MVC4: DateTime column sorting in asp.net mvc webgrid - asp.net-mvc-4

Question

I have been trying to sort DateTime column in asp.net mvc webgrid.
Here is my code:
grid.Column(header: "Product Purchased Date",columnName:"PurchasedDate" canSort: true,format: #<text>
#item.PurchasedDate.ToString("MM/dd/yyy")</text>
when i tried using above code i am getting this errors:
cannot convert from 'lambda expression' to
'System.Func'
The best overloaded method match for System.Web.Helpers.WebGrid.Column(string, string, System.Func, string, bool)' has some invalid arguments.
if i apply the above code without using columName i am unable to perform sorting.
Apologize if i missed anything.

Answer 1

I'd recommend that, if you want to sort it as a string, add a function within your Model object that returns the value as a string instead of converting it inline. So there would be a field such as PurchasedDateAsString on the object.
For instance this is something I used in a recent project. The field DateRange is returned as a string and can be sorted upon just like it was a "base" field:
public class PeriodView
{
[Key]
public int PeriodId { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Number { get; set; }
public DateTime StartDate { get; set; }
public DateTime EndDate { get; set; }
public int Year { get; set; }
public string Month { get; set; }
public string DateRange
{
get
{
var start = String.Format("{1}-{0}",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.DateTimeFormat.GetMonthName(StartDate.Month).Substring(0, 3),
StartDate.Day);
var end = String.Format("{1}-{0}",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.DateTimeFormat.GetMonthName(EndDate.Month).Substring(0, 3),
EndDate.Day);
return String.Format("{0} to {1}", start, end);
}
}
}

Answer 2

If you convert DateTime to string and format it, the WebGrid will sort the column as a string, which is not correct for DateTime Format Column expected result.