How can I make Html.CheckBoxFor() work on a string field?

Question

I\'m using ASP.NET MVC3 with Razor and C#. I am making a form builder of sorts, so I have a model that has a collection of the following object:

public class         


        

Answer 1

You could also add a property on your viewmodel:

    public class MyFormField
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public string Value { get; set; }

        public bool CheckBoxValue
        {
            get { return Boolean.Parse(Value); }
        }

        public MyFormType Type { get; set; }
    }

Your view would be something like this:

@model MyFormField
@{
    switch (Model.Type)
    {
        case MyFormType.Textbox:
            @Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Value)
        case MyFormType.Checkbox:
            @Html.CheckBoxFor(m => m.CheckBoxValue)  // This does work!
    }
}

Use Boolean.TryParse if you want to avoid exceptions.