Asp.Net MVC - Open HTML Controls - asp.net

Question

I'm new to asp.net mvc. I'm looking to create some control for reusing html. I have a complex HTML box for example:
<div class="Box">
<div class="Top"></div>
<div class="Content">
<div style="padding:10px;">
[CONTENT GOES HERE]
</div>
</div>
<div class="Bottom"></div>
</div>
Previously using webforms I've been able to reuse this by inheriting from WebControl and override Render. But how can I implement this in MVC?
The Content of the box could of course be what ever. Other boxes for example.

Answer 1

Easiest yet: using a UserControl
<%# Control Language="VB" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewUserControl" %>
<div class="Box">
<div class="Top"></div>
<div class="Content">
<div style="padding:10px;">
<%= Model.Content %>
</div>
</div>
<div class="Bottom"></div>
</div>
And then calling the user control with
<% Html.RenderPartial("NiceBox", New with {.Content = "The real content goes here"})%>

Answer 2

Here's an example of one way to build it as an HtmlHelper extension method:
public static string Box(this HtmlHelper helper, string content)
{
var builder = new StringBuilder();
builder.Append("<div class=\"Box\" .......... );
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(content))
{
builder.Append(content)
}
return builder.ToString();
}
In your view:
<%= Html.Box(contentString) %>
Your other options are to create it as a partial view (.ascx) and pass it a ViewModel class that contained the content that you wanted to render. Judging by the requirement of "the content could be anything", an HtmlHelper extension might be more flexible for you.