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Bootstrap DateTimePicker in ASP.Net MVC 5

I have a Bootstrap Modal in ASP.Net with MVC 5 which I use to edit an entry on a FullCalendar javascript plugin.
_Edit.cshtml:
#model Models.CalendarEntry
<div class="modal-header">
<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-hidden="true">×</button>
<h4 class="modal-title" id="myModalLabel">Edit Calendar Entry</h4>
</div>
#using (Html.BeginForm())
{
#Html.AntiForgeryToken()
<div class="modal-body">
<div class="form-horizontal">
<h4>#Model.Title</h4>
<hr />
#Html.ValidationSummary(true, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
#Html.HiddenFor(model => model.CalendarEntryId)
#Html.HiddenFor(model => model.PostId)
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Title, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Title, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control" } })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Title, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.EntryDateTime, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
<div class="input-group" id="datetimepicker">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.EntryDateTime, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control" } })
<span class="input-group-addon">
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span>
</span>
</div>
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.EntryDateTime, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Length, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Length, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control" } })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Length, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.EntryStatus, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EnumDropDownListFor(model => model.EntryStatus, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "form-control" })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.EntryStatus, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="modal-footer">
<button class="btn" data-dismiss="modal" type="button">Cancel</button>
<input class="btn btn-primary" type="submit" value="Save" />
</div>
<script>
$(document).ready(function ()
{
$("#datetimepicker").datetimepicker();
});
</script>
}
For some reason two things are happening that I cannot figure out why.
Firstly, the glyphicon-calendar does not sit next to the input:
Secondly, when the Modal Form load, all the other fields except for the datetime field gets populated with data, until I click the calendar glyphicon, then the datetime field gets populated with the current date and time. The value from the model never gets displayed.
Web interfaces are not my forté and would appreciate any assistance.

When you create a new MVC project, it comes with a default css file(Site.css) which has some predefined css styles in it. By default, it has input field's max-width defined as 280px. That is the reason, your input groups are not working as expected.
If you remove/make adjustments to this css class in your ~/Content/Site.css, You css problem will be resolved.

turns out, that I needed to set options for the datetimepicker, more specifically, a default value it would seem like:
<script>
$(document).ready(function ()
{
$("#datetimepicker").datetimepicker(
{
defaultDate: '#Model.EntryDateTime',
showTodayButton: true,
format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm',
showClose: true,
showClear: true,
toolbarPlacement: 'top',
stepping: 15
});
});
</script>

Would you try to put an attribute:
[DataType(DataType.DateTime)]
public DateTime EntryDateTime {get; set;}
and comment the JS script?
Example

Another quick solution is to also format the date like this in your javascript:
defaultDate: '#Model.EntryDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm")'
The solution of using the [DisplayFormat] as an attribute is just as valid if not a better solution.

<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class='col-md-12'>
<div class="form-group">
<span col-sm-6> #Html.Label("Date of Birth", htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })</span>
<div class='input-group date col-sm-3' id='datetimepicker1'>
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.DateOfBirth, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control" } })
<span class="input-group-addon">
<span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span>
</span>
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.DateOfBirth, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Adding Html required to TextAreaFor not working c#

I'm trying to add a required to my TextAreaFor, but it won't give the error message when i post it. I'm trying to do it on the followinng line:
#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control", required = "" } })
And this is my full code:
#using (Html.BeginForm("_Create", "Comments", FormMethod.Post))
{
#Html.HiddenFor(m => m.ThreadId)
<div class="form-group">
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control", required = "" } })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Content, "", new { #class = "text-danger"})
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<div>
<input type="submit" value="Post" class="btn btn-default" />
</div>
</div>
}

If anyone wanst to do it with html attribute,
#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, new { required = "required", htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control"} })

You don't need required as a html attribute. It should be a data annotation on the model.
[Required]
public string Content { get; set; }

#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control", required = "" } })
Should be:
#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, new { #class = "form-control", required = "required" })
Or if you want to explicitly name the parameter your anonymous object is for:
#Html.TextAreaFor(model => model.Content, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "form-control", required = "" } })
But, if you do not use data-annotation, it could be even easier this way:
<textarea id="Content" name="Content" required class="form-control">#Model.Content</textarea>
(id attribute may be optional, depending on your usages.)
Side note: I tend to minimize uses of html helpers methods. For me, MVC is also about letting you control very precisely the browser client code, which is imo better done by writing it yourself. WebForm is, on this subject, about hiding most of browser client code handling.
Using extensively html helpers, built-in validation logic, and so on, may cause you to lose the precise control of how your page should work.

