ViewBag Usage-ASP.NET MVC3

Question

In my controller say ControllerFirst I am setting a ViewBag property by the below line.

ViewBag.PreviousPage="ThisIsComingFromControllerFirst";
return RedirectToAction("ControllerSecond", "Home");

Now from here:

public ActionResult ControllerSecond()
{
    return View();
}

I am trying to use Viewbag in the ControllerSecond by the following

View: ControllerSecond.cshtml

@if(ViewBag.PreviouPage == "SomeValue")
{
  //do this
}

But ViewBag.PreviousPage value is null.

Please let me know why its null, what could I do to get the value in my view from the ControllerFirst.

I have done this one using Session, but We don't want to sessions..

Any other options?

Use TempData, see [stackoverflow.com/questions/5753720/… [1]: stackoverflow.com/questions/5753720/… — wnascimento
– wnascimento, Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 10:10
As I can see you left 's' in PrevousPage in your code: @if(ViewBag.PreviouPage == "SomeValue"), so please clarify that you've copied it from your view or you typed it? — Amir978
– Amir978, Commented Nov 3, 2011 at 11:22

Erik Funkenbusch · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 19:13:10Z

3

To answer your first question, ViewBag is a more convenient form of ViewData that uses dynamic objects rather than generic ones. As with ViewData, ViewBag only exists for the life of a single request, thus it is only available between the ActionMethod and it's view. It is not available between different ActionMethods.

Think of it like an intercom system in a home. You can send messages to other parts of the home, but you can't send a message to a neighbors home.

The only other options you have are:

Use Session
Use TempData (which also uses session)
Use a Cookie
Use a querystring parameter
Use an intermediate table in your database
Post to ActionMethod

answered Nov 24, 2011 at 19:13

Erik Funkenbusch

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 09:59:53Z

1

ViewBag (and ViewData) are objects for accessing extra data (i.e., outside the data model), between the controller and view.

If your data have to persist between two subsequent requests you can use TempData.

However, TempData is by default stored in the session. So, if you don't want to use sessions, you could use cookies and somehow duplicate a bit of what session does for you, as MikeSW suggested.

When to use ViewBag, ViewData, or TempData in ASP.NET MVC 3 applications

edited May 23, 2017 at 9:59

CommunityBot

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answered Nov 3, 2011 at 10:33

Paolo Moretti

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1 Comment

Paul Tyng Over a year ago

Its also possible to change the default storage of TempData, but as Paolo states, the purpose of TempData is to store data until the next subsequent read, not indefinitely, so sounds kind of like what you want.

wnascimento · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-03 10:11:30Z

0

Use TempData instead of ViewBag

answered Nov 3, 2011 at 10:11

wnascimento

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1 Comment

RobV Over a year ago

Care to explain why the OP should be using TempData?

MikeSW · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-03 10:19:37Z

0

You can use a cookie and somehow duplicate a bit of what session does for you.

answered Nov 3, 2011 at 10:19

MikeSW

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