[ACCEPTED]-multi-step registration process issues in asp.net mvc (split viewmodels, single model)-asp.net-mvc

First you shouldn't be using any domain 81 objects in your views. You should be using 80 view models. Each view model will contain 79 only the properties that are required by 78 the given view as well as the validation 77 attributes specific to this given view. So 76 if you have 3 steps wizard this means that 75 you will have 3 view models, one for each 74 step:

public class Step1ViewModel
{
    [Required]
    public string SomeProperty { get; set; }

    ...
}

public class Step2ViewModel
{
    [Required]
    public string SomeOtherProperty { get; set; }

    ...
}

and so on. All those view models could 73 be backed by a main wizard view model:

public class WizardViewModel
{
    public Step1ViewModel Step1 { get; set; }
    public Step2ViewModel Step2 { get; set; }
    ...
}

then 72 you could have controller actions rendering 71 each step of the wizard process and passing 70 the main WizardViewModel to the view. When you are on the 69 first step inside the controller action 68 you could initialize the Step1 property. Then 67 inside the view you would generate the form 66 allowing the user to fill the properties 65 about step 1. When the form is submitted 64 the controller action will apply the validation 63 rules for step 1 only:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Step1(Step1ViewModel step1)
{
    var model = new WizardViewModel 
    {
        Step1 = step1
    };

    if (!ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        return View(model);
    }
    return View("Step2", model);
}

Now inside the step 62 2 view you could use the Html.Serialize helper from MVC futures 61 in order to serialize step 1 into a hidden 60 field inside the form (sort of a ViewState 59 if you wish):

@using (Html.BeginForm("Step2", "Wizard"))
{
    @Html.Serialize("Step1", Model.Step1)
    @Html.EditorFor(x => x.Step2)
    ...
}

and inside the POST action 58 of step2:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Step2(Step2ViewModel step2, [Deserialize] Step1ViewModel step1)
{
    var model = new WizardViewModel 
    {
        Step1 = step1,
        Step2 = step2
    }

    if (!ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        return View(model);
    }
    return View("Step3", model);
}

And so on until you get to the 57 last step where you will have the WizardViewModel filled 56 with all the data. Then you will map the 55 view model to your domain model and pass 54 it to the service layer for processing. The 53 service layer might perform any validation 52 rules itself and so on ...

There is also 51 another alternative: using javascript and 50 putting all on the same page. There are 49 many jquery plugins out there that provide wizard functionality 48 (Stepy is a nice one). It's basically a matter 47 of showing and hiding divs on the client 46 in which case you no longer need to worry 45 about persisting state between the steps.

But 44 no matter what solution you choose always 43 use view models and perform the validation 42 on those view models. As long you are sticking 41 data annotation validation attributes on 40 your domain models you will struggle very 39 hard as domain models are not adapted to 38 views.

UPDATE:

OK, due to the numerous comments 37 I draw the conclusion that my answer was 36 not clear. And I must agree. So let me try 35 to further elaborate my example.

We could 34 define an interface which all step view 33 models should implement (it's just a marker 32 interface):

public interface IStepViewModel
{
}

then we would define 3 steps 31 for the wizard where each step would of 30 course contain only the properties that 29 it requires as well as the relevant validation 28 attributes:

[Serializable]
public class Step1ViewModel: IStepViewModel
{
    [Required]
    public string Foo { get; set; }
}

[Serializable]
public class Step2ViewModel : IStepViewModel
{
    public string Bar { get; set; }
}

[Serializable]
public class Step3ViewModel : IStepViewModel
{
    [Required]
    public string Baz { get; set; }
}

next we define the main wizard 27 view model which consists of a list of steps 26 and a current step index:

[Serializable]
public class WizardViewModel
{
    public int CurrentStepIndex { get; set; }
    public IList<IStepViewModel> Steps { get; set; }

    public void Initialize()
    {
        Steps = typeof(IStepViewModel)
            .Assembly
            .GetTypes()
            .Where(t => !t.IsAbstract && typeof(IStepViewModel).IsAssignableFrom(t))
            .Select(t => (IStepViewModel)Activator.CreateInstance(t))
            .ToList();
    }
}

