MVC Html Helpers - How much control over inbuilt ones?

Question

I have some questions about html helpers in ASP.NET MVC Framework. So...

1. Can I override a inbuilt helper like @Html.HiddenFor?
2. Should I override, or create a CustomHiddenFor one?

3. While creating a Custom one, how can I change the value from ModelMetaData and then call the inbuilt helper? Eg:

   public static MvcHtmlString HiddenSecuredFor<TModel, TProperty>
       (this HtmlHelper<TModel> htmlHelper, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression, object htmlAttributes,bool secured)
   {
       ModelMetadata metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, htmlHelper.ViewData);
       var name = ExpressionHelper.GetExpressionText(expression);
       if (!secured)
       {
           return htmlHelper.HiddenFor(expression,htmlAttributes);
       }
   
           // Here I want to change the value 
           // from the TModel lets say the property is x => x.Name
           // And I want to make the Name = "Mr. " + Name
   
       // Call the inbuild helper with the expression value changes.
       return htmlHelper.HiddenFor(expression, htmlAttributes);
   }
   

Answer 1

1. Yes - How can I override the @Html.LabelFor template?
2. It depends - If you are adding functionality you always need and you want other developers to use without having to know about it, overriding is a good option. Otherwise, creating a custom one that calls the original is a good approach.