ASP.NET MVC Views Overview

Now in this tutorial, we are going to learn about Views in ASP.NET MVC. After this tutorial you will learn How to add Views in ASP.NET MVC project, How to work with Views in ASP.NET MVC application, How to Pass Data from MVC Controller to Views, and How to manage multiple Views with a single controller in asp.net MVC application.

How to add Views in asp.net MVC project.
How to work with views.
How to pass values from Controller to View.
How to manage multiple views with single controller

If you are new in ASP.NET MVC, then Let’s take a look at previous tutorials.

MUST READ Tutorial 1: Learn ASP.NET MVC from beginning

MUST READ Tutorial 2: Create your first ASP.NET MVC Web Application

MUST READ Tutorial 3 : ASP.NET MVC Routing Overview

MUST READ Tutorial 4: ASP.NET MVC Controller Overview

Before starting to create a project, I want to share something about Views in asp.net MVC.

Basically, Views are the representation layer of the application. The user interacts with this layer. Views are responsible for providing the user interface (UI) to the users. When a user requests in an ASP.NET MVC application, then the controller is the only part of asp.net MVC application that interacts with this request and mapped to a controller action.

Then this controller action method returns a view or redirects to another action method.

The residence of the views is under the Views folder in ASP.NET MVC application.

ASP.NET MVC Views

Let’s make a simple example of a view. Just follow these steps.
Step # 1: Open the visual studio and click File => New => Project. Then a new project dialog will open.

Step # 2: Select Web under the Visual C# from the left pane (Templates => Visual C# => Web). Then choose ASP.NET Web Application from the middle pane. Then enter the name (E.g. ViewsDemo) in the name field and set the location and click OK button.

Step # 3: Choose the empty option and check the MVC checkbox and then click OK button.

Now Add a controller
Step # 4: Right click on the Controller folder under the solution explorer, then select Add and then choose controller (Right click on controller folder => Add => Controller).

Step # 5: Then an ‘Add Scaffold’ will open. Choose MVC 5 Controller – Empty option and then click ‘Add’ button.

Step # 6: Then enter the name(E.g. HomeController.cs) in the name field and click Add button.

Then you will see a HomeController.cs file in solution explorer inside controller folder.

Step # 7: let’s run your application. You will see an error, it’s because your application doesn’t contain any view to run in the browser.

Let’s add a view in your application.
Step # 8: Right click on the Index function in your HomeController.cs file, then select “Add View”.

Step # 9: Then you will see an Add View dialog with default name as the action name. Then uncheck the ‘Use a layout Page’ checkbox and click Add button. Now you will see an index view file under the Views folder in solution explorer with some default code.

Step # 10: Now add some code inside the div tag in the Index.cshtml file.

Step # 11: Let’s run your application. Then you will see the following output.

Now let’s try to pass data from Controller to view.
Step # 12: Add an action method in HomeController.cs file with the name of “Student” with the parameter.