Then we move on 25 to the controller:

public class WizardController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        var wizard = new WizardViewModel();
        wizard.Initialize();
        return View(wizard);
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(
        [Deserialize] WizardViewModel wizard, 
        IStepViewModel step
    )
    {
        wizard.Steps[wizard.CurrentStepIndex] = step;
        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request["next"]))
            {
                wizard.CurrentStepIndex++;
            }
            else if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request["prev"]))
            {
                wizard.CurrentStepIndex--;
            }
            else
            {
                // TODO: we have finished: all the step partial
                // view models have passed validation => map them
                // back to the domain model and do some processing with
                // the results

                return Content("thanks for filling this form", "text/plain");
            }
        }
        else if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Request["prev"]))
        {
            // Even if validation failed we allow the user to
            // navigate to previous steps
            wizard.CurrentStepIndex--;
        }
        return View(wizard);
    }
}

Couple of remarks about 24 this controller:

• The Index POST action uses the [Deserialize] attributes from the Microsoft Futures library so make sure you have installed the MvcContrib NuGet. That's the reason why view models should be decorated with the [Serializable] attribute
• The Index POST action takes as argument an IStepViewModel interface so for this to make sense we need a custom model binder.

Here's the associated model 23 binder:

public class StepViewModelBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
    protected override object CreateModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext, Type modelType)
    {
        var stepTypeValue = bindingContext.ValueProvider.GetValue("StepType");
        var stepType = Type.GetType((string)stepTypeValue.ConvertTo(typeof(string)), true);
        var step = Activator.CreateInstance(stepType);
        bindingContext.ModelMetadata = ModelMetadataProviders.Current.GetMetadataForType(() => step, stepType);
        return step;
    }
}

This binder uses a special hidden 22 field called StepType which will contain 21 the concrete type of each step and which 20 we will send on each request.

This model 19 binder will be registered in Application_Start:

ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof(IStepViewModel), new StepViewModelBinder());

The last missing 18 bit of the puzzle are the views. Here's 17 the main ~/Views/Wizard/Index.cshtml view:

@using Microsoft.Web.Mvc
@model WizardViewModel

@{
    var currentStep = Model.Steps[Model.CurrentStepIndex];
}

<h3>Step @(Model.CurrentStepIndex + 1) out of @Model.Steps.Count</h3>

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
    @Html.Serialize("wizard", Model)

    @Html.Hidden("StepType", Model.Steps[Model.CurrentStepIndex].GetType())
    @Html.EditorFor(x => currentStep, null, "")

    if (Model.CurrentStepIndex > 0)
    {
        <input type="submit" value="Previous" name="prev" />
    }

    if (Model.CurrentStepIndex < Model.Steps.Count - 1)
    {
        <input type="submit" value="Next" name="next" />
    }
    else
    {
        <input type="submit" value="Finish" name="finish" />
    }
}

And that's all you need to 16 make this working. Of course if you wanted 15 you could personalize the look and feel 14 of some or all steps of the wizard by defining 13 a custom editor template. For example let's 12 do it for step 2. So we define a ~/Views/Wizard/EditorTemplates/Step2ViewModel.cshtml partial:

@model Step2ViewModel

Special Step 2
@Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.Bar)

Here's 11 how the structure looks like:

Of course there 10 is room for improvement. The Index POST 9 action looks like s..t. There's too much 8 code in it. A further simplification would 7 involve into moving all the infrastructure 6 stuff like index, current index management, copying 5 of the current step into the wizard, ... into 4 another model binder. So that finally we 3 end up with:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(WizardViewModel wizard)
{
    if (ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        // TODO: we have finished: all the step partial
        // view models have passed validation => map them
        // back to the domain model and do some processing with
        // the results
        return Content("thanks for filling this form", "text/plain");
    }
    return View(wizard);
}

which is more how POST actions 2 should look like. I am leaving this improvement 1 for the next time :-)

To supplement on Amit Bagga's answer you 3 will find below what I did. Even if less 2 elegant I find this way simpler than Darin's 1 answer.

Controller :

public ActionResult Step1()
{
    if (Session["wizard"] != null)
    {
        WizardProductViewModel wiz = (WizardProductViewModel)Session["wizard"];
        return View(wiz.Step1);
    }
    return View();
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Step1(Step1ViewModel step1)
{
    if (ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        WizardProductViewModel wiz = new WizardProductViewModel();
        wiz.Step1 = step1;
        //Store the wizard in session
        Session["wizard"] = wiz;
        return RedirectToAction("Step2");
    }
    return View(step1);
}

