Can I return a string using the @helper syntax in Razor?

Question

I have a RazorHelpers.cshtml file in app_code which looks like:

@using Molecular.AdidasCoach.Library.GlobalConstants  @helper Translate(string key) {     @GlobalConfigs.GetTranslatedValue(key) } 

However, I have a case where I want to use the result as the link text in an @Html.ActionLink(...). I cannot cast the result to a string.

Is there any way to return plain strings from Razor helpers so that I can use them both in HTML and within an @Html helper?

Answer 1

Razor helpers return HelperResult objects.

You can get the raw HTML by calling ToString().

For more information, see my blog post.

Answer 2

I don't think there is a way to make @helper return other types than HelperResult. But you could use a function with a return type of string, e.g.

@functions {     public static string tr(string key) {         return GlobalConfigs.GetTranslatedValue(key);     } } 

then

@Html.ActionLink(tr("KEY"), "action", "controller")

See also http://www.mikesdotnetting.com/article/173/the-difference-between-helpers-and-functions-in-webmatrix

edit: MVC Razor: Helper result in html.actionlink suggests your helper can return a string by using @Html.Raw(GlobalConfigs.GetTranslatedValue(key));