ASP.NET HtmlHelper

last modified April 3, 2025

In this article, we explore the HtmlHelper in ASP.NET 8. HtmlHelper is a crucial component for generating HTML elements in Razor views. It simplifies view development and promotes code reusability.

ASP.NET is a cross-platform, high-performance framework for building modern web applications. HtmlHelper provides methods to create form controls and other HTML elements with proper model binding.

Basic Definition

HtmlHelper is a class in ASP.NET MVC that provides methods to generate HTML elements programmatically. It helps create consistent and maintainable views.

The HtmlHelper methods automatically handle model binding, validation, and attribute generation. This reduces manual HTML writing and potential errors.

HtmlHelper is available in Razor views through the Html property. It supports strongly-typed helpers via HtmlHelper<TModel> for better IntelliSense and compile-time checking.

ASP.NET HtmlHelper Example

The following example demonstrates using HtmlHelper to create a form in ASP.NET 8.

public class Product
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    
    [Required]
    [StringLength(100)]
    public string Name { get; set; }
    
    [Range(0.01, 10000)]
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
    
    [Display(Name = "In Stock")]
    public bool InStock { get; set; }
    
    [DataType(DataType.Date)]
    [Display(Name = "Release Date")]
    public DateTime ReleaseDate { get; set; }
}

This model defines a Product with validation attributes. These attributes will be used by HtmlHelper to generate appropriate HTML and validation messages.

public class ProductsController : Controller
{
    [HttpGet]
    public IActionResult Create()
    {
        return View();
    }
    
    [HttpPost]
    public IActionResult Create(Product product)
    {
        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            // Save product to database
            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        }
        return View(product);
    }
}

The controller has two actions: one for displaying the form (GET) and one for handling form submission (POST). The POST action checks model validity.

@model Product

<h2>Create New Product</h2>

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
    <div class="form-group">
        @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Name)
        @Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Name, new { @class = "form-control" })
        @Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.Name)
    </div>
    
    <div class="form-group">
        @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Price)
        @Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Price, new { @class = "form-control" })
        @Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.Price)
    </div>
    
    <div class="form-group">
        @Html.LabelFor(m => m.InStock)
        @Html.CheckBoxFor(m => m.InStock)
    </div>
    
    <div class="form-group">
        @Html.LabelFor(m => m.ReleaseDate)
        @Html.EditorFor(m => m.ReleaseDate, new { htmlAttributes = new { @class = "form-control" } })
    </div>
    
    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Create</button>
}

This Razor view demonstrates several HtmlHelper methods. BeginForm creates the form tag. LabelFor generates labels based on model properties.

TextBoxFor creates input fields bound to model properties. CheckBoxFor generates a checkbox. EditorFor selects the appropriate editor based on the data type.

ValidationMessageFor displays validation messages. The HTML attributes parameter allows adding CSS classes and other attributes to elements.

Source

Microsoft ASP.NET Core Views Documentation

In this article, we have explored HtmlHelper in ASP.NET 8. This powerful feature simplifies view development while maintaining strong typing and model binding.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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