public ActionResult Step2()
{
    if (Session["wizard"] != null)
    {
        WizardProductViewModel wiz = (WizardProductViewModel)Session["wizard"];
        return View(wiz.Step2);
    }
    return View();
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Step2(Step2ViewModel step2)
{
    if (ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        //Pull the wizard from session
        WizardProductViewModel wiz = (WizardProductViewModel)Session["wizard"];
        wiz.Step2 = step2;
        //Store the wizard in session
        Session["wizard"] = wiz;
        //return View("Step3");
        return RedirectToAction("Step3");
    }
    return View(step2);
}

public ActionResult Step3()
{
    WizardProductViewModel wiz = (WizardProductViewModel)Session["wizard"];
    return View(wiz.Step3);
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Step3(Step3ViewModel step3)
{
    if (ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        //Pull the wizard from session
        WizardProductViewModel wiz = (WizardProductViewModel)Session["wizard"];
        wiz.Step3 = step3;
        //Save the data
        Product product = new Product
        {
            //Binding with view models
            Name = wiz.Step1.Name,
            ListPrice = wiz.Step2.ListPrice,
            DiscontinuedDate = wiz.Step3.DiscontinuedDate
        };

        db.Products.Add(product);
        db.SaveChanges();
        return RedirectToAction("Index", "Product");
    }
    return View(step3);
}

Models :

 [Serializable]
    public class Step1ViewModel 
    {
        [Required]
        [MaxLength(20, ErrorMessage="Longueur max de 20 caractères")]
        public string Name { get; set; }

    }

    [Serializable]
    public class Step2ViewModel
    {
        public Decimal ListPrice { get; set; }

    }

    [Serializable]
    public class Step3ViewModel
    {
        public DateTime? DiscontinuedDate { get; set; }
    }

    [Serializable]
    public class WizardProductViewModel
    {
        public Step1ViewModel Step1  { get; set; }
        public Step2ViewModel Step2  { get; set; }
        public Step3ViewModel Step3  { get; set; }
    }

I would suggest you to maintain the state 12 of Complete Process on the client using 11 Jquery.

For Example we have a Three Step 10 Wizard process.

1. The user in presented with the Step1 on which has a button Labeled "Next"
2. On Clicking Next We make an Ajax Request and Create a DIV called Step2 and load the HTML into that DIV.
3. On the Step3 we have a Button labeled "Finished" on Clicking on the button post the data using $.post call.

This way you can easily build 9 your domain object directly from the form 8 post data and in case the data has errors 7 return valid JSON holding all the error 6 message and display them in a div.

Please 5 split the Steps

public class Wizard 
{
  public Step1 Step1 {get;set;}
  public Step2 Step2 {get;set;}
  public Step3 Step3 {get;set;}
}

public ActionResult Step1(Step1 step)
{
  if(Model.IsValid)
 {
   Wizard wiz = new Wizard();
   wiz.Step1 = step;
  //Store the Wizard in Session;
  //Return the action
 }
}

public ActionResult Step2(Step2 step)
{
 if(Model.IsValid)
 {
   //Pull the Wizard From Session
   wiz.Step2=step;
 }
}

The Above is just a demonstration 4 which will help you achieve the end result. On 3 the Final Step you have to create the Domain 2 Object and populate the correct values from 1 the Wizard Object and Store into the database.

I wanted to share my own way of handling 25 these requirements. I did not want to use 24 SessionState at all, nor did I want it handled 23 client side, and the serialize method requires 22 MVC Futures which I did not want to have 21 to include in my project.

Instead I built 20 an HTML Helper that will iterate through 19 all of the properties of the model and generate 18 a custom hidden element for each one. If 17 it is a complex property then it will run 16 recursively on it.

In your form they will 15 be posted to the controller along with the 14 new model data at each "wizard" step.

I wrote 13 this for MVC 5.

using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Routing;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using System.Web.Mvc.Html;
using System.Reflection;

namespace YourNamespace
{
    public static class CHTML
    {
        public static MvcHtmlString HiddenClassFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression)
        {
            return HiddenClassFor(html, expression, null);
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString HiddenClassFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression, object htmlAttributes)
        {
            ModelMetadata _metaData = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, html.ViewData);

            if (_metaData.Model == null)
                return MvcHtmlString.Empty;

