Setting Focus on Entry Using MVVM in UI for .NET MAUI

Updated on Sep 26, 2025

Environment

Version	Product	Author
11.1.0	Telerik UI for .NET MAUI Entry	Dobrinka Yordanova

Description

I want to set focus on an Entry control when the page loads using the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) approach in UI for .NET MAUI.

This knowledge base article also answers the following questions:

• How to use EventToCommandBehavior for Entry focus in .NET MAUI?
• How to use RadEventToCommandBehavior for Entry focus in .NET MAUI?
• How to set Entry focus programmatically using MVVM?

Solution

To achieve this, use either the EventToCommandBehavior from CommunityToolkit or RadEventToCommandBehavior from Telerik UI for .NET MAUI.

Approach 1: Using RadEventToCommandBehavior

This approach doesn't require explicitly setting the BindingContext inside the event to command behavior.

1. Add the behavior to the Entry control:

   xaml

   <te:RadEntry.Behaviors>
       <te:RadEventToCommandBehavior
               EventName="Loaded"
               Command="{Binding EntryLoadedCommand}"
               CommandParameter="{Binding Source={x:Reference Entry}}" />
   </te:RadEntry.Behaviors>

2. Create a command in your ViewModel:

   csharp

   [RelayCommand]
   async Task EntryLoaded(object sender)
   {
       if (sender is Telerik.Maui.Controls.RadEntry entry)
       {
           await MainThread.InvokeOnMainThreadAsync(() => entry.Focus());
       }
   }

Approach 2: Using EventToCommandBehavior from CommunityToolkit

1. Explicitly set the behavior's BindingContext to the page's ViewModel:

   xaml

   <te:RadEntry.Behaviors>
       <toolkit:EventToCommandBehavior
           EventName="Loaded"
           Command="{Binding EntryLoadedCommand}"
           CommandParameter="{Binding Source={x:Reference Entry}}"
           BindingContext="{Binding Source={x:Reference MainPage}, Path=BindingContext}" />
   </te:RadEntry.Behaviors>

2. Add a name to the ContentPage:

   xaml

   <ContentPage x:Name="MainPage" ...>

3. Define the command in your ViewModel:

   csharp

   [RelayCommand]
   async Task EntryLoaded(object sender)
   {
       if (sender is Telerik.Maui.Controls.RadEntry entry)
       {
           await MainThread.InvokeOnMainThreadAsync(() => entry.Focus());
       }
   }

Both approaches achieve the desired behavior of setting focus on the Entry control when it loads.

See Also

• UI for .NET MAUI Entry Documentation
• RadEventToCommandBehavior Documentation
• CommunityToolkit EventToCommandBehavior Documentation