title: MVC3: Calling Controller From AJAX Button Click
body: <p>In ASP .Net MVC3, how can I take a user entered input value and handle the click of a button to call a controller, returning a new model entity that updates other form input values with its property values <strong>without</strong> reloading the entire page?</p>
  
  <p>Steps: </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Enter Id of entity.</li>
  <li>Click "Search"</li>
  <li>Entered value is submitted to controller, which queries Entity Framework to return an entity - with the supplied Id.</li>
  <li>Found entity is returned to calling page.</li>
  <li>Other form inputs update their values with matching property values.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>I'd have this done in seconds in Web Forms but being new to MVC3... well... fun :) I'm thinking it's probably something to do with Ajax.ActionLink? Examples I see deal with submitting and saving data.</p>
  
  <p>Richard</p>