ASP.NET MVC 5 routing, hide data in URL

Question

I have two types of functionality for a action with a bool variable.

[HttpGet]
public ActionResult action(bool data = false)
{
   if(data == false)
   {
      return View("view1");
   }
   else
   {
      return View("view2");
   }
}

It is a [httpGet] method. some link has data bool value as true and some has false.
The url has the attribute like http://localhost:58241/action?data=False
I want to hide the ?data=False or ?data=Truefrom URL and should possess all the same functionality like before.

I want the URL like http://localhost:58241/action

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You can achieve this functionality partially by making the parameter optional as suggested by @VishalSuthar. But for one condition you must use the parameter if you want to access it using a GET request.

Else, if you make the Action only accessible by POST requests, this part will be easier to implement. In that case only change you need is :

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult action(bool data = false)
{
   if(data == false)
   {
      return View("view1");
   }
   else
   {
      return View("view2");
   }
}

This way you can pass the parameter in form and hit the action with the URL showing: http://localhost:58241/action

Note: This way the action will not be accessible via GET requests.

Answer 2

bool data = false this will assign the value when it is missing. So when you call the Url without data as a parameter then it will assing the value as 'false'

As per you requirement, you need to do this:

public ActionResult action(bool? data) //optional parameter
{
   data = false;
   if(data == false)
   {
      return View("view1");
   } 
   else
   {
      return View("view2");
   }
}

So everytime, return View("view1"); will be called no matter what you have passed.

Answer 3

Routing has absolutely nothing at all to do with query string parameters. And in any case, you still need to transfer the data parameter to the server for the action method to receive it. There are 3 ways to do this:

1. Pass it in the URL using HTTP GET (as a route value or query string value)
2. Pass it in the form body using HTTP POST
3. Pass it in a model (using HTTP POST and model binding)

The simplest option is #1, however since you mentioned this isn't acceptable to pass the data through the URL, your only choice is to use HTTP post. So, the rest of this answer uses #2.

First, the default route does not cover your choice of URL (/action), so you need to insert a custom route for this.

public class RouteConfig
{
    public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
    {
        routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

        // Add route to handle /action
        routes.MapRoute(
            name: "Action",
            url: "action",
            defaults: new { controller = "Data", action = "Action" }
        );

        routes.MapRoute(
            name: "Default",
            url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
            defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
        );
    }
}

Next, you need a controller to handle both the GET and POST from the browser.

public class DataController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Action()
    {
        return View();
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Action(bool data = false)
    {
        if (data)
        {
            return View("view2");
        }

        return View("view1");
    }
}

The data is sent back to the server in the POST, so it is not required to pass it in the URL.

Finally, you have the view (named Action.cshtml) that is returned from the Action action method. It has 2 different form tags that submit a different value for data depending on the button clicked.

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Action";
}

<h2>Choose an Option</h2>

@using (Html.BeginForm("action", "Data")) {

    <input type="hidden" name="data" value="true" />
    <input type="submit" value="With Data" />
}

@using (Html.BeginForm("action", "Data")) {

    <input type="hidden" name="data" value="false" />
    <input type="submit" value="Without Data" />
}

Note that you could do this step entirely in JavaScript (AJAX POST) if you please, which would enable you to use a hyperlink instead of a button or you could just style the button using CSS to look like a hyperlink.