Validation summary in MVC3, combining predefined and ModelState errors

Question

I'm having problems understanding how to best implement unobtrusive client side validation that works together with errors added in the controller with ModelState.AddModelError().

So, this is the current code:

@Html.ValidationSummary(true)
@Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.FirstName)
@Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.LastName)

The error message will correctly appear if I'm leaving out firstname. If I enter a firstname and tab out, the message will disappear - as it should work.

When no client error exists and I can submit this form, I have to do a check against the database that the user doesn't already exists. If it does, I'm adding an error with:

ModelState.AddModelError("", "User already exists")

~~When returning the model, an error box is shown, but there is no message in there.~~

If i change @Html.ValidationSummary(true) to @Html.ValidationSummary(false) I will see the error message correctly returned with the model. (Edit: Jan's comment solved this part)

The problem now is, that all client validation will be duplicated and shown in two different places.

Also, I would like the errors to show up in the same place/div. As it is now, it will be two different validation summaries.

Any way around this?

This should work (empty string as key parameter to AddModelError and ValSum(true)). Are you surem you pass an empty string as key parameter? — Jan
Thanks! I hadn't compiled after setting it to empty. Now it displays the error message correctly. I still have the problem that there is two error boxes now: One for the summary with the modelstate error and then one for the client errors that are predefined with: @Html.ValidationMessageFor() — Andreas

Ryand.Johnson Ryand.Johnson · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-11T14:03:59

The validation you have set next to your text boxes you can set the text of the @Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.LastName) to @Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.LastName, ""). Or if you wanted to add a '*' if you wanted. Then you would not have the message next to your textbox.

Validation summary in MVC3, combining predefined and ModelState errors

1 Answers