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

I did it this way in MVC 5. I didn't want to clear the default locations.

Helper Class:

namespace ConKit.Helpers
{
    public static class AppStartHelper
    {
        public static void AddConKitViewLocations()
        {
            // get engine
            RazorViewEngine engine = ViewEngines.Engines.OfType().FirstOrDefault();
            if (engine == null)
            {
                return;
            }

            // extend view locations
            engine.ViewLocationFormats =
                engine.ViewLocationFormats.Concat(new string[] {
                    "~/Views/ConKit/{1}/{0}.cshtml",
                    "~/Views/ConKit/{0}.cshtml"
                }).ToArray();

            // extend partial view locations
            engine.PartialViewLocationFormats =
                engine.PartialViewLocationFormats.Concat(new string[] {
                    "~/Views/ConKit/{0}.cshtml"
                }).ToArray();
        }
    }
}

And then in Application_Start:

// Add ConKit View locations
ConKit.Helpers.AppStartHelper.AddConKitViewLocations();