ASP.NET MVC: how to include <span> in link from Html.ActionLink?

Question

I need the text of a link wrapped with <span> as in:

<a href="/foo.html"><span>Edit Group</span></a>

Can I do that with Html.ActionLink? This doesn't work:

<%=Html.ActionLink("<span>Edit Group</span>", "Edit", New With {.id = "bar"})%>

It just HTML encodes the < and > as < and >.

Is there a simple solution, or should I build the links by hand with Url.Action?

This is for use with jQuery-UI Tabs. Tab labels need to be wrapped in <span> to get animation when AJAX content is loading.

David Andres · Accepted Answer · 2009-10-10 05:14:31Z

23

You can use the Url.Action helper method as a workaround (in case no other answers better fit your needs).

For example, the following can be in marked up in your view:

<a href="<%= Url.Action("Edit", 
                        New With {.id = "bar"}) %>">
 <span>Edit Group</span>
</a>

answered Oct 10, 2009 at 5:14

David Andres

31.9k7 gold badges48 silver badges36 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

royco Over a year ago

Thanks. Yes, that's what I ended up doing.

womp · Accepted Answer · 2009-10-10 05:11:17Z

11

You'll need to do it with Url.Action, there's no way with Html.ActionLink as far as I know.

answered Oct 10, 2009 at 5:11

womp

117k27 gold badges240 silver badges271 bronze badges

Comments

cory-fowler · Accepted Answer · 2010-10-10 04:36:38Z

8

You can also roll your own HtmlHelper Extension Method, I actually prefer this method as you can control the placement of ids, classes, and other attributes like a title.

Here is a blog post that I put together on the subject.

answered Oct 10, 2010 at 4:36

cory-fowler

4,1182 gold badges21 silver badges31 bronze badges

2 Comments

vulcan raven Over a year ago

This is awesome. But honestly Razor team need to realize that there is a fair demand for this sort of customization in link, and they should consider providing an option for Raw( _ ) rendering in action link.

cory-fowler Over a year ago

Have you looked into TagHelpers? channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Web+Camps+TV/…

RayLoveless · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-05 18:16:17Z

4

Here's a simple helperExtension example that worked for me:

http://forums.asp.net/p/1702210/4518688.aspx/1?Re+Quick+question+about+Ajax+ActionLink+and+span

answered Mar 5, 2012 at 18:16

RayLoveless

21.3k22 gold badges80 silver badges94 bronze badges

Comments

user3405201 · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-29 09:53:17Z

3

What about this:

@{
   var link = Html.ActionLink("{0}", "Edit", New {id = "bar"}).ToString();
   var url = string.Format(link, "<span>Edit Group</span>");
}

@Html.Raw(url);

//NICE HACK: Recommend using previous advice and write a helper to wrap this up.

answered May 29, 2015 at 9:53

user3405201

312 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

ASP.NET MVC: how to include <span> in link from Html.ActionLink?

5 Answers 5

1 Comment

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

5 Answers 5

1 Comment

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related