How do I set ViewBag properties on _ViewStart.cshtml?

Question

I have a specific ViewBag property that I would like to set at the ViewStart level. Ideally, I would like to be able to override that property on a page basis, if necessary. Is this possible? If so, how do I access the ViewBag property within a ViewStart page?

Answer 1

There are two way to do this:

1. Use the PageData property (it's something more applicable to ASP.NET WebPages and seldom used in MVC)

   • Set:

     @{
         PageData["message"] = "Hello";
     }
     

   • Retrieve

     <h2>@PageData["message"]</h2>
     

2. Try to find the view instance (the code is a bit dirty, but it does give you access directly to ViewBag/ViewData

   • Set:

     @{
         var c = this.ChildPage;
         while (c != null) {
             var vp = c as WebViewPage;
             if (vp != null) {
                 vp.ViewBag.Message = "Hello1";
                 break;
             }
             c = c.ChildPage;
         }
     }
     

   • Retrieve: as per usual

     <h2>@ViewBag.Message</h2>