MAUI Community Toolkit Converters

Converters

The .NET MAUI Community Toolkit provides a set of useful converters that can transform data from one type to another. These are invaluable for data binding scenarios, simplifying the process of displaying and manipulating data in your MAUI applications.

Commonly Used Converters

BoolToObjectConverter

Converts a boolean value to an object. Useful for conditionally showing or hiding elements.

Value when true
Value when false

InverseBoolConverter

Inverts a boolean value. If the input is true, it returns false, and vice versa.

e.g., ShowButton = !IsBusy

InvertBooleanConverter

Similar to InverseBoolConverter, providing an alternative name.

ColorAnimationConverter

Animates a color change between two specified colors.

IntToBoolConverter

Converts an integer to a boolean. Typically returns true if the integer is non-zero.

StringIsNullOrEmptyConverter

Converts a string to a boolean, indicating whether the string is null or empty.

StringToColorConverter

Converts a string representation of a color (e.g., "#RRGGBB" or color names) to a Color object.

e.g., TextColor="{Binding Status, Converter={StaticResource StringToColorConverter}}"

VisibilityConverter

Converts various data types (e.g., boolean, null, empty string) to a Visibility enum value.

DateTimeOffsetConverter

Converts a DateTimeOffset to a formatted string.

TimeSpanToSecondsConverter

Converts a TimeSpan to the total number of seconds.

DoubleToIntConverter

Converts a double to an int, often by rounding.

How to Use Converters

Converters are typically used in XAML for data binding. You need to declare the converter as a resource and then reference it in your binding expression.

Example: Using `StringToColorConverter`

First, define the converter in your Resources section:

<ContentPage.Resources>
    <toolkit:StringToColorConverter x:Key="StringToColorConverter" />
</ContentPage.Resources>

Then, use it in your binding:

<Label Text="Dynamic Color"
               TextColor="{Binding Status, Converter={StaticResource StringToColorConverter}}" />

In this example, if the Status property in your ViewModel is "Red", the Label's text color will become red.

Custom Converters

If the provided converters don't meet your needs, you can easily create your own by implementing the IValueConverter interface from the Microsoft.Maui.Converters namespace.

using Microsoft.Maui.Converters;
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class MyCustomConverter : IValueConverter
{
    public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        // Logic to convert value from source to target
        return value; // Placeholder
    }

    public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
    {
        // Logic to convert value back from target to source
        return value; // Placeholder
    }
}

Remember to add the necessary NuGet package for the .NET MAUI Community Toolkit:

dotnet add package CommunityToolkit.Maui