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Editing and saving from a ViewModel.

This seems to be a common question. I have looked at many examples however I must be missing something somewhere. Below is my code for the 'ViewModel', and 'Controller'.
ViewModel:
public class EditAddressViewModel
{
public Guid AddressUI { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Billing Address?")]
[UIHint("_IsStatus")]
public bool IsBilling { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Shipping Address?")]
[UIHint("_IsStatus")]
public bool IsShipping { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Location Name")]
public string LocationName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Contact Name")]
public string ContactName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Address")]
public string Line1 { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Address 2")]
public string Line2 { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Country")]
public int Country { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "State")]
public int State { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "City")]
public int City { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "ZipCode")]
public string ZipCode { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Contact Email")]
[DataType(DataType.EmailAddress)]
[StringLength(320)]
[RegularExpression(#"[a-z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+(?:\.[a-z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)*#(?:[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?\.)+[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?", ErrorMessage = "Enter a valid email address")]
public string EmailAddress { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Phone Number")]
[DataType(DataType.PhoneNumber)]
[StringLength(12)]
[RegularExpression(#"((\(\d{3}\) ?)|(\d{3}-))?\d{3}-\d{4}", ErrorMessage = "Enter a valid phone number")]
public string PhoneNumber { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Fax Number")]
[DataType(DataType.PhoneNumber)]
[StringLength(12)]
[RegularExpression(#"((\(\d{3}\) ?)|(\d{3}-))?\d{3}-\d{4}", ErrorMessage = "Enter a valid phone number")]
public string FaxNumber { get; set; }
public int CompanyId { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Select Country")]
public int CountryId { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> Countries { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Select State")]
public int StateId { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> States { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Select Cit;y")]
public int CityId { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> Cities { get; set; }
}
The Controller:
// Customer Input
// GET: Addresses/Edit/5
[Authorize(Roles = "CompanyAdmin")]
public ActionResult UserEdit(Guid guid)
{
if (guid == null)
{
return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
}
Addresses addresses = db.Addresses.Find(guid);
if (addresses == null)
{
return HttpNotFound();
}
EditAddressViewModel editAddress = new EditAddressViewModel()
{
AddressUI = addresses.AddressUI,
LocationName = addresses.LocationName,
Line1 = addresses.Line1,
Line2 = addresses.Line2,
Country = addresses.Country,
State = addresses.State,
City = addresses.City,
ZipCode = addresses.ZipCode,
PhoneNumber = addresses.PhoneNumber,
FaxNumber = addresses.FaxNumber,
CompanyId = addresses.CompanyId
};
ConfigureViewModel(editAddress);
return View(editAddress);
}
public void ConfigureViewModel(EditAddressViewModel editAddressViewModel)
{
editAddressViewModel.Countries = db.Countries.Select(o => new SelectListItem()
{
Value = o.CountryId.ToString(),
Text = o.CountryName
});
editAddressViewModel.States = db.States.Select(o => new SelectListItem()
{
Value = o.StateId.ToString(),
Text = o.StateName
});
editAddressViewModel.Cities = db.Cities.Select(o => new SelectListItem()
{
Value = o.CityId.ToString(),
Text = o.CityName
});
}
// POST: Addresses/Edit/5
// To protect from overposting attacks, please enable the specific properties you want to bind to, for
// more details see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=317598.
[HttpPost]
[ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
public ActionResult UserEdit(EditAddressViewModel model)
{
var userId = User.Identity.GetUserId();
if (!ModelState.IsValid)
{
return View(model);
}
Addresses addresses = db.Addresses.Find(model.AddressUI);
addresses.IsBilling = EditAddressViewModel.IsBilling;
addresses.IsShipping = EditAddressViewModel.IsShipping;
addresses.LocationName = EditAddressViewModel.LocationName;
addresses.Line1 = EditAddressViewModel.Line1;
addresses.Line2 = EditAddressViewModel.Line2;
addresses.Country = EditAddressViewModel.Country;
addresses.State = EditAddressViewModel.State;
addresses.City = EditAddressViewModel.City;
addresses.ZipCode = EditAddressViewModel.ZipCode;
addresses.PhoneNumber = EditAddressViewModel.PhoneNumber;
addresses.FaxNumber = EditAddressViewModel.FaxNumber;
addresses.CompanyId = EditAddressViewModel.CompanyId;
db.Entry(addresses).State = EntityState.Modified;
db.SaveChanges();
return RedirectToAction("Index", "Customer", new { UserId = userId });
}
The issue I am running into is in the controller. All of the entries for Example
addresses.IsBilling = EditAddressViewModel.IsBilling;
Show that "An object reference is required for the non-static field, method, or property". If I go to my 'ViewModel' and change the "public int or string" to be "public static int" then it goes away but then I get an error on the get Action that is cannot be tied to a static object. I am a little confused because this same scenario seems to work for another question on this site. In mine it does not. I have to be missing something somewhere. thanks for your help.

