Specify file provider for RazorViewEngine in ASP.NET Core 6.0 - razor

Question

I'm having a solution with an ASP.NET Core 6 MVC application project and a WebJob (console application)
Both applications are using a common library project where I have IRazorViewToStringRenderer service with views. I want to reuse this service in both applications, WebApp and WebJob. My solution is based on this sample https://github.com/aspnet/Entropy/blob/master/samples/Mvc.RenderViewToString/Program.cs
Here is how I use it:
var viewToStringEngine = ServiceProvider.GetService<IRazorViewToStringRenderer>();
string htmlContent = await viewToStringEngine.RenderToStringAsync<MyView>("~/Views/MyView.cshtml", new MyView());
The problem is RazorViewEngineOptions doesn't have anymore the option to specify the file provider ( in ASP.NET Core 6 )
services.Configure<RazorViewEngineOptions>(options =>
{
options.FileProviders.Clear();
options.FileProviders.Add(fileProvider);
});
IRazorViewToStringRenderer service is working fine when is called from the Web App, but is not working from the WebJob. It is only working if the WebJob services contains an IWebHostEnvironment with the ApplicationName as the name of the project where IRazorViewToStringRenderer is implemented, otherwise the views cannot be found.
How to specify file provider for the RazorViewEngine ? ( github sample )
WebJob service configuration:
private static ServiceCollection ConfigureServices()
{
var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddSingleton<IConfiguration>(Configuration);
var applicationEnvironment = PlatformServices.Default.Application;
services.AddSingleton(applicationEnvironment);
services.AddSingleton<Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.IWebHostEnvironment>(new WebJobHostEnvironment
{
ApplicationName = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().GetName().Name,
//ApplicationName = typeof(IRazorViewToStringRenderer).Assembly.GetName().Name,
});
var listener = new DiagnosticListener("Microsoft.AspNetCore");
services.AddSingleton<DiagnosticListener>(listener);
services.AddSingleton<DiagnosticSource>(listener);
services.AddSingleton<ObjectPoolProvider, DefaultObjectPoolProvider>();
services.AddSingleton<ILoggerFactory, LoggerFactory>(sp => new LoggerFactory());
services.AddMvcCore().AddRazorViewEngine();
services.AddCommonRazorEngine(Configuration);
return services;
}
RazorServiceCollectionExtension.cs
public static class RazorServiceCollectionExtension
{
public static void AddCommonRazorEngine(this IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration configuration)
{
//var fileProvider = new EmbeddedFileProvider(typeof(RazorViewToStringRenderer).Assembly);
// FileProviders property is not available anymore
services.Configure<RazorViewEngineOptions>(options =>
{
//options.FileProviders.Add(fileProvider);
});
services.AddScoped<IRazorViewToStringRenderer, RazorViewToStringRenderer>();
}
}
Edit
For others searching a similar solution, I updated my github sample

Answer 1

I encountered this problem myself, and it appears that the functionality has been moved to an external package. I was able to work around this by following the instructions located here and then amending them for my purposes:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/mvc/views/view-compilation?view=aspnetcore-6.0&tabs=visual-studio
I.e. install the package: Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RuntimeCompilation
Then you can change the appropriate file provider by using the code:
services.Configure<MvcRazorRuntimeCompilationOptions>(options =>
{
options.FileProviders.Clear();
options.FileProviders.Add(fileProvider);
});