Why am I getting the Yellow Screen Of Death on an Umbraco SurfaceController on a default/OOTB Umbraco installation?

Question

My Question Is This

What configuration step have I missed to make Mvc Surface Controllers work in Umbraco?

My theory is that since there is a folder in the default Umbraco install called /umbraco/ which is used to connect to the CMS that the physical path is interfiering with the route /umbraco/surface/{Controller}/{Action} thus resulting in the ASP.NET YSOD (and an IIS 404 when I try to access a controller on that route that isn't defined.)

Background Information

I have added this class to my App_Code folder in a freshly downloaded copy of Umbraco 6.1.6:

public class MembersController : SurfaceController
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return Content("Hello, Member!");
    }
}

When I navigate to what I think should be the route for my Index() method, I get a YSOD that says the resource could not be found:

YSOD for route to path

the code is not executed and the above error is displayed; however, if I change the Uri to garbage I get an IIS 404 error:

IIS 404 error for route to non-existing path

I started getting this in an existing site, thinking my site was screwed up I tried it in a new copy of Umbraco 6.1.6 and got the exact same results.

For the record, I have also tried MembersSurfaceController and its associated Uri, which has the exact same result as above. YSOD when I hit the valid route, and IIS 404 when I don't.

I have changed my umbracoSettings.config to MVC in the /config/ directory as well.

update

I'm using the out-of-the-box web.config file, which has this:

 <system.webServer>
     <validation validateIntegratedModeConfiguration="false" />
     <modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true">
         <remove name="UrlRewriteModule" />
         <add name="UrlRewriteModule" type="UrlRewritingNet.Web.UrlRewriteModule, UrlRewritingNet.UrlRewriter" />
         .
         ..
         ...

On my default Umbraco site I don't have any rewrite rules defined; but on my actual site I have several rewrite rules in place. I'm thinking that's not causing it since I'm seeing the same behavior on both sites though...

I have tried removing UrlRewrite completely I get the same results.

did you check do you require UrlRewrite Module in IIS? it could be worth checking... — Ankur Ghelani
I'm not sure what you mean, I'm running the out-of-the-box web.config. — Nate
I can replicate this issue, but only by placing my Controllers in the App_Code folder (Umbraco v6.1.3) - if they're complied, there seems to be no issue. It's a long shot, but could you compile the Controllers (by adding a Class Library, moving the Controllers to there and adding a reference to your Website to the Class Library if your project is a Website) and try again? — milquetoastable
@milquetoastable I have not tried that yet (I will), but it feels like a lot of overkill for my current site. — Nate
Compiling the controller will resolve this issue, but I'm wondering if you (or anyone else) has ever figured out if it's possible to add Controllers in the App_Code folder. I'm experiencing the same issue myself at the moment. Creating a separate library appears to be some 'overkill'. — Jan_V

anikiforov anikiforov · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-06T06:06:35

The following approach works for me in Umbraco 7.1, and I expect it to work in 6.1 as well:

Create folder called 'Controllers' within your App_Code folder, and put your surface controllers in there (so that they will be within the 'Controllers' namespace).

E.g. I have the following controller in the App_Code\Controllers folder (and hence, within the 'Controllers' namespace):

namespace Controllers
{
    public class ServiceCentersController : SurfaceController
    {
        public ActionResult GetServiceCenters(string country = "", string region = "", string city = "")
        {
        ...
        }
    }
}

My site runs on localhost, so I can invoke the GetServiceCenters action by navigating to:

http://localhost/umbraco/Surface/ServiceCenters/GetServiceCenters?country=aa&region=bb&city=cc

Why am I getting the Yellow Screen Of Death on an Umbraco SurfaceController on a default/OOTB Umbraco installation?

2 Answers