This article guides you on how to animate the content when switching between pages in the .NET MAUI NavigationDrawer.

By using built-in MAUI animation methods such as FadeTo, TranslateTo, and ScaleTo, you can create smooth transitions for content when navigating between different pages.

Here’s a code snippet showcasing how to implement slide animation with the TranslateTo method for the navigation drawer content:

XAML

<navigationdrawer:SfNavigationDrawer x:Name="navigationDrawer">
    <navigationdrawer:SfNavigationDrawer.DrawerSettings>
        <!-- DrawerSettings Configuration -->
        <navigationdrawer:DrawerSettings >
            <!-- Drawer Header View -->
            <!-- ... -->
            <!-- Drawer Content View -->
            <navigationdrawer:DrawerSettings.DrawerContentView>
                <!-- ScrollView with VerticalStackLayout for menu items -->
                <ScrollView>
                    <VerticalStackLayout Spacing="10" Padding="5,0">
                        <Border StrokeThickness="0" x:Name="inboxEffectsBorder">
                            <Border.StrokeShape>
                                <RoundRectangle CornerRadius="30"/>
                            </Border.StrokeShape>
                            <core:SfEffectsView x:Name="inboxEffects" RippleBackground="#ab56e3">
                                <core:SfEffectsView.GestureRecognizers>
                                    <TapGestureRecognizer 
                                    Tapped="OnInboxTapGestureRecognizerTapped"/>
                                </core:SfEffectsView.GestureRecognizers>
                                <Grid Padding="20,5,10,5" HeightRequest="48">
                                    <!-- ... -->
                                </Grid>
                            </core:SfEffectsView>
                        </Border>
                        <!-- ... -->                        
                    </VerticalStackLayout>
                </ScrollView>
            </navigationdrawer:DrawerSettings.DrawerContentView>
        </navigationdrawer:DrawerSettings>
    </navigationdrawer:SfNavigationDrawer.DrawerSettings>
</navigationdrawer:SfNavigationDrawer>

C#

public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
{
    public MainPage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        Initialize();           
    }  

    private async void AnimateContentChange(View newContent)
    {
        // Slide out current content to the left
        if (navigationDrawer.ContentView != null)
        {
            // Slide out over 250ms
            await navigationDrawer.ContentView.TranslateTo(-this.Width, 0, 250);  
        }
    
        // Set the new content
        navigationDrawer.ContentView = newContent;
    
        // Slide in the new content from the right
        navigationDrawer.ContentView.TranslationX = this.Width;
        
        // Slide in over 250ms
        await navigationDrawer.ContentView.TranslateTo(0, 0, 250);  
    }
    
    private void Initialize()
    {
        AnimateContentChange(new Inbox().Content);
        // Additional initialization logic
    }

    private void OnInboxTapGestureRecognizerTapped(object? sender, TappedEventArgs e)
    {
        AnimateContentChange(new Inbox().Content);
    }

    // Additional tap handlers for other menu items
}

• Slide Out Current Content: The existing content slides out to the left using the TranslateTo method.
• Set New Content: The ContentView of the navigationDrawer is updated with the new page content.
• Slide In New Content: The new content slides in from the right using the TranslateTo method.

This approach provides a visually appealing transition between pages.

To learn more about .NET MAUI Animations, please refer to the below blog: Learn Performing Animation in .NET MAUI

Output

Requirements to run the demo

To run the demo, refer to System Requirements for .NET MAUI

Troubleshooting:

Path too long exception

If you are facing path too long exception when building this example project, close Visual Studio and rename the repository to short and build the project.