I suppose there are a few ways to try and accomplish this.
- Pass the search parameters via query string instead of post. Understandably, this could be complicated and messy for advanced search parameters
- Store the results of the POST to hidden elements. Have your paging control POST to the same action each time, instead of the separate
Results action.
- Store the query parameters in an object that is persisted in your session.
I'm sure we could get more creative from there, but that should give you a start. It seems like you only care about one field from the search form, TypeOfListing. You should be able to persist that via query string pretty easily, so that'd be method #1 above.
Update
Here's something simple I put together to maintain your search at the client. The technique involves three parts:
- Maintain the form between page requests.
- Manage the page state with a hidden element in the form.
- Have JavaScript intercept your Paging links, update the page number hidden element, and resubmit the form.
Here's the code for all the various pieces. Note that I use jQuery, in case you prefer something else. I fudged the data source, just sub in real data. Also, I included PagedList and PaginationHelper. Substitute with your own if you wish.
\Controllers\HomeController.cs (Search is the relevant part):
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Mvc;
namespace MvcApplication2.Controllers
{
[HandleError]
public class HomeController : Controller
{
List<String> _data;
public HomeController()
{
_data = new List<String>();
_data.Add("Merry");
_data.Add("Metal");
_data.Add("Median");
_data.Add("Medium");
_data.Add("Malfunction");
_data.Add("Mean");
_data.Add("Measure");
_data.Add("Melt");
_data.Add("Merit");
_data.Add("Metaphysical");
_data.Add("Mental");
_data.Add("Menial");
_data.Add("Mend");
_data.Add("Find");
}
public ActionResult Search()
{
Int32 pageNumber, pageSize = 5, total, first;
String typeOfListing;
PagedList<String> results;
if (Request.HttpMethod == "GET")
{
return View();
}
if (!Int32.TryParse(Request.Form["PageNumber"], out pageNumber)) pageNumber = 1;
typeOfListing = Request.Form["TypeOfListing"];
first = (pageNumber - 1) * pageSize;
total = (from s in _data
where s.Contains(typeOfListing)
select s).Count();
results = new PagedList<String>(
(from s in _data
where s.Contains(typeOfListing)
select s)
.Skip(first)
.Take(pageSize),
total, pageNumber, pageSize);
return View(results);
}
}
}
\Helpers\PaginationHelper.cs:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Text;
using System.Web.Routing;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using System.Web.Mvc.Html;
namespace MvcApplication2.Helpers
{
public static class PaginationHelper
{
public static String Pager(this HtmlHelper helper, Int32 pageSize, Int32 pageNumber, Int32 total, String actionName, RouteValueDictionary values)
{
StringBuilder output = new StringBuilder();
Int32 totalPages = (Int32)Math.Ceiling((Double)total / pageSize);
if (values == null)
values = helper.ViewContext.RouteData.Values;
if (pageNumber > 1)
output.Append(CreatePageLink(helper, values, "< Previous ", pageNumber - 1, pageSize));
for (Int32 i = 1; i <= totalPages; i++)
{
if (i == pageNumber)
output.Append(i);
else
output.AppendFormat(CreatePageLink(helper, values, i.ToString(), i, pageSize));
if (i < totalPages)
output.Append(" | ");
}
if (pageNumber < totalPages)
output.Append(CreatePageLink(helper, values, " Next >", pageNumber + 1, pageSize));
return output.ToString();
}
private static String CreatePageLink(HtmlHelper helper, RouteValueDictionary values, String text, Int32 pageNumber, Int32 pageSize)
{
RouteValueDictionary routeDictionary = new RouteValueDictionary(values);
routeDictionary.Add("page", pageNumber);
routeDictionary.Add("pageSize", pageSize);
return helper.ActionLink(text, null, routeDictionary);
}
}
}
\PagedList.cs:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
namespace MvcApplication2
{
public class PagedList<T> : List<T>
{
public Int32 TotalCount { get; protected set; }
public Int32 PageNumber { get; protected set; }
public Int32 PageSize { get; protected set; }
public PagedList(IEnumerable<T> items, Int32 total, Int32 pageNumber, Int32 pageSize)
: base(items)
{
TotalCount = total;
PageNumber = pageNumber;
PageSize = pageSize;
}
}
}
\Views\Home\Search.aspx:
<%@ Page Title="" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<PagedList<String>>" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="MvcApplication2" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="MvcApplication2.Helpers" %>
<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="TitleContent" runat="server">
Search
</asp:Content>
<asp:Content ID="Content2" ContentPlaceHolderID="MainContent" runat="server">
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function() {
var results = $("#searchResults");
if (results && results.children().length > 2) {
$("#searchForm").hide();
$("#searchResults .pager>a").click(submitForm);
}
});
function submitForm() {
var m = this.href.match(/page=(\d+)/i);
if (m) {
$("#PageNumber").attr("value", m[1]);
$("#searchForm").submit();
}
return false;
}
</script>
<form id="searchForm" action="<%= Url.Action("Search") %>" method="post">
<input type="hidden" value="1" id="PageNumber" name="PageNumber" />
<fieldset>
<legend>Search</legend>
<label for="TypeOfListing">Type of Listing</label>
<%= Html.TextBox("TypeOfListing", Request.Form["TypeOfListing"]) %>
<input type="submit" id="btnSubmit" name="btnSubmit" value="Search" />
</fieldset>
</form>
<% if (Model != null)
{
%>
<div id="searchResults">
<div class="results-count">Displaying <%=this.Model.Count %> of <%=this.Model.TotalCount %> results. <%=Html.ActionLink("Start a new search", "Search") %>.</div>
<%
foreach (String result in Model)
{
%>
<div class="result"><%=result %></div>
<% }
%>
<div class="pager"><%= Html.Pager(Model.PageSize, Model.PageNumber, Model.TotalCount, null, null) %></div>
</div>
<%
}
%>
</asp:Content>