Xamarin Forms XAML Design Instance

Question

Is there a way to enable design context in Xamarin Forms XAML pages to enable intellisense? It works in WPF but for years I couldn't get it to work in Xamarin Forms.

Answer 1

So if you compile your xaml by setting the attribute in code somewhere, and then include the xaml snippet below, you can use design time data contexts and get the intellisense.

[assembly: XamlCompilation(XamlCompilationOptions.Compile)]
namespace MySpace
{
   public partial class App {}  
}

<Page
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d ="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" 
mc:Ignorable="d"             
d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance Type=list:TestViewModel}"
xmlns:list="clr-namespace:PolyhydraGames.Test.ViewModels"
.../>