VisualTreeHelper for Xamarin.Forms

Here’s my implementation for GetParent and GetChildren:

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public static class VisualTreeHelper {     public static T GetParent(this Element element) where T : Element     {         if (element is T)         {             return element as T;         }         else         {             if (element.Parent != null)             {                 return element.Parent.GetParent();             }               return default(T);         }     }               public static IEnumerable GetChildren(this Element element) where T : Element     {         var properties = element.GetType().GetRuntimeProperties();           // try to parse the Content property         var contentProperty = properties.FirstOrDefault(w => w.Name == "Content");         if (contentProperty != null)         {             var content = contentProperty.GetValue(element) as Element;             if (content != null)             {                 if (content is T)                 {                     yield return content as T;                 }                 foreach (var child in content.GetChildren())                 {                     yield return child;                 }             }         }         else         {             // try to parse the Children property             var childrenProperty = properties.FirstOrDefault(w => w.Name == "Children");             if (childrenProperty != null)             {                 // loop through children                 IEnumerable children = childrenProperty.GetValue(element) as IEnumerable;                 foreach (var child in children)                 {                     var childVisualElement = child as Element;                     if (childVisualElement != null)                     {                         // return match                         if (childVisualElement is T)                         {                             yield return childVisualElement as T;                         }                           // return recursive results of children                         foreach (var childVisual in childVisualElement.GetChildren())                         {                             yield return childVisual;                         }                     }                 }             }         }     } }

As the VisualTreeHelper is implemented as a static class, it can be used stand-alone or as extension methods on an object:

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// from within user control...   Page page = null; StackLayout stack = this.FindByName("myStack");   // utility class page = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(stack);   // using extension method page = stack.GetParent();

Well, that's it for now. My next post will show how a practical example.

Happy coding.