When you say addresses.IsBilling = EditAddressViewModel.IsBilling; you are asking for a property of the class EditAddressViewModel
You want to access a property of the object model. So I think you want addresses.IsBilling = model.IsBilling; etc.

Combine data input in views

I am building an MVC app in ASP.Net and I want to combine my user model with my address model for registration purposes. Now I need to know how to implement the ViewModel for this. I am using code first and I am a beginner.
Below is the code for my two models and the db context.
public class SiteDataModel : DbContext
{
// Your context has been configured to use a 'SiteDataModel' connection string from your application's
// configuration file (App.config or Web.config). By default, this connection string targets the
// 'WMVC.SiteDataModel' database on your LocalDb instance.
//
// If you wish to target a different database and/or database provider, modify the 'SiteDataModel'
// connection string in the application configuration file.
public SiteDataModel()
: base("name=SiteDataModel")
{
}
// Add a DbSet for each entity type that you want to include in your model. For more information
// on configuring and using a Code First model, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=390109.
public virtual DbSet<Web_User> WebUsers { get; set; }
public virtual DbSet<Web_User_Address> WebUserAddresses { get; set; }
}
public class Web_User
{
[Key]
public int User_Id { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "First Name")]
public string FirstName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Last Name")]
public string LastName { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Email")]
[DataType(DataType.EmailAddress, ErrorMessage = "Please enter a valid e-mail address")]
public string Email { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Password")]
[DataType(DataType.Password)]
public string Password { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Cellphone Number")]
[DataType(DataType.PhoneNumber)]
public string CellPhoneNumber { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Date of Birth")]
[DataType(DataType.Date)]
[DisplayFormat(DataFormatString = "{0:dd/MM/yyyy}", ApplyFormatInEditMode = true)]
public DateTime DateOfBirth { get; set; }
public int Address_Id { get; set; }
public virtual Web_User_Address UserAddresses { get; set; }
}
public class Web_User_Address
{
[Key]
public int Address_Id { get; set; }
[Required]
[Display(Name="Postal Address")]
[DataType(DataType.PostalCode)]
public int PostalCode { get; set; }
[Required]
public string Street { get; set; }
public string Province { get; set; }
public ICollection<Web_User> WebUsers { get; set; }
}

A few pointers, you might need to update your Web_User_Address, to exclude "WebUsers" and have 1 userID, and your web_user Dbset should not have any addresslink( or adress ID)
look at it this way: one user can have many addresses. even if that is not the case in your program.
Accessing the two DbSets in the viewmodel, you can do something like this:
class RegistrationViewModel
{
SiteDataModel db = new SiteDataModel();
public AddUserAndAddress(Web_User_Address address, Web_User user){
//Note: address has a userId
var user = db.Web_User.First(a => a.Name== user.Name && /*etc*/ );
if(user != null){
// User already exists. Do something about that here
}
db.Web_User_Address.Add(address);
db.Web_User.Add(user);
db.SaveChanges();
}
}
I hope this helps. best of luck!

