Utility Extensions

July 14, 2026 · View on GitHub

Small helpers that don't belong to a single control but show up everywhere in FmgLib.MauiMarkup code.

Color Helpers — `string` → `Color`

Hex strings convert directly, no Color.FromArgb noise:

"#FF3366".ToColor()          // auto-detects; works with #RGB, #RRGGBB, #AARRGGBB
"#804C3BCF".ToColorFromArgb()  // explicit ARGB channel order
"#4C3BCF80".ToColorFromRgba()  // explicit RGBA channel order

new Border().BackgroundColor("#1E1E2E".ToColor())

`Assign` / `InvokeOnElement`

Covered in depth in Object References; listed here for completeness:

new Entry().Assign(out var entry)                       // capture reference
new Entry().InvokeOnElement(e => e.Focus())             // arbitrary code mid-chain

Collection Helpers

`Add(configure)` — fluent chains inside collection initializers

Layouts and other IEnumerable bindable objects accept lambdas in collection initializers, letting you mix initializer syntax with fluent configuration:

new VerticalStackLayout
{
    new Label().Text("Row 1"),
    l => l.Spacing(12).Padding(16),      // Action<T> — configures the layout itself
    new Label().Text("Row 2"),
}

`AddRangeMarkup` — bulk-add to any collection property

Adds items to a collection-typed property (creating the collection if null), returning the owner for chaining:

grid.AddRangeMarkup(g => g.Children, view1, view2, view3);
picker.AddRangeMarkup(p => p.Items, "Small", "Medium", "Large");

Useful in helper methods that append to existing trees rather than rebuilding them.

Translation String Extensions

Code-side (non-binding) translations — see Localization (JSON) / RESX:

"Hello".ToTranslate()             // JSON translator, current culture
"Hello".ToTranslate("tr-TR")      // explicit culture
"Hello".ToTranslateResx()         // RESX translator
"Hello".ToTranslateResx("tr-TR")

Grid Definition Collections

The Auto / Star / Absolute builders exist both in the lambda form and as collection extensions — see Grid:

new Grid().ColumnDefinitions(new ColumnDefinitionCollection().Absolute(100).Star())

Style & VisualState Interop Helpers

For advanced scenarios that mix FmgLib styles with raw MAUI API:

Style style = myFmgStyle;                              // Style<T> → Style (implicit)
var groups = style.GetVisualStateGroupList();          // access/extend VSM groups
var common = groups.GetCommonStatesVisualStateGroup(); // the "CommonStates" group
groups.Add(new VisualState<Button>("Custom", e => e.Opacity(0.5)));  // add a single state

BindableProperty.Set(value) creates a Setter — used inside style/trigger initializers (Triggers):

Entry.TextColorProperty.Set(Colors.White)

`RegisterName` — MAUI name scopes

new Label().RegisterName("title", pageRoot)

Details in Object References.