People picker control implementation in asp.net mvc application

Question

I want to include the Sharepoint people picker control type in my application, My app is developed in asp.net MVC. is there a way so that i can include the GAL feature in my asp.net application. This should work even if the outlook is not installed in user pc.

Answer 1

Taken from this page dated March 1 2013

"SP controls can only be used on SP hosted pages. Currently the only control designed from the ground up to be consumed on all page types (provider-hosted, auto-hosted or sp hosted) is the chrome control."

and another post from an MSFT

"I've consulted with several colleagues and the consensus seems to be that SharePoint's client side people picker, which is JavaScript, cannot be used in a provider-hosted app. The reason is that there's no way to get a client context on a remote web page. You mention the TokenHelper.cs which is managed code, not JavaScript. I have a question pending with the product team to see if there's anyway to get the context with managed code and pass it to JavaScript. I didn't want you to have to wait any longer for an answer."

Answer 2

I would suggest writing a plugin. (Although I have never had the requirement to implement it YET)

How :

you write a controller that loads users from AD, and then send a JSON object of these to your client via AJAX and then use jquery auto complete to filter names as the user types.

Or

Simulate the "check User " button by making AJAX calls to that controller and check if name exist on click of that button. then write appropriate error messages if false.

I would still be on the lookout for other solutions though