Xamarin.Forms - Support Dark Mode

Introduction

 

Xamarin.Forms code runs on multiple platforms - each of which has its own filesystem. This means that reading and writing files is most easily done using the native file APIs on each platform. Alternatively, embedded resources are a simpler solution to distribute data files with an app.

 

Dark Mode

 

Nowadays iOS and Android apps should support both Dark and Light Theme.

 

 

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2017 or later (Windows or Mac)

Setting up a Xamarin.Forms Project

 

Start by creating a new Xamarin.Forms project. You wíll learn more by going through the steps yourself.

 

Create a new or existing Xamarin forms(.Net standard) Project. With Android and iOS Platform.

 

 

Create a Theme

 

Create a ResourceDictionary for both Light and Dark Theme.

 

DarkTheme.xaml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="DarkModePOC.Common.Styles.DarkTheme">

    <Color x:Key="BackgroundColor">#FF000000</Color>
    <Color x:Key="FrameColor">#FF1f1f1f</Color>
    <Color x:Key="TextPrimaryColor">#B0FFFFFF</Color>
    <Color x:Key="TextSecondaryColor">#eFeFeF</Color>

    <Style x:Key="Title" TargetType="Label">
        <Setter Property="TextColor" Value="{StaticResource TextPrimaryColor}"/>
        <Setter Property="FontAttributes" Value="Bold"/>
        <Setter Property="FontSize" Value="Large"/>
    </Style>
</ResourceDictionary>

LightTheme.xaml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="DarkModePOC.Common.Styles.LightTheme">

    <Color x:Key="BackgroundColor">#FFe0e0e0</Color>
    <Color x:Key="FrameColor">#FFFFFFFF</Color>
    <Color x:Key="TextPrimaryColor">#B0000000</Color>
    <Color x:Key="TextSecondaryColor">#858585</Color>
    <Style x:Key="Title" TargetType="Label">
        <Setter Property="TextColor" Value="{StaticResource TextPrimaryColor}"/>
        <Setter Property="FontSize" Value="Large"/>
    </Style>
</ResourceDictionary>

Set App Theme

 

In app.xaml you can set the default theme.

 

App.xaml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Application xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             xmlns:d="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms/design"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             x:Class="DarkModePOC.App">
    <Application.Resources>
        <ResourceDictionary Source="Common/Styles/LightTheme.xaml" />
    </Application.Resources>
</Application>

Now, Create a Enum in App.xaml.cs

public partial class App : Application
    {
        public static Theme AppTheme { get; set; }
        public App()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            MainPage = new NavigationPage(new MainPage());
        }
        protected override void OnStart()
        {
        }

        protected override void OnSleep()
        {
        }

        protected override void OnResume()
        {
        }
        public enum Theme
        {
            Light,
            Dark
        }
    }

Create a Interface

 

Create a interface for set Theme at runtime.

public interface IAppTheme
    {
        void SetAppTheme(Theme theme);
    }

iOS Implementation

 

Below code to change the Theme at runtime.

 

ThemeHelper.cs

[assembly:Dependency(typeof(DarkModePOC.iOS.ThemeHelper))]
namespace DarkModePOC.iOS
{
    public class ThemeHelper : IAppTheme
    {
        public void SetAppTheme(App.Theme theme)
        {
            SetTheme(theme);
        }
        void SetTheme(Theme mode)
        {

            if (mode == Theme.Dark)
            {
                if (App.AppTheme == Theme.Dark)
                    return;
                App.Current.Resources = new DarkTheme();
            }
            else
            {
                if (App.AppTheme != Theme.Dark)
                    return;
                App.Current.Resources = new LightTheme();
            }
            App.AppTheme = mode;
        }

    }
}

Android Implementation

 

Below code to change the Theme at runtime.

 

ThemeHelper.cs

[assembly: Dependency(typeof(DarkModePOC.Droid.ThemeHelper))]
namespace DarkModePOC.Droid
{
    public class ThemeHelper : IAppTheme
    {
        public void SetAppTheme(App.Theme theme)
        {

            SetTheme(theme);
        }
        void SetTheme(Theme mode)
        {
            if (mode == Theme.Dark)
            {
                if (App.AppTheme == Theme.Dark)
                    return;
                App.Current.Resources = new DarkTheme();
            }
            else
            {
                if (App.AppTheme != Theme.Dark)
                    return;
                App.Current.Resources = new LightTheme();
            }
            App.AppTheme = mode;
        }
    }
}

Consuming the Styles

 

Now, you can use the resource "DynamicResource BackgroundColor" like this.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             xmlns:d="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms/design"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             BackgroundColor="{DynamicResource BackgroundColor}"
             x:Class="DarkModePOC.MainPage">

    <StackLayout HorizontalOptions="Center" VerticalOptions="Center">
        <!-- Place new controls here -->
        <Switch x:Name="themeToggle" IsToggled="False" Toggled="Switch_Toggled"/>
        <Label TextColor="{DynamicResource TextSecondaryColor}" Text=" sample"/>
        <Button HorizontalOptions="Center" VerticalOptions="Center" TextColor="Red" Text="Next Page" Clicked="Button_Clicked" />
    </StackLayout>

</ContentPage>

MainPage.Xaml.cs

private void Switch_Toggled(object sender, ToggledEventArgs e)
        {
            var toggleStatus = themeToggle.IsToggled;
            SetTheme(toggleStatus);

        }

        void SetTheme(bool status)
        {
            Theme themeRequested;
            if (status)
            {
                 themeRequested = Theme.Dark;
            }
            else
            {
                themeRequested = Theme.Light;
            }

            DependencyService.Get<IAppTheme>().SetAppTheme(themeRequested);
        }

Run - DarkMode

 

 

LightMode 

 

 

I hope you have understood  how to support Dark Mode in Xamarin.Forms..

 

Thanks for reading. Please share your comments and feedback.

 

Happy Coding :)