Xamarin Forms: ContentPage OnCreate event?

Question

I'm creating a messaging app, and I need that when I enter the messaging thread with someone, message bubbles show inside the layout. I'm doing this easily using:

MyMessageThreadStackLayout.Children.Add(
// Message bubble building logic goes here
);

But currently, I'm putting this inside the:

protected override void OnAppearing ()

But this makes my elements appear after the content page animation is shown making it look really weird. Is there a OnCreate event that can let me load the messages into the view before showing them with the animation? Thank you

Answer 1

You could use the protected virtual void LayoutChildren method that's exposed on all Pages. Keep in mind it may be called many times, so you'll need to account for that possibility.

Another option would be to simply add your child Views in the Page's constructor. This option is not ideal, but it's guaranteed to only be called once, and always before your Page is presented.