Skill

maui-collectionview

Name: maui-collectionview
Author: .NET (Microsoft)

implement CollectionView in .NET MAUI

Published by .NET (Microsoft) Updated Jul 12

Covers MAUI .NET Mobile UI Components

Description

Guidance for implementing CollectionView in .NET MAUI apps — data display, layouts (list & grid), selection, grouping, scrolling, empty views, templates, incremental loading, swipe actions, and pull-to-refresh. USE FOR: "CollectionView", "list view", "grid layout", "data template", "item template", "grouping", "pull to refresh", "incremental loading", "swipe actions", "empty view", "selection mode", "scroll to item", displaying scrollable data, replacing ListView. DO NOT USE FOR: simple static layouts without scrollable data (use Grid or StackLayout), map pin lists (use Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Maps), table-based data entry forms, or non-MAUI list controls.

SKILL.md

CollectionView — .NET MAUI

CollectionView is the primary control for displaying scrollable lists and grids of data in .NET MAUI. It replaces ListView with better performance, flexible layouts, and no ViewCell requirement.

When to Use

Displaying a scrollable list or grid of data items
Binding a collection of objects to a templated item layout
Adding selection (single or multiple), grouping, or pull-to-refresh
Implementing infinite scroll / incremental loading
Showing swipe actions on list items
Displaying an empty state when no data is available

When Not to Use

Static layouts with a fixed number of items — use Grid or StackLayout directly
Map pin lists — use the Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Maps NuGet package
Table-based data entry forms — use standard form controls
Simple text-only lists with no interaction — consider BindableLayout on a StackLayout

Inputs

A data source (typically ObservableCollection<T>) bound to ItemsSource
A DataTemplate defining how each item renders
Optional: layout configuration, selection mode, grouping model, empty view

Basic Setup

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
    <CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
        <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:Item">
            <HorizontalStackLayout Padding="8" Spacing="8">
                <Image Source="{Binding Icon}" WidthRequest="40" HeightRequest="40" />
                <Label Text="{Binding Name}" VerticalOptions="Center" />
            </HorizontalStackLayout>
        </DataTemplate>
    </CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
</CollectionView>

Key rules:

Bind ItemsSource to an ObservableCollection<T> so the UI updates on add/remove.
Each item template root must be a Layout or View — never use ViewCell.
Always set x:DataType on DataTemplate for compiled bindings.

Layouts

Set ItemsLayout to control arrangement. Default is VerticalList.

Layout	XAML value
Vertical list	`VerticalList` (default)
Horizontal list	`HorizontalList`
Vertical grid	`GridItemsLayout` with `Orientation="Vertical"`
Horizontal grid	`GridItemsLayout` with `Orientation="Horizontal"`

Grid Layout

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
    <CollectionView.ItemsLayout>
        <GridItemsLayout Orientation="Vertical"
                         Span="2"
                         VerticalItemSpacing="8"
                         HorizontalItemSpacing="8" />
    </CollectionView.ItemsLayout>
    <CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
        <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:Item">
            <Border Padding="8" StrokeThickness="0">
                <VerticalStackLayout>
                    <Image Source="{Binding Image}" HeightRequest="120" Aspect="AspectFill" />
                    <Label Text="{Binding Name}" FontAttributes="Bold" />
                </VerticalStackLayout>
            </Border>
        </DataTemplate>
    </CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
</CollectionView>

Horizontal List

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}"
                ItemsLayout="HorizontalList" />

Selection

Selection Mode

Mode	Property to bind	Binding mode
`None`	—	—
`Single`	`SelectedItem`	`TwoWay`
`Multiple`	`SelectedItems`	`OneWay`

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}"
                SelectionMode="Single"
                SelectedItem="{Binding CurrentItem, Mode=TwoWay}"
                SelectionChangedCommand="{Binding ItemSelectedCommand}" />

For Multiple selection, bind SelectedItems (type IList<object>):

<CollectionView SelectionMode="Multiple"
                SelectedItems="{Binding ChosenItems, Mode=OneWay}" />

Selected Visual State

Highlight selected items using VisualStateManager:

<CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
    <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:Item">
        <Grid Padding="8">
            <VisualStateManager.VisualStateGroups>
                <VisualStateGroup Name="CommonStates">
                    <VisualState Name="Normal">
                        <VisualState.Setters>
                            <Setter Property="BackgroundColor" Value="Transparent" />
                        </VisualState.Setters>
                    </VisualState>
                    <VisualState Name="Selected">
                        <VisualState.Setters>
                            <Setter Property="BackgroundColor"
                                    Value="{AppThemeBinding Light={StaticResource Primary}, Dark={StaticResource PrimaryDark}}" />
                        </VisualState.Setters>
                    </VisualState>
                </VisualStateGroup>
            </VisualStateManager.VisualStateGroups>
            <Label Text="{Binding Name}" />
        </Grid>
    </DataTemplate>
</CollectionView.ItemTemplate>

Grouping

Create a group class inheriting from List<T>:

public class AnimalGroup : List<Animal>
{
    public string Name { get; }
    public AnimalGroup(string name, List<Animal> animals) : base(animals)
    {
        Name = name;
    }
}

Bind to ObservableCollection<AnimalGroup> and set IsGrouped="True":