            RouteValueDictionary _dict = htmlAttributes != null ? new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes) : null;

            return MvcHtmlString.Create(HiddenClassFor(html, expression, _metaData, _dict).ToString());
        }

        private static StringBuilder HiddenClassFor<TModel>(HtmlHelper<TModel> html, LambdaExpression expression, ModelMetadata metaData, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes)
        {
            StringBuilder _sb = new StringBuilder();

            foreach (ModelMetadata _prop in metaData.Properties)
            {
                Type _type = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(typeof(TModel), _prop.ModelType);
                var _body = Expression.Property(expression.Body, _prop.PropertyName);
                LambdaExpression _propExp = Expression.Lambda(_type, _body, expression.Parameters);

                if (!_prop.IsComplexType)
                {
                    string _id = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldId(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(_propExp));
                    string _name = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldName(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(_propExp));
                    object _value = _prop.Model;

                    _sb.Append(MinHiddenFor(_id, _name, _value, htmlAttributes));
                }
                else
                {
                    if (_prop.ModelType.IsArray)
                        _sb.Append(HiddenArrayFor(html, _propExp, _prop, htmlAttributes));
                    else if (_prop.ModelType.IsClass)
                        _sb.Append(HiddenClassFor(html, _propExp, _prop, htmlAttributes));
                    else
                        throw new Exception(string.Format("Cannot handle complex property, {0}, of type, {1}.", _prop.PropertyName, _prop.ModelType));
                }
            }

            return _sb;
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString HiddenArrayFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression)
        {
            return HiddenArrayFor(html, expression, null);
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString HiddenArrayFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression, object htmlAttributes)
        {
            ModelMetadata _metaData = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, html.ViewData);

            if (_metaData.Model == null)
                return MvcHtmlString.Empty;

            RouteValueDictionary _dict = htmlAttributes != null ? new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes) : null;

            return MvcHtmlString.Create(HiddenArrayFor(html, expression, _metaData, _dict).ToString());
        }

        private static StringBuilder HiddenArrayFor<TModel>(HtmlHelper<TModel> html, LambdaExpression expression, ModelMetadata metaData, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes)
        {
            Type _eleType = metaData.ModelType.GetElementType();
            Type _type = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(typeof(TModel), _eleType);

            object[] _array = (object[])metaData.Model;

            StringBuilder _sb = new StringBuilder();

            for (int i = 0; i < _array.Length; i++)
            {
                var _body = Expression.ArrayIndex(expression.Body, Expression.Constant(i));
                LambdaExpression _arrayExp = Expression.Lambda(_type, _body, expression.Parameters);
                ModelMetadata _valueMeta = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression((dynamic)_arrayExp, html.ViewData);

                if (_eleType.IsClass)
                {
                    _sb.Append(HiddenClassFor(html, _arrayExp, _valueMeta, htmlAttributes));
                }
                else
                {
                    string _id = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldId(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(_arrayExp));
                    string _name = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldName(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(_arrayExp));
                    object _value = _valueMeta.Model;

                    _sb.Append(MinHiddenFor(_id, _name, _value, htmlAttributes));
                }
            }

            return _sb;
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString MinHiddenFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression)
        {
            return MinHiddenFor(html, expression, null);
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString MinHiddenFor<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> html, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression, object htmlAttributes)
        {
            string _id = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldId(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(expression));
            string _name = html.ViewContext.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldName(ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(expression));
            object _value = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, html.ViewData).Model;
            RouteValueDictionary _dict = htmlAttributes != null ? new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes) : null;

            return MinHiddenFor(_id, _name, _value, _dict);
        }

        public static MvcHtmlString MinHiddenFor(string id, string name, object value, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes)
        {
            TagBuilder _input = new TagBuilder("input");
            _input.Attributes.Add("id", id);
            _input.Attributes.Add("name", name);
            _input.Attributes.Add("type", "hidden");

            if (value != null)
            {
                _input.Attributes.Add("value", value.ToString());
            }

            if (htmlAttributes != null)
            {
                foreach (KeyValuePair<string, object> _pair in htmlAttributes)
                {
                    _input.MergeAttribute(_pair.Key, _pair.Value.ToString(), true);
                }
            }

            return new MvcHtmlString(_input.ToString(TagRenderMode.SelfClosing));
        }
    }
}

Now for all steps of your 12 "wizard" you can use the same base model 11 and pass the "Step 1,2,3" model properties 10 into the @Html.HiddenClassFor helper using 9 a lambda expression.

You can even have a 8 back button at each step if you want to. Just 7 have a back button in your form that will 6 post it to a StepNBack action on the controller 5 using the formaction attribute. Not included 4 in the below example but just an idea for 3 you.

