How to Serialize Geotab IDs using C# SDK?

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How to Serialize Geotab IDs using C# SDK?

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DFenn-1143

Original Poster

The Id properties within Geotab Entities are being serialized as empty.

Below is an example of a serialized DriverChangeSearch object:

{

"FromDate":"2025-11-13T00:00:00Z",

"ToDate":"2025-11-20T14:04:32.5828111Z",

"UserSearch":{"Id":{}}

}

Code:

public string Serialize(object value)
{
	try
	{
		if (value.GetType().ToString().Contains("Geotab.Checkmate"))
		{
			JsonSerializerSettings settings = new JsonSerializerSettings()
			{
				ReferenceLoopHandling = ReferenceLoopHandling.Ignore,
				NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore
			};
			return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(value, settings);
		}
	}
	catch (Exception ex)
	{
		return $"Serialization Failed: {ex.Message}";
	}
	return String.Empty;
}

/eeidfn

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Top Answers

DarenPorter-1148

Edited by DarenPorter-1148

IDs are objects in the C# SDK, so JSON libraries like Newtonsoft won't automatically serialize them to strings by default. It will try to serialize the public properties of the object as a JSON object, but because ID has no public properties, you get the empty object ("{}").

You have a few options - you can either implement your own custom JsonConverter to handle IDs correctly:

public class GeotabIdConverter : JsonConverter
{
	public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object? value, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        // Id implements a .ToString() that returns the actual ID value
        writer.WriteValue(value?.ToString());
    }
 
    public override object? ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object? existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        var value = reader.Value?.ToString();
 
        return string.IsNullOrEmpty(value) ? Id.Null : Id.Create(value);
    }
 
    public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
    {
        return objectType.Namespace?.Contains("Geotab") == true &&
               objectType.Name.Contains("Id", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
    }
}
 
// Then how you would use it
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
    ReferenceLoopHandling = ReferenceLoopHandling.Ignore,
    NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore,
    Converters = { new GeotabIdConverter() }
}
 
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(value, settings);

That outputs the following:

{
    "FromDate": "2025-11-20T15:05:08.9504469Z",
    "ToDate": "2025-11-20T15:05:08.9504904Z",
    "UserSearch": {
        "Id": "TestId"
    }
}

Or, if you know you're writing Geotab objects and want it formatted in the same way the SDK does, you can use the GeotabJsonSerializer directly:

// You'll need this using statement
using Geotab.Checkmate.Serialization;
 
// ... rest of your code
 
return GeotabJsonSerializer.Instance.ObjectToJson(value);

Which results in this output with slightly different formatting:

{
    "fromDate": "2025-11-20T15:05:08.950Z",
    "toDate": "2025-11-20T15:05:08.950Z",
    "userSearch": {
        "id": "TestId"
    }
}

Best Answer

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