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding AnimalGroups}"
                IsGrouped="True">
    <CollectionView.GroupHeaderTemplate>
        <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:AnimalGroup">
            <Label Text="{Binding Name}"
                   FontAttributes="Bold"
                   BackgroundColor="{StaticResource Gray100}"
                   Padding="8" />
        </DataTemplate>
    </CollectionView.GroupHeaderTemplate>
    <CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
        <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:Animal">
            <Label Text="{Binding Name}" Padding="16,4" />
        </DataTemplate>
    </CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
</CollectionView>

Pull-to-Refresh

Wrap CollectionView in a RefreshView. Set IsRefreshing back to false when done:

<RefreshView IsRefreshing="{Binding IsRefreshing}"
             Command="{Binding RefreshCommand}">
    <CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}" />
</RefreshView>

Incremental Loading (Infinite Scroll)

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}"
                RemainingItemsThreshold="5"
                RemainingItemsThresholdReachedCommand="{Binding LoadMoreCommand}" />

⚠️ Do NOT use with non-virtualizing layouts. LinearItemsLayout and GridItemsLayout support virtualization. Using BindableLayout on a StackLayout as an alternative to CollectionView has no virtualization, which triggers infinite threshold-reached events.

SwipeView — Binding from Inside DataTemplate

Commands inside a DataTemplate can't directly reach your ViewModel. Use RelativeSource AncestorType:

<CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
    <DataTemplate x:DataType="models:Item">
        <SwipeView>
            <SwipeView.RightItems>
                <SwipeItems>
                    <SwipeItem Text="Delete"
                               BackgroundColor="Red"
                               Command="{Binding BindingContext.DeleteCommand, Source={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type ContentPage}}}"
                               CommandParameter="{Binding}" />
                </SwipeItems>
            </SwipeView.RightItems>
            <Grid Padding="8">
                <Label Text="{Binding Name}" />
            </Grid>
        </SwipeView>
    </DataTemplate>
</CollectionView.ItemTemplate>

EmptyView

Shown when ItemsSource is empty or null.

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding SearchResults}"
                EmptyView="No items found." />

For a custom empty view, wrap in ContentView:

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding SearchResults}">
    <CollectionView.EmptyView>
        <ContentView>
            <VerticalStackLayout HorizontalOptions="Center" VerticalOptions="Center">
                <Image Source="empty_state.png" WidthRequest="120" />
                <Label Text="Nothing here yet" HorizontalTextAlignment="Center" />
            </VerticalStackLayout>
        </ContentView>
    </CollectionView.EmptyView>
</CollectionView>

Headers and Footers

<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
    <CollectionView.Header>
        <Label Text="Header" FontAttributes="Bold" Padding="8" />
    </CollectionView.Header>
    <CollectionView.Footer>
        <Label Text="Footer" FontAttributes="Italic" Padding="8" />
    </CollectionView.Footer>
</CollectionView>

Use HeaderTemplate / FooterTemplate when headers or footers are data-bound.

Scrolling

ScrollTo

Programmatically scroll by index or item:

// Scroll to index
collectionView.ScrollTo(index: 10, position: ScrollToPosition.Center, animate: true);

// Scroll to item
collectionView.ScrollTo(item: myItem, position: ScrollToPosition.MakeVisible, animate: true);

ScrollToPosition	Behavior
`MakeVisible`	Scrolls just enough to make the item visible
`Start`	Scrolls item to the start of the viewport
`Center`	Scrolls item to the center of the viewport
`End`	Scrolls item to the end of the viewport

Snap Points

<CollectionView.ItemsLayout>
    <LinearItemsLayout Orientation="Horizontal"
                       SnapPointsType="MandatorySingle"
                       SnapPointsAlignment="Center" />
</CollectionView.ItemsLayout>

SnapPointsType: None, Mandatory, MandatorySingle
SnapPointsAlignment: Start, Center, End

Performance Tips

Use MeasureFirstItem for uniform item sizes — significantly faster than MeasureAllItems:
```
<LinearItemsLayout Orientation="Vertical" ItemSizingStrategy="MeasureFirstItem" />
```
Always use ObservableCollection<T>, not List<T>. Swapping a List forces a full re-render.
Update collections on the UI thread — MainThread.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(() => Items.Add(item)).

Common Pitfalls

Issue	Fix
UI doesn't update when items change	Use `ObservableCollection<T>`, not `List<T>`.
App crashes or blank items	Never use `ViewCell` — use `Grid`, `StackLayout`, or any `View` as template root.
Items disappear or layout breaks	Always update `ItemsSource` and the collection on the UI thread (`MainThread.BeginInvokeOnMainThread`).
Incremental loading fires endlessly	Don't use `StackLayout` as layout; use `LinearItemsLayout` or `GridItemsLayout`.
EmptyView doesn't render correctly	Wrap custom empty views in `ContentView`.
Poor scroll performance	Use `MeasureFirstItem` sizing strategy for uniform item sizes.
Selected state not visible	Add `VisualState Name="Selected"` to the item template root element.
Binding errors in SwipeView commands	Use `RelativeSource AncestorType` to reach the ViewModel from inside the item template.
Using ListView instead of CollectionView	`CollectionView` replaces `ListView` — it has better performance, no `ViewCell`, and flexible layouts.

References

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