Html.ActionLink reference error MVC4 in Areas

Question

I've created an Area in my app called "Admin" and when I attempt to use @html.actionlink() to build some menu items I'm met with a reference error.

system.web.WebPages.Html.HtmlHelper does not contain a definition for ActionLink and the best extension method overload System.Web.Html.LinkExtensions.ActionLink(System.Web.HtmlHelper,string, string, string) has some invalid arguments.

This is the line of code that's generating the error.

@Html.ActionLink("Posts", "Index", new { area = "admin" });

I've googled around and attempted adding using system.web.mvc.html; with no benefit or change in behavior. I've checked the web.config file for the area and confirmed that both system.web.mvc and system.web.mvc.html are included in the namespaces, also to no avail.

DavidG. I do. I checked it and the proper namespaces are all there. — Adam Posey
– Adam Posey, Commented Jul 31, 2014 at 16:33
I vaguely remember encountering this problem. Try restarting studio. I seem to remember there being an SO post with that little tidbit, and that's what did the trick for me (stupid I know). — Mike C.
– Mike C., Commented Jul 31, 2014 at 17:10
Check that you're using the correct overload for HtmlHelper.ActionLink — Jasen
– Jasen, Commented Jul 31, 2014 at 18:50

Kartikeya Khosla · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-31 17:07:01Z

1

You are using actionlink wrongly.

Below is the correct usage of actionlink(i m taking example of any arbitrary actionlink)

Html.ActionLink(article.Title,   // <--Link Text
            "Item",   // <-- ActionMethod
            "Login",  // <-- Controller Name.
            new { id = article.ArticleID }, // <-- Route arguments.
            null  // <-- htmlArguments 
            )

This uses the following method ActionLink signature:

public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, 
                            string linkText,
                            string actionName,
                            string controllerName,
                            object values, 
                            object htmlAttributes)

The error is coming in your question because 3rd overload of Actionlink is controller name.

@Html.ActionLink("// Link Text //", "// Action Name //",// controller name //, new { area = "admin" });

edited Jul 31, 2014 at 17:07

answered Jul 31, 2014 at 15:52

Kartikeya Khosla

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2 Comments

Matt Bodily Over a year ago

I believe the option he is using is Controller, Action, Options. So Posts is his controller name

Adam Posey Over a year ago

Correct. Posts is the controller. Action is index

DavidG · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-31 15:53:26Z

You are missing a web.config in your /Areas/Admin/Views folder. Just create the basic one like below, the key part being the added namespaces:

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<configuration>
  <configSections>
    <sectionGroup name="system.web.webPages.razor" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.RazorWebSectionGroup, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35">
      <section name="host" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.HostSection, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" requirePermission="false" />
      <section name="pages" type="System.Web.WebPages.Razor.Configuration.RazorPagesSection, System.Web.WebPages.Razor, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" requirePermission="false" />
    </sectionGroup>
  </configSections>

  <system.web.webPages.razor>
    <host factoryType="System.Web.Mvc.MvcWebRazorHostFactory, System.Web.Mvc, Version=5.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" />
    <pages pageBaseType="System.Web.Mvc.WebViewPage">
      <namespaces>
        <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc" />
        <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Ajax" />
        <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Html" />
        <add namespace="System.Web.Routing" />
        <add namespace="System.Web.Optimization" />
        <add namespace="Club.Web" />
        <add namespace="Club.Web.Helpers"/>

      </namespaces>
    </pages>
  </system.web.webPages.razor>

  <appSettings>
    <add key="webpages:Enabled" value="false" />
  </appSettings>

  <system.webServer>
    <handlers>
      <remove name="BlockViewHandler"/>
      <add name="BlockViewHandler" path="*" verb="*" preCondition="integratedMode" type="System.Web.HttpNotFoundHandler" />
    </handlers>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

I have a web.config and it accounts for mvc.html and the others. Am I missing something?

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