System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Identity Roles

Question

I am trying to figure out why I am getting the above error. The ASP.NEt frame work gives me a great Register class to use, but I needed to create my own because I need a user to register and a Merchant to register to different roles, which is what I am trying to set up here with the Merchant registration.

So I just copy and pasted the Register Action from the Account controller. AM I going about this the right way? And I can't figure out why I am getting this error.

      [Authorize(Roles = "Admin")]
    [HttpPost]
    [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
    public async Task<ActionResult> Create([Bind(Include = "MerchantID,MerchantName,State,City,StreetAddress,zip,phoneNumber,email, website, Password, ConfirmPassword")] Merchant merchant)
    {

        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            var _context = new ApplicationDbContext();
            var UserManager = new UserManager<ApplicationUser>(new UserStore<ApplicationUser>(_context));
            //code that I am trying to implement to add to merhcant role
            var user = new ApplicationUser { UserName = merchant.email, Email = merchant.email };
            var result = await UserManager.CreateAsync(user, merchant.Password);
            //Above code is from Register controller


            if (result.Succeeded)
            {
                //System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
                //SO figure out why USerManager is empty. Likely due to MerchantID not being populated yet?
                await this.UserManager.AddToRoleAsync(user.Id, merchant.MerchantName);
                var code = await UserManager.GenerateEmailConfirmationTokenAsync(user.Id);
                var callbackUrl = Url.Action("ConfirmEmail", "Account", new { userId = user.Id, code = code }, protocol: Request.Url.Scheme);
                await UserManager.SendEmailAsync(user.Id, "Confirm your account", "Please confirm your account by clicking this link: <a href=\"" + callbackUrl + "\">link</a>");
                ViewBag.Link = callbackUrl;
                return View("DisplayEmail");

            }

           // AddErrors(result);

                //ASP.Net provided code, don't touch.
                db.Merchants.Add(merchant);

                db.SaveChanges();
            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        }

Which object is `null`? Where do you expect that object to be initialized? — David, Aug 17 '15 at 13:54
This object is null await this.UserManager.AddToRoleAsync(user.Id, merchant.MerchantName); — JP Hochbaum, Aug 17 '15 at 13:58
possible duplicate of [What is a NullReferenceException and how do I fix it?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4660142/what-is-a-nullreferenceexception-and-how-do-i-fix-it) — trailmax, Aug 17 '15 at 13:59
And initialized here: var UserManager = new UserManager(new UserStore(_context)); — JP Hochbaum, Aug 17 '15 at 13:59

David · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-17T14:04:44.043

You never initialized this.UserManager. Since it's a reference type, its default value is null.

You do initialize a local variable of the same exact name (which is a pretty confusing thing to do, case in point):

var UserManager = new UserManager<ApplicationUser>(new UserStore<ApplicationUser>(_context));

But a local variable and a class-level variable are not the same thing. Either initialize (and use) the class-level variable:

this.UserManager = new UserManager<ApplicationUser>(new UserStore<ApplicationUser>(_context));

Or use the local variable:

await UserManager.AddToRoleAsync(user.Id, merchant.MerchantName);

Ah ok, yes very confusing, ok, that was very helpful thanks! — JP Hochbaum, Aug 17 '15 at 14:04

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Identity Roles

1 Answers1