After re-reading your question. I finally understood what you asked.
The simple way to do this is to create a model with both Dbsets :)

Entity Framework validation error on non-required object field

I have an ASP.NET MVC website that is passing ViewModels up to a WebAPI Service in order to perform CRUD operations on objects in the database using Entity Framework code first.
One of my Domain Entity Objects is a Business, which has business information, an address, a primary contact, and secondary contact. The thing is, the secondary contact object is not required since not all companies will have a secondary contact. I have setup the ID field as nullable, but when I attempt to save a new business record into the database that doesn't have a secondary contact object, it is giving me entity validation errors that the Secondary Contact record fields are required.
Does anyone know how to stop this error so I can save the business entity in the database without a secondary contact?
Below is the related code. I am using automapper to map between my viewmodels and models.
Domain Business Object
public class Business
{
public Guid PrimaryContactId { get; set; }
[ForeignKey("PrimaryContactId")]
[Required]
public virtual Contact PrimaryContact { get; set; }
public Guid? SecondaryContactId { get; set; }
[ForeignKey("SecondaryContactId")]
public virtual Contact SecondaryContact { get; set; }
[Key]
public Guid Id { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string CompanyName { get; set; }
[MaxLength(100)]
public string CompanyWebsite { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string Industry { get; set; }
[Required]
public NumberOfEmployees NumberOfEmployees { get; set; }
[Required]
public CommunicationPreference CommunicationPreference { get; set; }
public Guid AddressId { get; set; }
[ForeignKey("AddressId")]
[Required]
public virtual Address Address { get; set; }
}
Business View Model
public class BusinessViewModel
{
public Guid PrimaryContactId { get; set; }
public PrimaryContactViewModel PrimaryContact { get; set; }
public Guid? SecondaryContactId { get; set; }
public SecondaryContactViewModel SecondaryContact { get; set; }
public Guid Id { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Company Name")]
[Required]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public string CompanyName { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Company Website")]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public string CompanyWebsite { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Industry")]
[Required]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public string Industry { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Number of Employees")]
[Required]
public NumberOfEmployees NumberOfEmployees { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Communication Preference")]
[Required]
public CommunicationPreference CommunicationPreference { get; set; }
public Guid AddressId { get; set; }
[Required]
public AddressViewModel Address { get; set; }
}
Domain Contact Object
public class Contact
{
[Key]
public Guid Id { get; set; }
[Required]
public Salutations? Prefix { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string FirstName { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string LastName { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string JobTitle { get; set; }
[Required]
[DataType(DataType.EmailAddress)]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string Email { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(100)]
public string Phone { get; set; }
[MaxLength(100)]
public string PhoneExtension { get; set; }
}
Base Contact View Model
public class BaseContactViewModel
{
public Guid Id { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Prefix")]
public virtual Salutations Prefix { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact First Name")]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string FirstName { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Last Name")]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string LastName { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Job Title")]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string JobTitle { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Email Address")]
[DataType(DataType.EmailAddress)]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string Email { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Phone")]
[DataType(DataType.PhoneNumber)]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string Phone { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Primary Contact Extension")]
[MinLength(3, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be at least {1} characters long")]
[MaxLength(100, ErrorMessage = "Your {0} must be no more than {1} characters")]
public virtual string PhoneExtension { get; set; }
}
Secondary Contact View Model
public class SecondaryContactViewModel : BaseContactViewModel
{
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Prefix")]
public override Salutations Prefix { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact First Name")]
public override string FirstName { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Last Name")]
public override string LastName { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Job Title")]
public override string JobTitle { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Email Address")]
public override string Email { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Phone")]
public override string Phone { get; set; }
[DisplayName("Secondary Contact Extension")]
public override string PhoneExtension { get; set; }
}
Method that does the EF saving
public async Task<bool> CreateBusinessAsync(BusinessViewModel businessViewModel)
{
try
{
// TODO: Move mapping to some common place?
Mapper.CreateMap<BusinessViewModel, Business>();
Mapper.CreateMap<BaseContactViewModel, Contact>();
Mapper.CreateMap<AddressViewModel, Address>();
Business business = Mapper.Map<Business>(businessViewModel);
//TODO: See why EntityFramework isn't automatically putting in GUIDs
business.Id = Guid.NewGuid();
business.Address.Id = Guid.NewGuid();
business.PrimaryContact.Id = Guid.NewGuid();
// Attach the objects so they aren't saved as new entries
db.States.Attach(business.Address.State);
db.Countries.Attach(business.Address.Country);
//TODO: See why entity framework isn't automatically saving records
var bus = db.Businesses.Add(business);
var primary = db.Contacts.Add(business.PrimaryContact);
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(business.SecondaryContact.FirstName))
{
business.SecondaryContact.Id = Guid.NewGuid();
db.Contacts.Add(business.SecondaryContact);
}
else
{
business.SecondaryContact = null;
}
var address = db.Addresses.Add(business.Address);
int rowsAffected = await db.SaveChangesAsync();
if (bus != null && rowsAffected > 0)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
//TODO: Add exception logger
string error = e.Message;
return false;
}
}
Please let me know if it would be useful to see any other classes. Thanks.

