Sneak Peek: .NET MAUI 2025 Volume 2

TL;DR:.NET MAUI developers can now solve complex UI challenges with Essential Studio^® 2025 Volume 2’s new Color Picker and DockLayout controls, plus enhanced DataGrid features including row templates and clipboard operations. These .NET MAUI controls 2025 updates reduce development time by 60-80% while maintaining cross-platform consistency across stable .NET framework versions.

We’re thrilled to unveil Essential Studio^® 2025 Volume 2, our latest release packed with enhancements and new additions tailored for .NET MAUI developers. This update continues our focus on making cross-platform app development more productive and enjoyable.

In this release, we’re introducing two brand-new controls that address the most requested developer needs: The Color Picker, designed for intuitive color selection, and the DockLayout, which brings powerful layout flexibility to your app’s UI. These additions aim to simplify common UI design challenges while giving you more control over the app experience.

Alongside these, we’ve made several improvements across existing controls based on real-world developer feedback from over 10,000 active Syncfusion^® .NET MAUI developers.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s new in the .NET MAUI controls suite!

Introducing the new Color Picker control

The .NET MAUI Color Picker addresses a critical gap in cross-platform color selection UIs . Previously, developers had to build custom color pickers from scratch or rely on platform-specific implementations that broke UI consistency.

The .NET MAUI Color Picker is a versatile UI component that allows users to select colors from various color palettes or a spectrum. It’s particularly useful in design applications, drawing tools, theming systems, or any customization scenarios within .NET MAUI applications.

Key features that solve developer challenges

Color selection modes: Easily switch between palette and spectrum color modes for diverse color selection options.
Custom color palette: Users can add or remove their own custom colors to enhance personalization.
Manual entry: Supports direct input of color values in RGB, HSL, and HEX formats for precise color specification.
Opacity control: Allows users to adjust the transparency level of a selected color to meet specific design requirements.
Recent colors panel: Automatically records and displays a list of recently selected colors for quick reuse and improved workflow efficiency.
Theme adaptation: Seamlessly adapts to the system or app’s current theme, ensuring visual consistency across the user interface.
No color option: Includes an option to select No Color, allowing users to remove any previously selected colors.
Interaction states: The color picker can be programmatically toggled to prevent or allow user interaction, offering developers greater control over UI behavior.

Common use cases for Color Picker

Design and drawing apps (digital art, photo editing).
Enterprise customization (branding, theme selection).
Data visualization (chart color schemes).
Gaming applications (character customization).

Color selection options in .NET MAUI Color Picker

.NET MAUI Color Picker

Brand new DockLayout control

Layout management is one of the biggest challenges in cross-platform development . Developers often struggle with creating responsive layouts that work consistently across different screen sizes and orientations. The DockLayout control eliminates these headaches .

The .NET MAUI DockLayout control is a flexible and powerful layout panel that arranges its child elements by docking them to the top, left, right, and bottom of the container. Child elements are docked in the order they are declared, and the layout automatically arranges them accordingly. This layout is ideal for creating structured UIs such as toolbars, navigation drawers, headers and footers, side panels, and main content regions.

Key features that improve development speed

Dock position: Child elements can be precisely positioned at the top, left, right, or bottom. This feature provides unparalleled control over the elements’ alignment, essential for creating well-structured UIs.
Adaptive expansion of the last child: The layout can automatically expand the last child element to occupy any unused area within the container. This feature is crucial for dynamic layout designs that require fluid adaptability across different screen sizes and orientations.
Customizable spacing: Spacing between docked elements is customizable, allowing developers to manage the layout’s aesthetic by adjusting horizontal and vertical spaces as needed.

.NET MAUI DockLayout

Enhanced DataGrid features

The .NET MAUI DataGrid will deliver the following new user-friendly features:

Row template customization

Row template: Allows users to present detailed content for each row using the TemplateViewDefinition with custom .NET MAUI controls.
Developer impact: No more worrying about complex cell renderers or custom drawing code. Simply define your template and let the DataGrid handle the rest.

Row template in .NET MAUI DataGrid

Seamless data exchange

Clipboard operation: Users can perform clipboard operations such as cut, copy, and paste between the DataGrid and external applications like Notepad and Excel.
Business value: End users can seamlessly move data between your application and other tools, improving productivity and user satisfaction.

Clipboard operation feature in .NET MAUI DataGrid

State management made simple

Serialization and deserialization: Enables saving and restoring settings using DataContractSerializer.
Developer benefit: Implement user preferences, view states, and configuration persistence without writing custom serialization code.

Serialization and deserialization feature in .NET MAUI DataGrid

Advanced Kanban workflows

The .NET MAUI Kanban now provides enhanced workflow management capabilities:

Multi-category workflows for Kanban columns: Enables seamless card transitions across multiple categories within the same column or between columns, helping organize and manage complex workflows more efficiently.
Perfect for: Project management applications, task tracking systems, agile development tools, and process automation interfaces.

Enhanced workflow management in .NET MAUI Kanban

PDF Viewer enhancements

Document management applications require flexible annotation and customization options . The .NET MAUI PDF Viewer will allow users to:

Add views as custom stamps: Users can programmatically add views (UI elements) to a PDF document as custom stamps. While saving, the view is converted into an image and embedded into the PDF.
Use cases: Digital signatures, approval workflows, form annotations, and custom branding overlays.

Adding views as custom stamps in .NET MAUI PDF Viewer

Enhanced Picker controls

User input optimization is crucial for mobile applications. The .NET MAUI Picker now supports:

Infinite scrolling experience.

Looping: Ensures that once the last item is reached, the picker automatically returns to the first, alternating between forward and backward passes. This feature applies to all pickers, including the Date Picker, Time Picker, and Date Time Picker.

Looping feature .NET MAUI Picker

Complete customization control

Picker template support: Allows developers to apply custom templates to the header, footer, and column header of all picker controls, including the Date Picker, Time Picker, and DateTime Picker.
Developer advantage: Match your application’s design system perfectly without compromising functionality.

Picker template support in .NET MAUI Picker

Interactive TreeView

Hierarchical data management gets more intuitive with the .NET MAUI TreeView’s new capability:

Drag-and-drop reordering: Users can now reorder items by dragging and dropping them within the tree structure.
Applications: File managers, organizational charts, menu builders, and category management systems.

.NET MAUI TreeView

FAQs

Q1: How much development time can these new MAUI controls save?
Using the Syncfusion .NET MAUI controls in the 2025 Volume 2 can reduce development time by 60-80% compared to building custom solutions from scratch.

Q2: Are the new Color Picker and DockLayout compatible with existing MAUI projects?
Yes, both controls are fully backward compatible and can be integrated into existing .NET MAUI applications without breaking changes.

Q3: What’s the performance impact of the enhanced DataGrid features?
All enhancements are built with performance optimization in mind, including virtualization and efficient memory management for large datasets.

Q4: How do these controls compare to competing MAUI UI libraries?
These .NET MAUI controls’ 2025 features offer enterprise-grade performance, comprehensive documentation, and dedicated support that many open-source alternatives lack.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! The Essential Studio^® 2025 Volume 2 release is gearing up to be a big deal. Alongside exciting new features, we’re also squashing those pesky bugs to make your Syncfusion^® .NET MAUI controls experience even better.

For timely updates on the release, we invite you to stay connected through our official YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn channels. You can also share your insights or suggestions in the comments section below.

You can also reach out to us through our support forum, support portal, or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!

This article was originally published at Syncfusion.com.

Sneak Peek: .NET MAUI 2025 Volume 2

Introducing the new Color Picker control