MVC bind checkbox to invert its meaning

Question

In my model class I have a boolean property DoNotEmail.

In the UI design I've been given to create a view for, the meaning of the checkbox is inverted; i.e. the label next to the checkbox says "Send Email".

Normally I would add the checkbox like this: @Html.CheckBoxFor(model => model.DoNotEmail) but clearly this is the wrong way round.

Do I need to create a separate view model with a custom property for this checkbox, or is there some clever way I can do something like: @Html.CheckBoxFor(model => !model.DoNotEmail) (which clearly doesn't work)?

Is DoNotEmail a field from the database? Is your model class an entity or a custom model? — James
– James, Commented Jul 12, 2012 at 11:46
Yes it's a column in the database and yes the model class is an entity. — Andy
– Andy, Commented Jul 12, 2012 at 11:52

James · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-13 07:40:06Z

3

Passing entities directly to your view is never a good idea, if your DB schema ever changes you would have to go through all your views and update them. I would recommend creating a ViewModel and passing only the data required for the view, then map your DoNotEmail property in the controller. That way you maintain the abstraction between your model/view and keeps your view simple e.g.

public void ViewModel
{
    [DisplayName("Send Email")]
    public bool SendEmailNotification { get; set; }
}

View

@model ViewModel

@Html.CheckBoxFor(m => m.SendEmailNotifications)

Controller

public void Post(ViewModel model)
{
    var entity = ...;
    entity.DoNotEmail = !model.SendEmailNotification;
}

edited Jul 13, 2012 at 7:40

answered Jul 12, 2012 at 12:02

James

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3 Comments

Andy Over a year ago

+1 Thanks - I'd been only using ViewModels where I had to. Looks like I should be using them all the time then...

James Over a year ago

@Andy I would always recommend a view model, gives you a clean separation. If you find yourself needing to create view models in a lot of places have a look at AutoMapper

Andy Over a year ago

Thanks @James. AutoMapper looks useful.

bhuvin · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-12 11:56:47Z

3

Simplest way to do it which may be called a work around is that :

Make DontEmail a Hidden value. And create a Checkbox. Bind jquery event to it and when selected then invert the value of DontEmail. I hope i dont need to put in code to explain this. If required let me know.

answered Jul 12, 2012 at 11:56

bhuvin

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