I had a similar issue before and the way I fixed it was by taking the foreign key data annotation off of the property and using fluent-api. Using fluent-api I just labeled the correct side of the relationship as optional.

You can just make the data type to nullable based on documentation
public class Foo {
// ...... Some property
[ForeignKey("tagId")]
public ICollection<SomeModel>? data {get; set;}
}
This will make the property not validated and return validated result. Using Model.IsValid

Data Annotation Validation for a Group of Fields in Model

I am new to MVC 3 Data Annotations and I just want to ask that if its possible to add Validation on a Group of Fields in Model and Display the validation if none of it has Value?
this is the set of fields in my Data model
public class ContactModel
{
public Nullable<int> Id { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Contact Firstname")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Required!")]
public string ContactFirstname { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Contact Lastname")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Required!")]
public string ContactLastname { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Contact Middlename")]
public string ContactMiddlename { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Phone")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Required!")]
public string ContactPhone { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Mobile ")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Required!")]
public string ContactMobile { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Email")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Required!")]
public string ContactEmail { get; set; }
[Display(Name = "Job Title")]
[StringLength(50, ErrorMessage = "Max character reached!")]
public string ContactJobTitle { get; set; }
}
And I want to add validation if one from Phone,Mobile or Email doesn't have value
Thanks

You can implement IValidatableObject interface and add validation for all necessary properties:
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(Phone) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(Mobile) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(Email))
{
yield return new ValidationResult("Some error message");
}
}
Of course you should remove [Required] attributes then from those properties.

