
                "Login",  // <-- Controller Name.
                new { article.ArticleID }, // <-- Route arguments.
                null  // <-- htmlArguments .. which are none. You need this value
                      //     otherwise you call the WRONG method ...
                      //     (refer to comments, below).
                )

This avoids hard-coding any routing logic into the link.

 <a href="/Item/Login/5">Title</a> 

This will give you the following html output, assuming:

1. article.Title = "Title"
2. article.ArticleID = 5
3. you still have the following route defined

. .

routes.MapRoute(
    "Default",     // Route name
    "{controller}/{action}/{id}",                           // URL with parameters
    new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = "" }  // Parameter defaults
);