Can I specify a custom location to “search for views” in ASP.NET MVC?

Question

I have the following layout for my mvc project:

• /Controllers
  • /Demo
  • /Demo/DemoArea1Controller
  • /Demo/DemoArea2Controller
  • etc

Answer 1

Last I checked, this requires you to build your own ViewEngine. I don't know if they made it easier in RC1 though.

The basic approach I used before the first RC was, in my own ViewEngine, to split the namespace of the controller and look for folders which matched the parts.

EDIT:

Went back and found the code. Here's the general idea.

public override ViewEngineResult FindView(ControllerContext controllerContext, string viewName, string masterName)
{
    string ns = controllerContext.Controller.GetType().Namespace;
    string controller = controllerContext.Controller.GetType().Name.Replace("Controller", "");

    //try to find the view
    string rel = "~/Views/" +
        (
            ns == baseControllerNamespace ? "" :
            ns.Substring(baseControllerNamespace.Length + 1).Replace(".", "/") + "/"
        )
        + controller;
    string[] pathsToSearch = new string[]{
        rel+"/"+viewName+".aspx",
        rel+"/"+viewName+".ascx"
    };

    string viewPath = null;
    foreach (var path in pathsToSearch)
    {
        if (this.VirtualPathProvider.FileExists(path))
        {
            viewPath = path;
            break;
        }
    }

    if (viewPath != null)
    {
        string masterPath = null;

        //try find the master
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(masterName))
        {

            string[] masterPathsToSearch = new string[]{
                rel+"/"+masterName+".master",
                "~/Views/"+ controller +"/"+ masterName+".master",
                "~/Views/Shared/"+ masterName+".master"
            };


            foreach (var path in masterPathsToSearch)
            {
                if (this.VirtualPathProvider.FileExists(path))
                {
                    masterPath = path;
                    break;
                }
            }
        }

        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(masterName) || masterPath != null)
        {
            return new ViewEngineResult(
                this.CreateView(controllerContext, viewPath, masterPath), this);
        }
    }

    //try default implementation
    var result = base.FindView(controllerContext, viewName, masterName);
    if (result.View == null)
    {
        //add the location searched
        return new ViewEngineResult(pathsToSearch);
    }
    return result;
}