Confusing data annotation validation

I had been struggling with this issue since morning. I have the following class in my domain service.
[MetadataTypeAttribute(typeof(CompanyRecord.CompanyRecordMetadata))]
public partial class CompanyRecord
{
// This class allows you to attach custom attributes to properties
// of the CompanyRecord class.
//
// For example, the following marks the Xyz property as a
// required property and specifies the format for valid values:
// [Required]
// [RegularExpression("[A-Z][A-Za-z0-9]*")]
// [StringLength(32)]
// public string Xyz { get; set; }
internal sealed class CompanyRecordMetadata
{
// Metadata classes are not meant to be instantiated.
private CompanyRecordMetadata()
{
}
public Nullable<char> AccessToClearance { get; set; }
public Nullable<char> AccessToMarketplace { get; set; }
public Nullable<bool> Active { get; set; }
public string AddressLine1 { get; set; }
public string AddressLine2 { get; set; }
public Nullable<int> AllotedHDSpace { get; set; }
public string City { get; set; }
public int CompanyID { get; set; }
public Binary CompanyLogo { get; set; }
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Company Name is required and must be unique.")]
public string CompanyName { get; set; }
[Range(1, Int32.MaxValue, ErrorMessage = "Company Type is required.")]
public int CompanyTypeID { get; set; }
[Range(1, Int32.MaxValue, ErrorMessage = "Country is required.")]
public Nullable<int> CountryID { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
//[RegularExpression(pattern: #"[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+(?:\.[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)*#(?:[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]*[a-zA-Z0-9])?\.)+(?:[A-Z]{2}|com|org|net|gov|mil|biz|info|mobi|name|aero|jobs|museum|tv|COM|ORG|NET|GOV|MIL|BIZ|INFO|MOBI|NAME|AERO|JOBS|MUSEUM|TV|Com|Org|Net|Gov|Mil|Biz|Info|Mobi|Name|Aero|Jobs|Museum|Tv)\b", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid email address")]
[RegularExpression(pattern: #"(\w[-._\w]*\w#\w[-._\w]*\w\.[a-zA-z]{2,6})", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid email address")]
public string EmployeeEmail { get; set; }
//[RegularExpression(pattern: #"[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+(?:\.[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)*#(?:[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]*[a-zA-Z0-9])?\.)+(?:[A-Z]{2}|com|org|net|gov|mil|biz|info|mobi|name|aero|jobs|museum|tv|COM|ORG|NET|GOV|MIL|BIZ|INFO|MOBI|NAME|AERO|JOBS|MUSEUM|TV|Com|Org|Net|Gov|Mil|Biz|Info|Mobi|Name|Aero|Jobs|Museum|Tv)\b", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid email address")]
//(\w[-._\w]*\w#\w[-._\w]*\w\.\w{2,3})
[RegularExpression(pattern: #"(\w[-._\w]*\w#\w[-._\w]*\w\.[a-zA-z]{2,6})", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid email address")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Email is required.")]
public string Email { get; set; }
[StringLength(10, ErrorMessage = "Phone Ext. should not be more than 10 chars.")]
public string EmployeePhoneExt { get; set; }
[StringLength(20, ErrorMessage = "Phone No. should not be more than 20 chars.")]
[RegularExpression(pattern: #"^[0-9\-\(\) ]*[0-9\-\(\)]*$", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid Phone No.")]
public string EmployeePhoneNo { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
[Range(0, int.MaxValue, ErrorMessage = "Number of projects should be lower than 2,147,483,647.")]
public Nullable<int> NoOfProjects { get; set; }
public Nullable<int> NoOfUsers { get; set; }
[StringLength(10, ErrorMessage = "Phone Ext. should not be more than 10 chars.")]
public string PhoneExt { get; set; }
[StringLength(20, ErrorMessage = "Phone No. should not be more than 20 chars.")]
[Required(ErrorMessage = "Phone No. is required.")]
[RegularExpression(pattern: #"^[0-9\-\(\) ]*[0-9\-\(\)]*$", ErrorMessage = "Please provide a valid Phone No.")]
public string PhoneNo { get; set; }
[RegularExpression(pattern: #"^[a-zA-Z0-9\-\(\)\* ]*[a-zA-Z0-9\-\(\)\*]*$", ErrorMessage = "Postal codes cant' contain special characters except for -, (, ), * and spaces.")]
public string PostalCode { get; set; }
public string Province { get; set; }
public string Website { get; set; }
public int MarketID { get; set; }
public int AffiliationID { get; set; }
public string CallLetter { get; set; }
}
}
PROBLEM: I need to create a validation rule that woudl require MarketID and Affiliation ID only when CompanyTypeID is equivalent to 1, 3, 5, 9 and 11 is there someone out there who has an idea on how to solve this?

You should use the custom validation.
There are some topics for your question below:
1 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.componentmodel.dataannotations.customvalidationattribute(vs.95).aspx
2 http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/bursteg/archive/2009/04/14/net-ria-services-custom-validation.aspx