[asp.net-mvc] ASP.NET MVC Ajax Error handling

How do I handle exceptions thrown in a controller when jquery ajax calls an action?

For example, I would like a global javascript code that gets executed on any kind of server exception during an ajax call which displays the exception message if in debug mode or just a normal error message.

On the client side, I will call a function on the ajax error.

On the server side, Do I need to write a custom actionfilter?

Unfortunately, neither of answers are good for me. Surprisingly the solution is much simpler. Return from controller:

return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, e.Response.ReasonPhrase);

And handle it as standard HTTP error on client as you like.

After googling I write a simple Exception handing based on MVC Action Filter:

public class HandleExceptionAttribute : HandleErrorAttribute
{
    public override void OnException(ExceptionContext filterContext)
    {
        if (filterContext.HttpContext.Request.IsAjaxRequest() && filterContext.Exception != null)
        {
            filterContext.HttpContext.Response.StatusCode = (int)HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError;
            filterContext.Result = new JsonResult
            {
                JsonRequestBehavior = JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet,
                Data = new
                {
                    filterContext.Exception.Message,
                    filterContext.Exception.StackTrace
                }
            };
            filterContext.ExceptionHandled = true;
        }
        else
        {
            base.OnException(filterContext);
        }
    }
}

and write in global.ascx:

 public static void RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilterCollection filters)
 {
      filters.Add(new HandleExceptionAttribute());
 }

and then write this script on the layout or Master page:

<script type="text/javascript">
      $(document).ajaxError(function (e, jqxhr, settings, exception) {
                       e.stopPropagation();
                       if (jqxhr != null)
                           alert(jqxhr.responseText);
                     });
</script>

Finally you should turn on custom error. and then enjoy it :)

In agreement with aleho's response here's a complete example. It works like a charm and is super simple.

Controller code

[HttpGet]
public async Task<ActionResult> ChildItems()
{
    var client = TranslationDataHttpClient.GetClient();
    HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync("childItems);

    if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
        {
            string content = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
            List<WorkflowItem> parameters = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<WorkflowItem>>(content);
            return Json(content, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
        }
        else
        {
            return new HttpStatusCodeResult(response.StatusCode, response.ReasonPhrase);
        }
    }
}

Javascript code in the view

var url = '@Html.Raw(@Url.Action("ChildItems", "WorkflowItemModal")';

$.ajax({
    type: "GET",
    dataType: "json",
    url: url,
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    success: function (data) {
        // Do something with the returned data
    },
    error: function (xhr, status, error) {
        // Handle the error.
    }
});

Hope this helps someone else!

For handling errors from ajax calls on the client side, you assign a function to the error option of the ajax call.

To set a default globally, you can use the function described here: http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajaxSetup.

I did a quick solution because I was short of time and it worked ok. Although I think the better option is use an Exception Filter, maybe my solution can help in the case that a simple solution is needed.

I did the following. In the controller method I returned a JsonResult with a property "Success" inside the Data:

    [HttpPut]
    public JsonResult UpdateEmployeeConfig(EmployeConfig employeToSave) 
    {
        if (!ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            return new JsonResult
            {
                Data = new { ErrorMessage = "Model is not valid", Success = false },
                ContentEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8,
                JsonRequestBehavior = JsonRequestBehavior.DenyGet
            };
        }
        try
        {
            MyDbContext db = new MyDbContext();

            db.Entry(employeToSave).State = EntityState.Modified;
            db.SaveChanges();

            DTO.EmployeConfig user = (DTO.EmployeConfig)Session["EmployeLoggin"];

            if (employeToSave.Id == user.Id)
            {
                user.Company = employeToSave.Company;
                user.Language = employeToSave.Language;
                user.Money = employeToSave.Money;
                user.CostCenter = employeToSave.CostCenter;

                Session["EmployeLoggin"] = user;
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex) 
        {
            return new JsonResult
            {
                Data = new { ErrorMessage = ex.Message, Success = false },
                ContentEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8,
                JsonRequestBehavior = JsonRequestBehavior.DenyGet
            };
        }

        return new JsonResult() { Data = new { Success = true }, };
    }

Later in the ajax call I just asked for this property to know if I had an exception:

$.ajax({
    url: 'UpdateEmployeeConfig',
    type: 'PUT',
    data: JSON.stringify(EmployeConfig),
    contentType: "application/json;charset=utf-8",
    success: function (data) {
        if (data.Success) {
            //This is for the example. Please do something prettier for the user, :)
            alert('All was really ok');                                           
        }
        else {
            alert('Oups.. we had errors: ' + data.ErrorMessage);
        }
    },
    error: function (request, status, error) {
       alert('oh, errors here. The call to the server is not working.')
    }
});

Hope this helps. Happy code! :P