.NET CORE incorrect controller routing

I have a problem with controller actions not returning views. They are looking in the wrong area.

I'm new to core but I've tried to read up online for material and I'm seeing a lot of Global.asax.cs, App_Start files etc that I'm not seeing in my created project.

My problem is:

I created a project, implemented Areas like so:

As an example, in CommonController (which has 'Area("Common") area annotation) I have a return view method

        public ActionResult RoadMap()
        {
            return View();
        } 

With the actionlink of:

    @Html.ActionLink("Roadmap", "RoadMap", "Common")</span>

But when I access the link, it tries to look in "https://localhost:44325/Home/Common/RoadMap"

My startup code contains:

    app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
            {
                endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
                  name: "Account",
                  pattern: "{area:exists}/{controller=Account}/{action}/{id?}");
                endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
                  name: "Common",
                  pattern: "{area:exists}/{controller=Common}/{action}/{id?}");
                endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
                  name: "Email",
                  pattern: "{area:exists}/{controller=Email}/{action}/{id?}");
                endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
                name: "default",
                pattern: "{area=Home}/{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
                endpoints.MapRazorPages();
            });

I've tried looking for resources online but I'm at a loss with moving forwards.

The problem is with the action link here. Since you did not mention Area, the default route of Home was selected.

The Actionlink format should be as below:

@Html.ActionLink("Link Text", "ActionName", "ControllerName", new { Area = "AreaName" }, new{})

In you case it should be :

@Html.ActionLink("Roadmap", "RoadMap", "Common", new {Area = "Common"}, new{})

Official Microsoft Documentation :https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.mvc.viewfeatures.htmlhelper.actionlink?view=aspnetcore-6.0