Xamarin.Forms - Working with CarouselView

In this blog post, you will learn how to use CarouselView in Xamarin.Forms.

Introduction

CollectionView

Xamarin.Forms code runs on multiple platforms - each of which has its own filesystem. This means that reading and writing files is most easily done using the native file APIs on each platform. Alternatively, embedded resources are a simpler solution to distribute data files with an app.

CarouselView

CarouselView is available in Xamarin.Forms 4.3. However, it is currently experimental and can only be used by adding the following line of code to your AppDelegate class on iOS, or to your MainActivity class on Android, before calling Forms.Init:

Forms.SetFlags("CollectionView_Experimental");

view raw gistfile1.txt hosted with ❤ by GitHub

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/xamarin-forms/user-interface/carouselview/
https://github.com/pauldipietro/CarouselViewChallenge

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2017 or later (Windows or Mac)
• Xamarin.Forms 4.3 Updated

Setting up a Xamarin.Forms Project

Start by creating a new Xamarin.Forms project. You wíll learn more by going through the steps yourself.

Visual Studio 2019 has more options in the opening window. Clone or check out the code from any repository or, open a project or solution for your computer.

Now, you need to click "Create a new project".

Now, filter by Project Type: Mobile

Choose the Mobile App (Xamarin. forms) project under C# and Mobile.

Name your app. You probably want your project and solution to use the same name as your app. Put it on your preferred location for projects and click "Create".

Now, select the blank app and target platforms - Android, iOS and Windows (UWP).

Subsequently, go to the solution. In there, you get all the files and sources of your project (.NET Standard). Now, select the XAML page and double-click to open the MainPage.Xaml page.

You now have a basic Xamarin.Forms app. Click the Play button to try it out.

Note:

Before you initialize Xamarin.Forms in your MainActivity.cs and AppDelegate, add the following flag.

Android Implementation

MainActivity.cs

	protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
	{
	TabLayoutResource = Resource.Layout.Tabbar;
	ToolbarResource = Resource.Layout.Toolbar;
	base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);
	Forms.SetFlags("CollectionView_Experimental");
	Xamarin.Essentials.Platform.Init(this, savedInstanceState);
	global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init(this, savedInstanceState);
	LoadApplication(new App());
	}

view raw MainActivity.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

iOS Implementation

AppDelegate.cs

	public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
	{
	Forms.SetFlags("CollectionView_Experimental");
	global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init();
	LoadApplication(new App());
	return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
	}

view raw AppDelegate.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Create a Model

Create a Model to Bind the Collections.

	public class BirdsModel
	{
	public string Title { get; set; }
	public ImageSource ImagePath { get; set; }
	public string Description { get; set; }
	}

view raw BirdsModel.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

ViewModel

Now, Bind the Collection to CarouselView. Similar CollectionView and ListView.

	using CarouselViewChallenge.Models;
	namespace CarouselViewChallenge.ViewModels
	{
	public class CarouselPageViewModel: INotifyPropertyChanged
	{
	public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
	private ObservableCollection<BirdsModel> _birds;
	private string _pageTitle;
	public CarouselPageViewModel()
	{
	_pageTitle = "CarouselViewChallege";
	_birds = new ObservableCollection<BirdsModel>();
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Asian Paradise Flycatcher", ImagePath = "Asian-Paradise-Flycatcher.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Sarus Crane", ImagePath = "Sarus-Crane.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Himalayan Monal", ImagePath = "Himalayan-Monal.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Indian Peafowl", ImagePath = "Indian-Peafowl.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird", ImagePath = "Mrs.-Gould’s-Sunbird.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher", ImagePath = "Oriental-Dwarf-Kingfisher.jpg" });
	_birds.Add(new BirdsModel { Title = "Red Headed Trogon", ImagePath = "Red-Headed-Trogon.jpg" });
	}
	public ObservableCollection<BirdsModel> Birds
	{
	get
	{
	return _birds;
	}
	set
	{
	if (_birds != value)
	{
	_birds = value;
	OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Birds"));
	}
	}
	}
	public string Title
	{
	get
	{
	return _pageTitle;
	}
	set
	{
	if (_pageTitle != value)
	{
	_pageTitle = value;
	OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Title"));
	}
	}
	}
	private void OnPropertyChanged(PropertyChangedEventArgs eventArgs)
	{
	PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, eventArgs);
	}
	}
	}

view raw CarouselPageViewModel.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Setting up the User Interface

Go to MainPage.Xaml and write the following code. I just created one CarouselView it's like a collectionview

https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/xamarin-forms-collectionview2/

MainPage.xaml

	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
	<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
	xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
	xmlns:d="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms/design"
	xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
	mc:Ignorable="d" Title="{Binding Title}"
	x:Class="CarouselViewChallenge.Views.CarouselViewChallengePage">
	<ContentPage.Content>
	<StackLayout>
	<CarouselView ItemsSource="{Binding Birds}" PeekAreaInsets="50">
	<CarouselView.ItemTemplate>
	<DataTemplate>
	<StackLayout>
	<Frame BorderColor="Gray" Margin="8" HasShadow="True" HeightRequest="250" CornerRadius="20" VerticalOptions="CenterAndExpand">
	<StackLayout>
	<Image Source="{Binding ImagePath}"/>
	<Label Text="{Binding Title}" FontSize="24" FontAttributes="Bold" HorizontalTextAlignment="Center"/>
	</StackLayout>
	</Frame>
	</StackLayout>
	</DataTemplate>
	</CarouselView.ItemTemplate>
	</CarouselView>
	</StackLayout>
	</ContentPage.Content>
	</ContentPage>

view raw MainPage.xaml hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Click the "Play" button to try it out.

I hope you have understood how to use CarouselView in Xamarin.Forms..

Thanks for reading. Please share your comments and feedback. Happy Coding :)