Installing Bootstrap for DotVVM

To use the Bootstrap for DotVVM controls, you have use the DotVVM Private Nuget Feed.

  1. Install the DotVVM.Controls.Bootstrap package from the DotVVM Private Nuget Feed.

  2. Open your DotvvmStartup.cs file and add the following line at the beginning of the Configure method.

config.AddBootstrapConfiguration();

You might need to add the following using at the beginning of the file.

using DotVVM.Framework.Controls.Bootstrap;

This will register all Bootstrap controls under the <bs:* tag prefix, and it also registers several Bootstrap resources.

Configuration

The Bootstrap for DotVVM package doesn't include the Bootstrap CSS and JavaScript libraries as they are too large and you might have your own compilation of Bootstrap (e.g. if you use some Bootstrap template).

There are two ways how to work with Bootstrap resources.

Option 1: In most cases you want DotVVM to manage the resources for you. You don't need to include Bootstrap yourself in the page, you just let DotVVM do this for you. Use this option if you don't reference the bootstrap CSS and JS files using the <script> or <link> tags in the page.

Option 2: Alternatively, you can turn the resource management for Bootstrap files off. This way is better e.g. if you use some Bootstrap template which already includes Bootstrap scripts or styles in the page. If you turn the resource management off, DotVVM will assume that Bootstrap is already correctly included in the page.

Option 1: Let DotVVM Include the Bootstrap Files in the Page

Step 1: If you don't have Bootstrap scripts and styles in your project,

for .NET Framework

Install the Bootstrap version 3 package from the official Nuget feed.

Install-Package Bootstrap -Version 3.3.7 

for .NET Core

Install the Bootstrap package from the Bower.

bower install bootstrap

Default installation location is in wwwroot\lib\bootstrap. You have to change the default paths in AddBootstrapConfiguration, see below.

Step 2: Bootstrap for DotVVM assumes the Bootstrap JS and CSS files are on the following URLs in your project:

  • /Content/bootstrap.min.css
  • /Scripts/bootstrap.min.js

If they are not, you can modify the default paths. In the DotvvmStartup.cs file, update the AddBootstrapConfiguration call this way::

config.AddBootstrapConfiguration(new DotvvmBootstrapOptions() 
{
    BootstrapCssUrl = "your path to bootstrap.css or bootstrap.min.css",
    BootstrapJsUrl = "your path to bootstrap.js or bootstrap.min.js"
});

Please note that DotVVM includes jQuery in the page automatically because it is required by Bootstrap. You can change the path to jQuery using the following code:

config.AddBootstrapConfiguration(new DotvvmBootstrapOptions() 
{
    ...
    JQueryUrl = "your path to jquery.x.x.x.js or jquery.x.x.x.min.js"
});

Option 2: Include the Bootstrap Files in the Page Yourself

If you have already included the bootstrap script and styles using the <script> and <style> elements in the page header (e.g. in the master page), you can tell DotVVM that it should not render the default Bootstrap resources. Add this in the DotvvmStartup.cs:

config.AddBootstrapConfiguration(new DotvvmBootstrapOptions() 
{
    IncludeBootstrapResourcesInPage = false
});

Optionally, you can also tell DotVVM not to include jQuery.

config.AddBootstrapConfiguration(new DotvvmBootstrapOptions() 
{
    IncludeJQueryResourceInPage = false
});

Is It OK?

To verify that Bootstrap resources are included correctly, press F12 in your web browser. Verify that bootstrap.css or bootstrap.js is not loaded twice, and there are no errors in the developer console, especially some messages which say that some Bootstrap-related resource could not be found.

Limitations

The current version of Bootstrap for DotVVM supports Bootstrap 3. For more information about Bootstrap, navigate into its documentation.

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