#layout views

Two Special Methods

There are two special methods that layout views can use.

@RenderBody(): (Not Optional) Wherever this is placed in the layout view is where the content view will be inserted.

@RenderSection("sectionName", required:false): (Optional) You can have more than one of these in the layout view. "sectionName" can be anything you want. Since required is set to false, you can choose which views the section will show up in.

To have a section appear in a particular view, like say Index.cshtml, just add code like the one shown below anywhere in your content view.

// (Index.cshtml) @section featured { This is some featured content. }

It will be inserted wherever @RenderSection("featured", required:false) is placed in the _Layout.cshtml.

Specifying the Layout View

MVC knows which layout view to use as it is specified in a file called _ViewStart.cshtml inside the Views folder. Code inside this file will execute before your view starts rendering and sets the Layout property.

// _ViewStart.cshtml @{ Layout = "~/Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml"; }

Since the _ViewStart.cshtml is in the root of the Views folder, it will apply to all views that are inside the Views folder. You can change which file to use by changing the path string assigned to the Layout property.

Changing the Layout View for Subfolders

You can specify a different layout file to use in subfolders of the Views folder. For example, say you have a subfolder called Reviews inside of Views. If you make another _ViewStart.cshtml file, assign a different path string for the Layout property, and place the file inside the Reviews folder, it will override the Layout property of the _ViewStart.cshtml inside the root of the Views folder. This layout view will apply to all the views inside the Reviews folder.

Changing the Layout View for a Single View

You can specify the layout file inside a particular view as well so it only applies to one view. To do this, you can set the Layout property at the top of the view.

// Index.cshtml @{ ViewBag.Title = "Index"; Layout = "~/Views/Shared/_Layout2.cshtml"; }