How to make long press gesture in Xamarin Forms?

Question

Could you please let me know how can I recognize long press gesture in Xamarin Forms application?

A few days before I used TapGestureRecognizer

TapGestureRecognizer imageTap = new TapGestureRecognizer();
imageTap.Tapped += (sender, args) => this.OnClickImage;
image.GestureRecognizers.Add(imageTap);

But I don't know how to make long press gesture according to this thread from xamarin forum

It should looks something like this, but it does not work.

var dumpParam = new RelayGesture((g, x) => DisplayAlert("Title", "Hello message", "Cancel"));

book.Cover.SetValue(Gestures.InterestsProperty, new GestureCollection() {
    new GestureInterest
        {
            GestureType = GestureType.LongPress
            GestureCommand = // what should I set?
            GestureParameter = dumpParam
        }
 });

How to set my custom handler method?

Answer 1

You can do it cross platform way by attaching the below behavior, as long as it is Xamarin.Forms.Button or a sub-type of it.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Input;
using Xamarin.Forms;

namespace App.Controls.Behaviors
{
    public class LongPressBehavior : Behavior<Button>
    {
        private readonly object _syncObject = new object();
        private const int Duration = 1000;

        //timer to track long press
        private Timer _timer;
        //the timeout value for long press
        private readonly int _duration;
        //whether the button was released after press
        private volatile bool _isReleased;

        /// <summary>
        /// Occurs when the associated button is long pressed.
        /// </summary>
        public event EventHandler LongPressed;

        public static readonly BindableProperty CommandProperty = BindableProperty.Create(nameof(Command),
            typeof(ICommand), typeof(LongPressBehavior), default(ICommand));

        public static readonly BindableProperty CommandParameterProperty =
            BindableProperty.Create(nameof(CommandParameter), typeof(object), typeof(LongPressBehavior));

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the command parameter.
        /// </summary>
        public object CommandParameter
        {
            get => GetValue(CommandParameterProperty);
            set => SetValue(CommandParameterProperty, value);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the command.
        /// </summary>
        public ICommand Command
        {
            get => (ICommand)GetValue(CommandProperty);
            set => SetValue(CommandProperty, value);
        }

        protected override void OnAttachedTo(Button button)
        {
            base.OnAttachedTo(button);
            this.BindingContext = button.BindingContext;
            button.Pressed += Button_Pressed;
            button.Released += Button_Released;
        }

        protected override void OnDetachingFrom(Button button)
        {
            base.OnDetachingFrom(button);
            this.BindingContext = null;
            button.Pressed -= Button_Pressed;
            button.Released -= Button_Released;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// DeInitializes and disposes the timer.
        /// </summary>
        private void DeInitializeTimer()
        {
            lock (_syncObject)
            {
                if (_timer == null)
                {
                    return;
                }
                _timer.Change(Timeout.Infinite, Timeout.Infinite);
                _timer.Dispose();
                _timer = null;
                Debug.WriteLine("Timer disposed...");
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes the timer.
        /// </summary>
        private void InitializeTimer()
        {
            lock (_syncObject)
            {
                _timer = new Timer(Timer_Elapsed, null, _duration, Timeout.Infinite);
            }
        }

        private void Button_Pressed(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            _isReleased = false;
            InitializeTimer();
        }

        private void Button_Released(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            _isReleased = true;
            DeInitializeTimer();
        }

        protected virtual void OnLongPressed()
        {
            var handler = LongPressed;
            handler?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
            if (Command != null && Command.CanExecute(CommandParameter))
            {
                Command.Execute(CommandParameter);
            }
        }

        public LongPressBehavior()
        {
            _isReleased = true;
            _duration = Duration;
        }

        public LongPressBehavior(int duration) : this()
        {
            _duration = duration;
        }

        private void Timer_Elapsed(object state)
        {
            DeInitializeTimer();
            if (_isReleased)
            {
                return;
            }
            Device.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(OnLongPressed);
        }
    }
}

In the XAML UI:

 <Button x:Name="MyButton" Text="Long Press Me!">
   <Button.Behaviors>
     <behaviors:LongPressBehavior LongPressed="MyButton_LongPressed"/>
   </Button.Behaviors>
 </Button>

XAML UI with Command Binding:

 <Button x:Name="MyButton" Text="Long Press Me!">
   <Button.Behaviors>
     <behaviors:LongPressBehavior Command="{Binding CommandInViewModel}"/>
   </Button.Behaviors>
 </Button>

Answer 2

Make use of XLabs.Forms nuget package, which make long press and other gesture in PCL code only. Use of XLabs.Forms package will reduce the need of custom rendering in individual platforms... Add XAML code in .xaml file and attached event handler in .xaml.cs file.. It is working fine in Android..

<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
         xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
         x:Class="MultiImage.Page1"             
         xmlns:lc="clr-namespace:XLabs.Forms.Controls;assembly=XLabs.Forms"
         xmlns:lb="clr-namespace:XLabs.Forms.Behaviors;assembly=XLabs.Forms">
<ContentPage.Content>
    <lc:GesturesContentView ExcludeChildren="False" GestureRecognized="GesturesContentView_GestureRecognized">
         <lb:Gestures.Interests>
                <lb:GestureCollection>
                    <lb:GestureInterest GestureType="SingleTap"/>
                    <lb:GestureInterest GestureType="LongPress"/>
                    <lb:GestureInterest GestureType="DoubleTap"/>
                </lb:GestureCollection>
          </lb:Gestures.Interests>
          <Image Source="Myimage.png" Aspect="AspectFit" HeightRequest="100"/>
        </lc:GesturesContentView>
</ContentPage.Content>

C# backend code:

private void GesturesContentView_GestureRecognized(object sender, GestureResult e)
{           
    switch (e.GestureType)
    {
        case GestureType.LongPress:
            //Add code here
            break;
        case GestureType.SingleTap:
            // Add code here                    
            break;
        case GestureType.DoubleTap:
            // Add code here
            break;
        default:
            break;
    }

Answer 3

I recently came across this problem and found a useful post on the topic https://alexdunn.org/2017/12/27/xamarin-tip-xamarin-forms-long-press-effect/

This makes use of the RoutingEffect and goes through an example of how to create both iOS and Android implementation. The simplicity of this allows you to attach it to any view in your app without recreating code.