Dynamic list of checkboxes and model binding

asp.net-mvc-2, c#, checkbox, dynamic, model-binding

Solution

Have you seen: http://haacked.com/archive/2008/10/23/model-binding-to-a-list.aspx?

We basically wrote our own control to render the HTML like

<label for="Products"> Select Products </label>
<ul class="checkBoxList">
<li>
    <input type="hidden" value="0" name="Products.Index">
    <input type="checkbox" value="3424" name="Products[0].Id" id="Products0">
    <label for="Products0">iPod touch 3rd Generation</label>
</li>
<li>
    <input type="hidden" value="1" name="Products.Index">
    <input type="checkbox" value="3123" name="Products[1].Id" id="Products1">
    <label for="Products1">Creative Zen</label>
</li>
</ul>
</div>

Model Looks Ok, we wrote a custom helper, so our aspx pages look like:

<%= Html.DropDownFor(m=>m.products) %>

If you follow phil haacks post, your model should automatically bind in your controller.

Problem

I'm trying to create a view that contains a list of checkboxes that is dynamically created from a database, and then retrieve the list of selected ones when the form is posted back. My EF model contains a class: ``` public class ItemIWouldLikeACheckboxFor { public int Id { get; set; } public string Description { get; set; } } ``` I have a view model that contains a list of these: ``` public class PageViewModel { // various other properties public List<ItemIWouldLikeACheckboxFor> checkboxList { get; set; } } ``` My controller get method: ``` public ActionResult Create() { var viewModel = new PageViewModel(); viewModel.checkboxList = db.ItemIWouldLikeACheckboxFors.ToList(); return View(viewModel); } ``` My view: ``` <% using (Html.BeginForm()) { %> <%-- other stuff here... %> <% foreach (var item in checkboxList) { %> <%: Html.CheckBox( <!-- what exactly ?????? -->) %> <% } %> <%-- other stuff here...%> <input type="submit" /> <% } %> ``` My controller post method: ``` [HttpPost] public ActionResult Create(PageViewModel viewModel) { // do stuff with other fields // I would like to do something like: foreach (var item in selectedCheckBoxes) { // do stuff } } ``` I can't seem to get it to work. My basic questions are mixed in as comments in the code snippets, but to recap: - Is my view model OK? (do I need to add anything to capture the selected ones as opposed to simply the list to display?) - What exactly should I put in the view to render each check box? - How do I access the selected checkboxes in the controller after the post?

Original source