Using Bootstrap Modal window as PartialView

I was looking to using the Twitter Bootstrap Modal windows as a partial view. However, I do not really think that it was designed to be used in this fashion; it seems like it was meant to be used in a fairly static fashion. Nevertheless, I think it'd be cool to be able to use it as a partial view.

So for example, let's say I have a list of Games. Upon clicking on a link for a given game, I'd like to request data from the server and then display information about that game in a modal window "over the top of" the present page.

I've done a little bit of research and found this post which is similar but not quite the same.

Has anyone tried this with success or failure? Anyone have something on jsFiddle or some source they'd be willing to share?

Thanks for your help.

Yes we have done this.

In your Index.cshtml you'll have something like..

<div id='gameModal' class='modal hide fade in' data-url='@Url.Action("GetGameListing")'>
   <div id='gameContainer'>
   </div>
</div>

<button id='showGame'>Show Game Listing</button>

Then in JS for the same page (inlined or in a separate file you'll have something like this..

$(document).ready(function() {
   $('#showGame').click(function() {
        var url = $('#gameModal').data('url');
        
        $.get(url, function(data) {
            $('#gameContainer').html(data);
               
            $('#gameModal').modal('show');
        });
   });
});

With a method on your controller that looks like this..

[HttpGet]
public ActionResult GetGameListing()
{
   var model = // do whatever you need to get your model
   return PartialView(model);
}

You will of course need a view called GetGameListing.cshtml inside of your Views folder..

I do this with mustache.js and templates (you could use any JavaScript templating library).

In my view, I have something like this:

<script type="text/x-mustache-template" id="modalTemplate">
    <%Html.RenderPartial("Modal");%>
</script>

...which lets me keep my templates in a partial view called Modal.ascx:

<%@ Control Language="C#" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewUserControl" %>
    <div>
        <div class="modal-header">
            <a class="close" data-dismiss="modal">&times;</a>
            <h3>{{Name}}</h3>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-body">
            <table class="table table-striped table-condensed">
                <tbody>
                    <tr><td>ID</td><td>{{Id}}</td></tr>
                    <tr><td>Name</td><td>{{Name}}</td></tr>
                </tbody>
            </table>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-footer">
            <a class="btn" data-dismiss="modal">Close</a>
        </div>
    </div>

I create placeholders for each modal in my view:

<%foreach (var item in Model) {%>
    <div data-id="<%=Html.Encode(item.Id)%>"
         id="modelModal<%=Html.Encode(item.Id)%>" 
         class="modal hide fade">
    </div>
<%}%>

...and make ajax calls with jQuery:

<script type="text/javascript">
    var modalTemplate = $("#modalTemplate").html()
    $(".modal[data-id]").each(function() {
        var $this = $(this)
        var id = $this.attr("data-id")
        $this.on("show", function() {
            if ($this.html()) return
            $.ajax({
                type: "POST",
                url: "<%=Url.Action("SomeAction")%>",
                data: { id: id },
                success: function(data) {
                    $this.append(Mustache.to_html(modalTemplate, data))
                }
            })
        })
    })
</script>

Then, you just need a trigger somewhere:

<%foreach (var item in Model) {%>
    <a data-toggle="modal" href="#modelModal<%=Html.Encode(item.Id)%>">
        <%=Html.Encode(item.DutModel.Name)%>
    </a>
<%}%>

I have achieved this by using one nice example i have found here. I have replaced the jquery dialog used in that example with the Twitter Bootstrap Modal windows.

Complete and clear example project http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/786085/ASP-NET-MVC-List-Editor-with-Bootstrap-Modals It displays create, edit and delete entity operation modals with bootstrap and also includes code to handle result returned from those entity operations (c#, JSON, javascript)

I use AJAX to do this. You have your partial with your typical twitter modal template html:

<div class="container">
  <!-- Modal -->
  <div class="modal fade" id="LocationNumberModal" role="dialog">
    <div class="modal-dialog">
      <!-- Modal content-->
      <div class="modal-content">
        <div class="modal-header">
          <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">
            &times;
          </button>
          <h4 class="modal-title">
            Serial Numbers
          </h4>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-body">
          <span id="test"></span>
          <p>Some text in the modal.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-footer">
          <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">
            Close
          </button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Then you have your controller method, I use JSON and have a custom class that rendors the view to a string. I do this so I can perform multiple ajax updates on the screen with one ajax call. Reference here: Example but you can use an PartialViewResult/ActionResult on return if you are just doing the one call. I will show it using JSON..

And the JSON Method in Controller:

public JsonResult LocationNumberModal(string partNumber = "")
{
  //Business Layer/DAL to get information
  return Json(new {
      LocationModal = ViewUtility.RenderRazorViewToString(this.ControllerContext, "LocationNumberModal.cshtml", new SomeModelObject())
    },
    JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet
  );
}

And then, in the view using your modal: You can package the AJAX in your partial and call @{Html.RenderPartial... Or you can have a placeholder with a div:

<div id="LocationNumberModalContainer"></div>

then your ajax:

function LocationNumberModal() {
  var partNumber = "1234";

  var src = '@Url.Action("LocationNumberModal", "Home", new { area = "Part" })'
    + '?partNumber='' + partNumber; 

  $.ajax({
    type: "GET",
    url: src,
    dataType: "json",
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    success: function (data) {
      $("#LocationNumberModalContainer").html(data.LocationModal);
      $('#LocationNumberModal').modal('show');
    }
  });
};

Then the button to your modal:

<button type="button" id="GetLocBtn" class="btn btn-default" onclick="LocationNumberModal()">Get</button>

Put the modal and javascript into the partial view. Then call the partial view in your page. This will handle form submission too.

Partial View

<div id="confirmDialog" class="modal fade" data-backdrop="false">
 <div class="modal-dialog" data-backdrop="false">
    <div class="modal-content">
        <div class="modal-header">
            <h4 class="modal-title">Missing Service Order</h4>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-body">
            <p>You have not entered a Service Order. Do you want to continue?</p>
        </div>
        <div class="modal-footer">
            <input id="btnSubmit" type="submit" class="btn btn-primary" 
              value="Submit" href="javascript:" 
               onClick="document.getElementById('Coordinate').submit()" />
            <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data- 
                                               dismiss="modal">Cancel</button>
        </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Javascript

  <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
$(document).ready(function () {
    $("#Coordinate").on('submit',
        function (e) {
            if ($("#ServiceOrder").val() == '') {
                e.preventDefault();
                $('#confirmDialog').modal('show');
               }
            });
    });
</script>

Then just call your partial inside the form of your page.

Create.cshtml

 @using (Html.BeginForm("Edit","Home",FormMethod.Post, new {id ="Coordinate"}))
 {
     //Form Code

     @Html.Partial("ConfirmDialog") 
 }