How to load image file from (external) storage to .NET MAUI Image?

Question

Setup:

• .NET MAUI 8
• VS 2022 17.9.7
• Windows 11 24H2
• Samsung SM-A715F (Android 13.0 - API 33)

XAML:

<Image x:Name="MyImage"
       HeightRequest="160"
       Aspect="AspectFit"/>

Code-behind:

protected override void OnAppearing()
{
    base.OnAppearing();
    var filePath = Path.Combine(FileSystem.AppDataDirectory, 
                                "test.jpg");
    if (File.Exists(filePath))
    {
        MyImage.Source = ImageSource.FromFile(filePath);
    }
}

It seems the above only works on Windows. It does NOT work on Android.

The following permissions are set in AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES" />

I do NOT want to use FilePicker or anything like that.

The question is plain and simple: how to load image file from storage to .NET MAUI Image?

This GitHub issue seems related and still open since 2022! Anyone knows a workaround or third-party component that sorts this out?

Answer 1

I've been trying to do something similar, and have been seeing the same kinds of wonky behaviors.

So, you asked if:

Anyone knows a workaround [...]?

That's what this is actually, a workaround not a canonical answer. But I've been testing it a lot and it seems really stable on these physical devices:

• Android 12
• Android 13
• iPhone11 (iOS 18)
• iPhoneXR (iOS 17)
• iPad
• Windows Machine

It mainly consists of this Refresh() extension that I wrote for the purpose of forcing a reload of image content into the ImageSource that is otherwise aggressively cached and difficult to modify:

static partial class Extensions
{
    public static ImageSource? Refresh(this string path)
    {
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(path) && File.Exists(path))
        {
            return ImageSource.FromStream(() => new MemoryStream(File.ReadAllBytes(path)));
        }
        else return null;
    }
}

---

Usage (Code-Behind)

This version of the test app came first, because I wanted to eliminate any variables having to do with the binding of the view model. In other words, in code-behind, using a reference to the Image control, I set its Source property directly. There is no view model at all in this version. To test under "worst" conditions I use a singular file path FixedPathForTest located (from your original post) at Path.Combine(FileSystem.CacheDirectory,"kqeah1iq.yih"). To apply the latest file update, the syntax is:

imagePhoto.Source = FixedPathForTest.Refresh();

---

Usage (ViewModel Binding)

This version of the test app (the extension doesn't change) came next, to go back to the idea of binding Source in the VM.

<Image
    Source="{Binding Source}"
    HeightRequest="185"
    Aspect="AspectFit"/>

---

It's important that the type of Source is ImageSource because even if you think you are setting a string to it, the "real" ImageSource is being implicitly casted from it and the result of the implicit cast is a FileImageSource where the File property is set to the string.

---

class MainPageViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
    /// <summary>
    /// This needs to be ImageSource and not String.
    /// </summary>
    public ImageSource? Source
    {
        get => _imageSource;
        set
        {
            ImageSource? preview = value;
            if (preview is FileImageSource fileImageSource &&
                fileImageSource.File is string path)
            {
                var fi = new FileInfo(path);
                if(!Equals(fi.LastWriteTime, _fileWriteTime))
                {
                    _imageSource = fileImageSource.File.Refresh();
                    OnPropertyChanged();
                }
            }
            else
            {
                if (!Equals(_imageSource, value))
                {
                    _imageSource = value;
                    OnPropertyChanged();
                }
            }
        }
    }
    ImageSource? _imageSource = default;
    DateTime _fileWriteTime = default;
}