ASP.NET MVC passing Model *together* with files back to controller - asp.net

Question

Ok, I've been going at this for several hours and I simply cannot find the solution.
I want to get some data from my user. So first, I use a controller to create a view which receives a Model:
public ViewResult CreateArticle()
{
Article newArticle = new Article();
ImagesUploadModel dataFromUser = new ImagesUploadModel(newArticle);
return View(dataFromUser);
}
Then, I have the view:
<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="MainContentPlaceHolder" runat="server">
<h2>AddArticle</h2>
<% using (Html.BeginForm("CreateArticle", "Admin", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" })){ %>
<%= Html.LabelFor(model => model.newArticle.Title)%>
<%= Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.newArticle.Title)%>
<%= Html.LabelFor(model => model.newArticle.ContentText)%>
<%= Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.newArticle.ContentText)%>
<%= Html.LabelFor(model => model.newArticle.CategoryID)%>
<%= Html.TextBoxFor(model => model.newArticle.CategoryID)%>
<p>
Image1: <input type="file" name="file1" id="file1" />
</p>
<p>
Image2: <input type="file" name="file2" id="file2" />
</p>
<div>
<button type="submit" />Create
</div>
<%} %>
</asp:Content>
and finally - the original controller, but this time configured to accept the data:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult CreateArticle(ImagesUploadModel dataFromUser)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
HttpPostedFileBase[] imagesArr;
imagesArr = new HttpPostedFileBase[2];
int i = 0;
foreach (string f in Request.Files)
{
HttpPostedFileBase file = Request.Files[f];
if (file.ContentLength > 0)
imagesArr[i] = file;
}
The rest of this controller does not matter since no matter what I do, the count attribute of Request.Files (or Request.Files.Keys) remains 0. I simply can't find a way to pass the files from the form (the Model passes just fine).

Answer 1

You might want to consider not posting the files with the rest of the form- there are good reasons and other ways you can achieve what you want.
Also, check out this question and this advice regarding file uploads in MVC.

Answer 2

You could add the files to your view model:
public class ImagesUploadModel
{
...
public HttpPostedFileBase File1 { get; set; }
public HttpPostedFileBase File2 { get; set; }
}
And then:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult CreateArticle(ImagesUploadModel dataFromUser)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
// Use dataFromUser.File1 and dataFromUser.File2 directly here
}
return RedirectToAction("index");
}