In this article I will explain with an example, how to show calendar Icon (Image) next to TextBox using jQuery DatePicker in ASP.Net Core MVC (.Net Core).
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net Core (.Net Core 7), please refer my article ASP.Net Core 7: Hello World Tutorial with Sample Program example.
 
 

Controller

The Controller consists of following Action methods.

Action method for handling GET operation

Inside this Action method, simply the View is returned.
 

Action method for handling POST operation

This Action method gets called when the Submit Button is clicked.
Inside this Action Method, the value of the selected Date is set into a ViewBag object and the View is returned.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }
 
    [HttpPost]
    public IActionResult Index(string selectedDate)
    {
        DateTime dt = Convert.ToDateTime(selectedDate);
        ViewBag.Message = "Selected Date: " + dt.ToShortDateString();
        return View();
    }
}
 
 

View

HTML Markup

Inside the View, first the ASP.Net TagHelpers is inherited.
The View consists of an HTML Form which has been created using the ASP.Net TagHelpers with the following attributes.
asp-action – Name of the Action. In this case the name is Index.
asp-controller – Name of the Controller. In this case the name is Home.
method – It specifies the Form Method i.e. GET or POST. In this case it will be set to POST.
The View also consists of a TextBox and a Submit Button.
 

jQuery DatePicker Plugin implementation

Inside the View, the following CSS file is inherited.
1. jquery-ui.css
 
And then, the following script files are inherited.
1. jquery.min.js
2. jquery-ui.min.js
 
Inside the jQuery document ready event handler, the TextBox has been applied with the jQuery DatePicker plugin.
The jQuery DatePicker plugin has been assigned with the following properties:
showOn – button. The jQuery DatePicker will be shown only when the Button next to the TextBox is clicked.
buttonImageOnly – true. The Button will be an Image.
buttonImage – URL. The URL of the Image file to be displayed as Button.
dateFormat – dd/mm/yy. The jQuery DatePicker will set the selected Date in dd/MM/yyyy date format in TextBox.
 

Submitting the Form

When the Date is selected and the Submit Button is clicked, the Form is submitted and the ViewBag object is checked for NULL and if it is not NULL then, the value of the ViewBag object is displayed using JavaScript Alert MessageBox.
@addTagHelper*, Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.TagHelpers
@{
    Layout = null;
}
 
<!DOCTYPE html>
 
<html>
<head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
    <title>Index</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.13.2/themes/base/jquery-ui.css" />
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.7.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.13.2/jquery-ui.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <form method="post" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">
        <input type="text" id="txtDate" name="selectedDate" />
        <hr />
        <input type="submit" value="Submit" />
    </form>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $(function () {
            $("#txtDate").datepicker({
                showOn: 'button',
                buttonImageOnly: true,
                buttonImage: 'images/calendar.gif',
                dateFormat: 'dd/mm/yy'
            });
        });
    </script>
    @if (ViewBag.Message != null)
    {
        <script type="text/javascript">
            $(function () {
                alert("@ViewBag.Message");
            });
        </script>
    }
</body>
</html>
 
 

Screenshots

The Form

ASP.Net Core: Show Calendar Icon (Image) next to TextBox using jQuery DatePicker [Calendar]
 

DateTime object displaying the selected DateTime

ASP.Net Core: Show Calendar Icon (Image) next to TextBox using jQuery DatePicker [Calendar]
 
 

Demo

View Demo
 
 

Downloads

Download Code