how to use Profile.GetProfile() in a library class?

Question

I cant figure out how to use Profile.GetProfile() method in a library class. I tried using this method in a Page.aspx.cs and it worked perfectly.

How can I make a method that works in the page.aspx.cs, work in the class library.

Answer 1

In ASP.NET, Profile is a hook into the HttpContext.Current.Profile property, which returns a dynamically generated object of type ProfileCommon, derived from System.Web.Profile.ProfileBase.

ProfileCommon apparently includes a GetProfile(string username) method, but you wont find it documented officially in MSDN (and it wont show up in intellisense in visual studio) because most of the ProfileCommon class is dynamically generated when your ASP.NET application is compiled (The exact list of properties and methods will depend on how 'profiles' are configured in your web.config). GetProfile() does get a mention on this MSDN page, so it seems to be real.

Perhaps in your library class, the problem is that the configuration info from web.config is not being picked up. Is your library class part of a Solultion that includes a Web Application, or are you just working on the library in isolation?

Answer 2

Have you tried adding reference to System.Web.dll to your class library and then:

if (HttpContext.Current == null) 
{
    throw new Exception("HttpContext was not defined");
}
var profile = HttpContext.Current.Profile;
// Do something with the profile

Answer 3

You can use ProfileBase, but you lose type-safety. You can mitigate that with careful casting and error handling.

    string user = "Steve"; // The username you are trying to get the profile for.
    bool isAuthenticated = false;

        MembershipUser mu = Membership.GetUser(user);

        if (mu != null)
        {
            // User exists - Try to load profile 

            ProfileBase pb = ProfileBase.Create(user, isAuthenticated);

            if (pb != null)
            {
                // Profile loaded - Try to access profile data element.
                // ProfileBase stores data as objects in a Dictionary 
                // so you have to cast and check that the cast succeeds.

                string myData = (string)pb["MyKey"];

                if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(myData))            
                {
                    // Woo-hoo - We're in data city, baby!
                    Console.WriteLine("Is this your card? " + myData);
                }
            }        
        }