Anyways here is a basic example:

Here 2 is your MODEL

public class WizardModel
{
    // you can store additional properties for your "wizard" / parent model here
    // these properties can be saved between pages by storing them in the form using @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardID)
    public int? WizardID { get; set; }

    public string WizardType { get; set; }

    [Required]
    public Step1 Step1 { get; set; }

    [Required]
    public Step2 Step2 { get; set; }

    [Required]
    public Step3 Step3 { get; set; }

    // if you want to use the same model / view / controller for EDITING existing data as well as submitting NEW data here is an example of how to handle it
    public bool IsNew
    {
        get
        {
            return WizardID.HasValue;
        }
    }
}

public class Step1
{
    [Required]
    [MaxLength(32)]
    [Display(Name = "First Name")]
    public string FirstName { get; set; }

    [Required]
    [MaxLength(32)]
    [Display(Name = "Last Name")]
    public string LastName { get; set; }
}

public class Step2
{
    [Required]
    [MaxLength(512)]
    [Display(Name = "Biography")]
    public string Biography { get; set; }
}

public class Step3
{        
    // lets have an array of strings here to shake things up
    [Required]
    [Display(Name = "Your Favorite Foods")]
    public string[] FavoriteFoods { get; set; }
}

Here is your CONTROLLER

public class WizardController : Controller
{
    [HttpGet]
    [Route("wizard/new")]
    public ActionResult New()
    {
        WizardModel _model = new WizardModel()
        {
            WizardID = null,
            WizardType = "UserInfo"
        };

        return View("Step1", _model);
    }

    [HttpGet]
    [Route("wizard/edit/{wizardID:int}")]
    public ActionResult Edit(int wizardID)
    {
        WizardModel _model = database.GetData(wizardID);

        return View("Step1", _model);
    }

    [HttpPost]
    [Route("wizard/step1")]
    public ActionResult Step1(WizardModel model)
    {
        // just check if the values in the step1 model are valid
        // shouldn't use ModelState.IsValid here because that would check step2 & step3.
        // which isn't entered yet
        if (ModelState.IsValidField("Step1"))
        {
            return View("Step2", model);
        }

        return View("Step1", model);
    }

    [HttpPost]
    [Route("wizard/step2")]
    public ActionResult Step2(WizardModel model)
    {
        if (ModelState.IsValidField("Step2"))
        {
            return View("Step3", model);
        }

        return View("Step2", model);
    }

    [HttpPost]
    [Route("wizard/step3")]
    public ActionResult Step3(WizardModel model)
    {
        // all of the data for the wizard model is complete.
        // so now we check the entire model state
        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            // validation succeeded. save the data from the model.
            // the model.IsNew is just if you want users to be able to
            // edit their existing data.
            if (model.IsNew)
                database.NewData(model);
            else
                database.EditData(model);

            return RedirectToAction("Success");
        }

        return View("Step3", model);
    }
}

Here 1 are your VIEWS

Step 1

@model WizardModel

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Step 1";
}

@using (Html.BeginForm("Step1", "Wizard", FormMethod.Post))
{
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardID)
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardType)

    @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Step1.FirstName)
    @Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Step1.FirstName)

    @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Step1.LastName)
    @Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.Step1.LastName)

    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
}

Step 2

@model WizardModel

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Step 2";
}

@using (Html.BeginForm("Step2", "Wizard", FormMethod.Post))
{
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardID)
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardType)
    @Html.HiddenClassFor(m => m.Step1)

    @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Step2.Biography)
    @Html.TextAreaFor(m => m.Step2.Biography)

    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
}

Step 3

@model WizardModel

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Step 3";
}

@using (Html.BeginForm("Step3", "Wizard", FormMethod.Post))
{
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardID)
    @Html.MinHiddenFor(m => m.WizardType)
    @Html.HiddenClassFor(m => m.Step1)
    @Html.HiddenClassFor(m => m.Step2)

    @Html.LabelFor(m => m.Step3.FavoriteFoods)
    @Html.ListBoxFor(m => m.Step3.FavoriteFoods,
        new SelectListItem[]
        {
            new SelectListItem() { Value = "Pizza", Text = "Pizza" },
            new SelectListItem() { Value = "Sandwiches", Text = "Sandwiches" },
            new SelectListItem() { Value = "Burgers", Text = "Burgers" },
        });

    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
}

Wizards are just simple steps in processing 32 a simple model. There is no reason to create 31 multiple models for a wizard. All you would 30 do is create a single model and pass it 29 between actions in a single controller.

public class MyModel
{
     [Key, DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
     public Guid Id { get; set };
     public string StepOneData { get; set; }
     public string StepTwoData { get; set; }
}

The 28 above coed is stupid simple so replace your 27 fields in there. Next we start with a simple 26 action that initiates our wizard.

    public ActionResult WizardStep1()
    {
        return View(new MyModel());
    }

This calls 25 the view "WizardStep1.cshtml (if using razor 24 that is). You can use the create template 23 wizard if you want. We will just be redirecting 22 the post to a different action.

