Why is my MVC controller getting a null Umbraco RenderModel?

Question

I have a Master view in my MVC solution which requires data (Companies) from a separate database to the Umbraco CMS database.

Shared\Master.cshtml

@inherits Umbraco.Web.Mvc.UmbracoViewPage<MyCode.Web.Portal.Models.Master>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>@Umbraco.Field("title")</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <div>
            <span>
                <h1>@Umbraco.GetDictionaryValue("Application Name")</h1>
            </span>
            <span>
                    <h1>@Umbraco.GetDictionaryValue("Company"):</h1>
                <!--This is the data from a separate database.-->
                @Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.SelectedCompany, new SelectList(Model.Companies))
            </span>
        </div>
        @Html.Partial("Navigation")
        <div class="container">
            @Html.Partial("Breadcrumb")
            <div class="body-content">
                <!--This is where I expect the Umbraco view to be nested.-->
                @RenderBody()
            </div>
        </div>
    </body>
</html>

I then have Template views in Umbraco which use this master view as a layout.

ChildNodeSelectionPage.cshtml

@{
    Layout = "Shared/Master.cshtml";
}
<img src="@Model.Content.GetProperty("icon")"/>
<h2>@Model.Content.GetProperty("title")</h2>
@Html.Raw(Model.Content.GetProperty("description"))
@Html.Partial("Child Node Grid")

When a controller which should generate this view (a Document named Home which uses ChildNodeSelectionPage.cshtml as its Template) is first hit, the model is null and I can't create it! What do I need to do to get the model to not be null?

MVC Home Controller:

public class HomeController : RenderMvcController
{
    private ActionResult Index(IPublishedContent content, CultureInfo currentCulture)
        => CurrentTemplate
        (
            new Master
            (
                content,
                currentCulture,
                new Company(0, "Automobilli Lamborghini Spa"),
                new[]
                {
                    new Company(0, "Automobilli Lamborghini Spa"),
                    new Company(1, "Ital Design")
                }
            )
        );

    public override ActionResult Index(RenderModel model)
        //The model is null, the PublishedContentRequest is null and Umbraco.TypedContentSingleAtXPath fails!  I can't even hack myself a fresh model!
        => Index
        (
            model?.Content ?? UmbracoContext.Current.PublishedContentRequest?.PublishedContent ?? Umbraco.TypedContentSingleAtXPath("Home"),
            model?.CurrentCulture ?? UmbracoContext.Current.PublishedContentRequest?.Culture ?? CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture
        );
    }
}

Master Model:

public class Master : RenderModel
{
    public Company SelectedCompany { get; }
    public IEnumerable<Company> Companies { get; }

    public Master
    (
        IPublishedContent content,
        CultureInfo culture,
        Company selectedCompany,
        IEnumerable<Company> companies
    )
        : base
        (
            content,
            culture
        )
    {
        SelectedCompany = selectedCompany;
        Companies = companies;
    }
}

Please note I'm new to Umbraco and still trying to figure out the best way to integrate it with an existing MVC website. If the approach I have taken here is wrong, feel welcome to suggest another to avert this problem I am having with the controller not receiving a model.

Matt Arnold Matt Arnold · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-23T09:43:36

The issue was in my RouteConfig.cs file in that I was calling MapRoute which in turn was overriding Umbraco's own routing and thus not allowing it to pass in the model for its template. I removed this call and renamed my HomeController to match the name of the Umbraco Template I was using for the Home Page and Umbraco was then able to call the Index method itself whilst passing in the RenderModel.

My RouteConfig class now looks like this:

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

        //This code was the source of the problem.
        //routes.MapRoute
        //(
        //  name: "Default",
        //  url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
        //  defaults: new
        //  {
        //      controller = "Home",
        //      action = "Index",
        //      id = UrlParameter.Optional
        //  }
        //);
    }
}

Ensure the name of this controller matches the file name of the Umbraco Template being used by the Umbraco Document but suffix it with the word "Controller".

//Previously named HomeController.
public class ChildNodeSelectionPageController : RenderMvcController

Now matches template files name + "Controller" (see under "Child Node Selection Page" editable textbox).

This is the Umbraco "Home" Document using that template.

Why is my MVC controller getting a null Umbraco RenderModel?

1 Answers