Why is this ActionLink to another area not working? - asp.net

Question

I am testing how to build an action link to a page in another area, and every source I find says to use
Html.ActionLink("[Link Text]", "[action name]", "[controller]", new { area = "[areaName]" }, null)
except for one source I found which suggested
Html.ActionLink("[Link Text]", "[action name]",new { area = "[areaName]", controller = "[controllerName]" })
The problem is, neither of these work for me. In my MVC application I have an area called "Uploader", which contains its own Home controller, and Index page. So, in the main Index page of my MVC project, I create an ActionLink that looks like this:
#Html.ActionLink("Area Test", "Index", "Home", new { area = "Uploader" }, null)
If the link works correctly, I'll get taken to a page that reads "this is the uploader", the text on my area Index page, but instead, the main home/index page of my application just reloads.
The address I see in my browser after this reload is "https://localhost:44352/?area=Uploader".
The HomeController for the area is correctly formatted with an "Area" tag, like so:
namespace TestProject.Areas.Uploader.Controllers
{
[Area("Uploader")]
public class HomeController : Controller
{
public IActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
}
}
I'm using .Net 5. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Finally found the answer here. It turns out I had my area configuration backwards: the "default" route should come last.
It should be:
endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
name: "areas",
pattern: "{area:exists}/{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
name: "default",
pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
...instead of the other way around.