C# Databinding does not contain property with name

I am creating a ListBoxFor with a MultiSelectList, but I get the following error: DataBinding: *.Models.Facilities does not contain a property with the name FacilitiesList.
Here's my view:
#model *.Models.Reservation
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.FacilitiesList, "Facilities", htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.ListBoxFor(model => model.FacilitiesList, ViewBag.FacilitiesList as MultiSelectList, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "form-control" })
</div>
</div>
The viewbag FacilitiesList is populated as follows:
public ActionResult Create()
{
ViewBag.FacilitiesList = new SelectList(_facilityrepository.GetAll(), "FacilitiesList", "FacilityType");
return View();
}

Solved it. Simple solution:
I changed this:
ViewBag.FacilitiesList = new SelectList(_facilityrepository.GetAll(), "FacilitiesList", "FacilityType");
to this:
ViewBag.FacilitiesList = new SelectList(_facilityrepository.GetAll(), "FacilityId", "FacilityType");

Viewmodel values not being returned to controller

I found some similar posts to mine, but I couldn't find an answer that suits my needs for this.
Problem is as follows:
I have a viewmodel like this:
public class PrefViewModel
{
public SelectList countries { get; set; }
public SelectList Provincies { get; set; }
public ApplicationUser user { get; set; }
public Preference MyPref{ get; set; }
public int mycountry { get; set; }
public int myprovince { get; set; }
}
my cshtml looks like this:
#using (Html.BeginForm("Index","Preferences", FormMethod.Post, new { #class = "form-horizontal", role = "form" }))
{
#Html.AntiForgeryToken()
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.user.UserName, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="control-label col-md-10">
<span class="textvak">
#Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.user.UserName, new { disabled = "disabled", #readonly = "readonly" })
</span>
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.user.UserName, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.user.Email, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="control-label col-md-10">
<span class="textvak">
#Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.user.Email, new { disabled = "disabled", #readonly = "readonly" })
</span>
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.user.Email, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.user.Unhashed, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.user.Unhashed, new { htmlAttributes = new { #class = "form-control", type = "password" } })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.user.Unhashed, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.user.Provincie.Land, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="control-label col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.mycountry, Model.countries, new { Name = "ddlLand", id = "ddlLanden", #class = "textvak" })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.user.Provincie.Land, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.user.Provincie, htmlAttributes: new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="control-label col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.myprovince, Model.Provincies, new { #class = "textvak" })
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.user.Provincie, "", new { #class = "text-danger" })
</div>
</div>
<br />
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<input type="submit" value=#Resources.Wijzig class="btn btn-default" />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
}
and in my controller I try to get the posted PrefViewModel back as follows:
[HttpPost]
[ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
public ActionResult Index(PrefViewModel TestMymodel)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
int myCountry = TestMymodel.mycountry;
int myprovince = TestMymodel.myprovince;
}
return View();
}
My problem is that the PrefViewModel TestMymodel never is filled with the values I thought i'm posting back. Even more strange to me is the fact that I do get the Unhashed password back, but all other values are 0 or null.
I can put values inside the PrefViewModel to load the page and that works, but on Posting it's almost entirely empty.
Any ideas?
edit: Would it make any difference that I did change the default model to one that I made up myself? Cause when I Call the Create action for example, I do get the values back in my post (from create offcourse). I'm getting a bit desperate
edit2: this is what was posted:
__RequestVerificationToken:-JYcw0CH2zZ7WrGUiYJM6-R6VxfL41ykTD5EHUjgtyyFcN01AaUU61BYuaRNr4oPdEvDq09aYsOFdb8fObJTXMnTKulADVkGY8CrBG3U71QXw0g7Th86WKl1up4059Zy7mW0SlrWGJpehed586v_5g2
user.Unhashed:Jonas1234-
user.Unhashed:Jonas1234-
ddlLand:1
ddlProvincie:3
(can't add picture with my reputation, so here a link to the full post: http://postimg.org/image/id95wjcxp/ )
Ok, when I change the name of the dropdownlists to the PrefViewModel property name those values get returned correct.

It appears that you have overriden the names of the drop down lists to some values which are different than the property names in your view model. That's why the values are not successfully bound back. Make sure that your input fields respect the same names as the properties on your view model if you want the default model binder to be able to bind them back to the view model.
Also your username textbox has the disabled flag:
#Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.user.UserName, new { disabled = "disabled", #readonly = "readonly" })
so it will not be submitted back to the server. You might need to add an additional hidden field if you want those values to travel back. Or simply use readonly without disabled attribute. Both attributes prevent the user from modifying the value in the corresponding input field but in addition to that the disabled attribute strips it from the POST payload when the form is submitted.
So you may use:
#Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.user.UserName, new { #readonly = "readonly" })

UpdateModel not working (MVC)

