Can EditorFor() be used to create <input type=“file”>?

Question

Given this model, is it possible to use the Html.EditorFor() to render a file upload input element to the page? I played around with the Datatype of the property FileName,

Answer 1

It would make more sense to use HttpPostedFileBase to represent an uploaded file on your view model instead of string:

public class DR405Model
{
    [DataType(DataType.Text)]
    public string TaxPayerId { get; set; }

    [DataType(DataType.Text)]
    public string ReturnYear { get; set; }

    public HttpPostedFileBase File { get; set; }
}

then you could have the following view:

<% using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" })) { %>

    ... input fields for other view model properties

    

        <%= Html.EditorFor(model => model.File) %>
        <%= Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.File) %>
    

    
<% } %>

And finally define the corresponding editor template inside ~/Views/Shared/EditorTemplates/HttpPostedFileBase.ascx:

<%@ Control Language="C#" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewUserControl" %>
" id="<%: ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldId("") %>" />

Now the controller might look like this:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View(new DR405Model());
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(DR405Model model)
    {
        if (model.File != null && model.File.ContentLength > 0)
        {
            var fileName = Path.GetFileName(model.File.FileName);
            var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/App_Data"), fileName);
            model.File.SaveAs(path);
        }

        return RedirectToAction("Index");
    }
}