<WizardStep1.cshtml>
@using (Html.BeginForm("WizardStep2", "MyWizard")) {

The thing 21 of note is that we will be posting this 20 to a different action; the WizardStep2 action

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult WizardStep2(MyModel myModel)
    {
        return ModelState.IsValid ? View(myModel) : View("WizardStep1", myModel);
    }

In 19 this action we check if our model is valid, and 18 if so we send it to our WizardStep2.cshtml 17 view else we send it back to step one with 16 the validation errors. In each step we send 15 it to the next step, validate that step 14 and move on. Now some savvy developers might 13 say well we can't move between steps such 12 as this if we use [Required] attributes 11 or other data annotations between steps. And 10 you would be right, so remove the errors 9 on items that are yet to be checked. like 8 below.

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult WizardStep3(MyModel myModel)
    {
        foreach (var error in ModelState["StepTwoData"].Errors)
        {
            ModelState["StepTwoData"].Errors.Remove(error);
        }

Finally we would save the model once 7 to the data store. This also prevents a 6 user that starts a wizard but doesn't finish 5 it not to save incomplete data to the database.

I 4 hope you find this method of implementing 3 a wizard much easier to use and maintain 2 than any of the previously mentioned methods.

Thanks 1 for reading.

Adding more info from @Darin's answer.

What 10 if you have separate design style for each 9 steps and wanted maintain each in separate 8 partial view or what if you have multiple 7 properties for each step ?

While using Html.EditorFor we 6 have limitation to use partial view.

Create 5 3 Partial Views under Shared folder named : Step1ViewModel.cshtml , Step3ViewModel.cshtml , Step3ViewModel.cshtml

For 4 brevity I just posting 1st patial view, other 3 steps are same as Darin's answer.

Step1ViewModel.cs

[Serializable]
public class Step1ViewModel : IStepViewModel
{
  [Required]
  public string FirstName { get; set; }

  public string LastName { get; set; }

  public string PhoneNo { get; set; }

  public string EmailId { get; set; }

  public int Age { get; set; }

 }

Step1ViewModel.cshtml

 @model WizardPages.ViewModels.Step1ViewModel

<div class="container">
    <h2>Personal Details</h2>

    <div class="form-group">
        <label class="control-label col-sm-2" for="email">First Name:</label>
        <div class="col-sm-10">
            @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.FirstName)
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="form-group">
        <label class="control-label col-sm-2" for="pwd">Last Name:</label>
        <div class="col-sm-10">
            @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.LastName)
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="form-group">
        <label class="control-label col-sm-2" for="pwd">Phone No:</label>
        <div class="col-sm-10"> 
            @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.PhoneNo)
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="form-group">
        <label class="control-label col-sm-2" for="pwd">Email Id:</label>
        <div class="col-sm-10">
            @Html.TextBoxFor(x => x.EmailId)
        </div>
    </div>


</div>

Index.cshtml

@using Microsoft.Web.Mvc
@model WizardPages.ViewModels.WizardViewModel

@{
    var currentStep = Model.Steps[Model.CurrentStepIndex];

    string viewName = currentStep.ToString().Substring(currentStep.ToString().LastIndexOf('.') + 1);
}

<h3>Step @(Model.CurrentStepIndex + 1) out of @Model.Steps.Count</h3>

@using (Html.BeginForm())
{
    @Html.Serialize("wizard", Model)

    @Html.Hidden("StepType", Model.Steps[Model.CurrentStepIndex].GetType())

    @Html.Partial(""+ viewName + "", currentStep);

    if (Model.CurrentStepIndex > 0)
    {

     <input type="submit" value="Previous" name="prev" class="btn btn-warning" />

    }

    if (Model.CurrentStepIndex < Model.Steps.Count - 1)
    {

      <input type="submit" value="Next" name="next" class="btn btn-info" />

    }
    else
    {

      <input type="submit" value="Finish" name="finish" class="btn btn-success" />

    }
}

If there 2 some better solution, please comment to 1 let others know.