I've been following the nerd dinner tutorial. I branched off to create my own project based on it and I'm having trouble getting UpdateModel to work. It seems pretty complicated so I'll try to explain it in as much detail below.
In ServersController.cs:
public ActionResult Create(FormCollection formValues)
{
Server server = new Server();
try
{
UpdateModel(server); <----- This is not working
// server.Name = "testAdd";
// server.OS = "2008 R2";
serverRepository.Add(server);
serverRepository.Save();
return RedirectToAction("Details", new { id = server.ServerID });
}
catch
{
**not important**
}
If I try to use UpdateModel(Server), nothing gets saved to the database table. However, If I comment out that line, and use the commented lines in the code that sets the server.Name and server.OS, this DOES save it to the table. However, any other form input that's being posted doesn't save..
For example, if I explicitly set the server.Name and server.OS as in the code above, but then set other properties such as LastBackedUp and Model through the form, none of the properties set from the form are saved to the database table, nor are they reflected in the "details" view when the page gets redirected.
Here's the code for the "Details" GET method, also in ServersController.cs:
public ActionResult Details(int id)
{
Server server = serverRepository.GetServer(id);
RackInfo rackInfo = rackRepository.GetRack(id);
if (server == null)
return View("NotFound");
else
return View(new ServerDetailViewModel(rackInfo, server));
}
Basically, After the new server is created and saved, it's supposed to load the above "Detail" view, which uses a "ServerDetailViewModel" class to generate some data to pass to the view.
Here's the ServerDetailViewModel() code:
public class ServerDetailViewModel
{
public RackInfo RackInfo { get; private set; }
public Server Server { get; private set; }
public string Name { get; private set; }
public ServerDetailViewModel(RackInfo rackInfo, Server server)
{
Server = server;
RackInfo = rackInfo;
*more code here that sets stuff*
}
}
I think my problem has something to do with how my form parameters are passed around.
It seems odd that I can explicitly code in some server properties, and then save those into the database table. But when I try to do anything with UpdateModel, nothing seems to go through. When I use UpdateModel, it will redirect me to the details page, but none of the values I input for the properties seem to appear. Additionally, none of the properties I put in through the form gets saved to the database table.
If any of you have walked through the Nerd Dinner tutorial (http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2009/04/28/free-asp-net-mvc-nerddinner-tutorial-now-in-html.aspx), that's what I've been using. When I got through about halfway, I decided to start a new project that implemented what I was using.
I was initially able to get Create to work, but after adding another separate repository to the controller, the create method broke..
Any input or insight on this would be much appreciated. Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Thanks S.O.!!
EDIT (Including the "Create" Form):
#model PACSSL.Models.ServerFormViewModel
#using (Html.BeginForm())
{
#Html.AntiForgeryToken()
<div class="form-horizontal">
<h4>Server</h4>
<hr />
#Html.ValidationSummary(true)
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.Name, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.Name)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.Name)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Domain, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.Domain, Model.Domain)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Domain)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.BackedUp, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.BackedUp, Model.BackedUp)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.BackedUp)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.Role, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.Role)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.Role)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.GroupOwner, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.GroupOwner)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.GroupOwner)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.PatchNotes, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.PatchNotes)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.PatchNotes)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.LastPatched, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.LastPatched) Format: yyyy-mm-dd
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.LastPatched)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.PatchedBy, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.PatchedBy, Model.PatchedBy)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.PatchedBy)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.VP, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.VP, Model.VP)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.VP)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.VMHost, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.VMHost)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.VMHost)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.Location, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.Location)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.Location)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.PurchaseDate, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.PurchaseDate) Format: yyyy-mm-dd
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.PurchaseDate)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.OS, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.OS)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.OS)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.Model, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.Model)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.Model)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.DellST, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.DellST)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.DellST)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.ServiceContract, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.ServiceContract) Format: yyyy-mm-dd
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.ServiceContract)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
#Html.LabelFor(model => model.Server.IsLive, new { #class = "control-label col-md-2" })
<div class="col-md-10">
#Html.EditorFor(model => model.Server.IsLive)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Server.IsLive)
</div>
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<div class="col-md-offset-2 col-md-10">
<input type="submit" value="Create" class="btn btn-default" />
</div>
</div>
</div>
}

Here's your problem.
When you generate a form field with the expression model => model.Server.OS, you produce a field that has a 'name' attribute like this:
"Server.OS"
Then, when you try and bind it to a model, it will bind to a model property matching the expression "Server.OS" - so, if your model object is server, it will bind to the following:
server.Server.OS
When, I presume, you want to bind to server.OS. My suggestion would be to flatten out your view model so instead of having Model.Server.OS you just have Model.OS. Then when you do...
UpdateModel(server);
... it should bind the "OS" field to the "OS" property.
In short: your view model has an extra level of property nesting compared to your server object, so there is a mismatch in the generated field names and the properties you're trying to bind to.
Better still, bind back to the same view model by modifying your controller action to have the signature:
public ActionResult Create(ServerDetailViewModel model)
And then do the mapping manually in the controller (or some static mapping class) - your view models and domain model should be completely independent.

You are trying to update a "empty" Model. It is empty because you are creating a new instance.
Server server = new Server();
try
{
//At this point you have an empty model because you just
//created a new Instance of your Server class,
//It is updating the Model with all Null values because they aren't assigned to anything
UpdateModel(server); <----- This is not working
//Here you assign values to your model, hence why they are not null anymore
// Your other values aren't getting saved because they still don't have a value.
server.Name = "testAdd";
server.OS = "2008 R2";
serverRepository.Add(server);
serverRepository.Save();
return RedirectToAction("Details", new { id = server.ServerID });
}