Getting Started with the Breadcrumb

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC Breadcrumb and highlights the major steps in the configuration of the component.

You will initialize a Breadcrumb control, configure its icons, and handle its events.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete the tutorial, you need a project that is already configured to use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components:

• To create a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components, you can use a project template.

• To manually configure an existing project by using NuGet, see the Adding Telerik UI through NuGet.

1. Prepare the CSHTML File

The first step is to add the required directives at the top of the .cshtml document:

• To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC HtmlHelpers:

  @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
  

2. Initialize the Breadcrumb

Use the Breadcrumb HtmlHelper to add the component to a page. The Name() configuration method is mandatory as its value is used for the id and the name attributes of the Breadcrumb element.

    @using Kendo.Mvc.UI

    @(Html.Kendo().Breadcrumb()
            .Name("breadcrumb")
    )

3. Add Breadcrumb Items

The next step is to use the Items() configuration and add the Breadcrumb items. To configure the items:

1. Use the Type() property to define the type of the added item—RootItem or Item.

2. Use the Text() property to define the textual content for the Breadcrumb item.

3. Use the Href() property to set the navigation URL of the item.

4. Use the ShowText() property to render the textual content for the RootItem:

   • The default value for RootItem is false.
   • The default value for Item is true.

    @(Html.Kendo().Breadcrumb()
            .Name("breadcrumb")
            .Items(items =>
            {
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.RootItem)
                        .Href("https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/")
                        .Text("All Components")
                        .ShowText(true);
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/breadcrumb")
                        .Text("Breadcrumb");
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/events")
                        .Text("Events");
            })
    )

4. Add Icons

You can configure the icons for the Breadcrumb items by using the Icon() property. By default, the Breadcrumb renders an icon only for the RootItem type. To display icons for the Item type, set the ShowIcon() property to true. Additionally, you can also change the icons that separate the Breadcrumb items.

    @(Html.Kendo().Breadcrumb()
            .Name("breadcrumb")
            .Items(items =>
            {
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.RootItem)
                        .Href("https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/")
                        .Text("All Components")
                        .ShowText(true)
                        .Icon("globe");
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/breadcrumb")
                        .Text("Breadcrumb")
                        .Icon("gear")
                        .ShowIcon(true);
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/events")
                        .Text("Events")
                        .Icon("cloud")
                        .ShowIcon(true);
            })
    )

5. Handle Breadcrumb Events

The Breadcrumb component exposes the Change() and Click() events that you can handle and further customize the functionality of the component.

    @(Html.Kendo().Breadcrumb()
            .Name("breadcrumb")
            .Events(e => 
                e.Click("onClick")
                .Change("onChange"))
            .Items(items =>
            {
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.RootItem)
                        .Href("https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/")
                        .Text("All Components")
                        .ShowText(true)
                        .Icon("globe");
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/breadcrumb")
                        .Text("Breadcrumb")
                        .Icon("gear")
                        .ShowIcon(true);
                items.Add()
                        .Type(BreadcrumbItemType.Item)
                        .Href("/events")
                        .Text("Events")
                        .Icon("cloud")
                        .ShowIcon(true);
            })
    )

    <script>
        function onClick(e) {
            console.log("Clicked. :: target: " + e.item.text + ". Type :: " + e.item.type);
        }
        function onChange(e) {
            console.log("Changed. New Value :: " + e.value);
        }
    </script>

For more examples, refer to the demo on using the events of the Breadcrumb.

6. (Optional) Reference Existing Breadcrumb Instances

You can reference the Breadcrumb instances that you have created and build on top of their existing configuration:

1. Use the id attribute of the component instance to establish a reference.

   <script>
       var breadcrumbReference = $("#breadcrumb").data("kendoBreadcrumb"); // breadcrumbReference is a reference to the existing instance of the helper.
   </script>
   

2. Use the Breadcrumb client-side API to control the behavior of the widget. In this example, you will use the value method to change Breadcrumb value.

   <script>
       var breadcrumbReference = $("#breadcrumb").data("kendoBreadcrumb"); // breadcrumbReference is a reference to the existing instance of the helper.
       breadcrumbReference.value("All Components/Breadcrumb/API"); // Set a new value for the component.
   </script>
   

For more information on referencing specific helper instances, see the Methods and Events article.

Next Steps

• Configure Editing of the Breadcrumb Path
• Configure the Breadcrumb Navigation

See Also

• Using the API of the Breadcrumb for ASP.NET MVC (Demo)
• Breadcrumb Client-Side API
• Server-Side API of the Breadcrumb
• Knowledge Base Section