How to fix 'System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.' ?

Question

@model IEnumerable<MVC_CRUD.Models.Employee>

@{
    ViewData["Title"] = "Index";
}

<h4>Employee Register</h4>
<hr />
<table class="table table-hover">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>
                @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.FullName)
            </th>
            <th>
                @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.EmpCode)
            </th>
            <th>
                @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.Position)
            </th>
            <th>
                @Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.OfficeLocation)
            </th>
            <th>
                <a asp-action="AddOrEdit" class="btn btn-outline-success"><i class="far fa-plus-square"></i> Employee</a>
            </th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
@foreach (var  item in Model)    //Error comes in this line
        {
            <tr>
                <td>
                    @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.FullName)
                </td>
                <td>
                    @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.EmpCode)
                </td>
                <td>
                    @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Position)
                </td>
                <td>
                    @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.OfficeLocation)
                </td>
                <td>
                    <a asp-action="AddOrEdit" asp-route-id="@item.EmployeeId"><i class="fa fa-marker fa-lg"></i></a>
                    <a asp-action="Delete" asp-route-id="@item.EmployeeId" class="text-danger ml-1" onclick="return confirm('Are you sure to delete this record?')"><i class="fa fa-trash-alt fa-lg"></i></a>
                </td>
            </tr>
        }
    </tbody>
</table>

Answer 1

View is receiving the Model value as Null. Debug the respective controller action to verify why is it returning null.

If it is intended to return null, handle by using the Null-Coalescing Operator like below.

        @foreach (var item in Model)    //Error comes in this line

        @foreach (var item in Model ?? Enumerable.Empty<MVC_CRUD.Models.Employee>())    // Update it like this to handle null

Answer 2

Hi @Kavya Kohli

How to fix 'System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.' ?

Before using the foreach statement, you can add an If-Else statement to check whether the Model is null. Try to change the table body as below: if the model is null, it will show an "empty" in the table, otherwise display the records.

    <tbody>
        @if(Model == null)
        {
            <tr><td colspan="5" style="text-align:center">empty</td></tr>
        }
        else
        { 
            @foreach (var item in Model)     
            {
                <tr>
                    <td>
                        @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.FullName)
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.EmpCode)
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.Position)
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        @Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.OfficeLocation)
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <a asp-action="AddOrEdit" asp-route-id="@item.EmployeeId"><i class="fa fa-marker fa-lg"></i></a>
                        <a asp-action="Delete" asp-route-id="@item.EmployeeId" class="text-danger ml-1" onclick="return confirm('Are you sure to delete this record?')"><i class="fa fa-trash-alt fa-lg"></i></a>
                    </td>
                </tr>
            }
        }
    </tbody>

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Best regards,

Dillion