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Scrolling

XenoAtom.Terminal.UI uses a single scrolling model across controls: IScrollable + ScrollModel. This keeps scrollbars, mouse wheel behavior, and nested scrolling consistent.

ScrollViewer

ScrollViewer provides clipped scrolling for any content visual:

new ScrollViewer(new VStack("Line 1", "Line 2"))

Content that implements IScrollable

If ScrollViewer.Content implements IScrollable, the scroll viewer uses the content’s scroll model:

• scrollbars and mouse wheel update the content scroll offsets
• the content is responsible for exposing its extent and viewport via ScrollModel

This is how TextArea integrates with ScrollViewer.

Content that does not implement IScrollable

If the content is not scrollable, the scroll viewer owns its scroll offsets and scrolls by translating the content viewport.

IScrollable and ScrollModel

IScrollable is a simple contract:

public interface IScrollable
{
    ScrollModel Scroll { get; }
}

ScrollModel represents the state of a scrollable surface:

• ViewportWidth / ViewportHeight: visible region size (in cells/rows)
• ExtentWidth / ExtentHeight: total scrollable size (in cells/rows)
• OffsetX / OffsetY: current scroll position
• Version: a bindable “snapshot” of the current scroll state

How it works in practice

• The scrollable control updates ScrollModel during Arrange:
  • Scroll.SetViewport(viewportWidth, viewportHeight)
  • Scroll.SetExtent(extentWidth, extentHeight)
• ScrollViewer reads the model to decide:
  • whether scrollbars should be visible,
  • the thumb size and range,
  • how to clamp offsets.

Version and dependency tracking

ScrollModel.Version is a bindable property updated whenever viewport/extent/offset changes. Controls often mirror it into an internal bindable property in PrepareChildren to avoid “read then write” tracking loops.

See Binding for the pattern.

Implementing a custom scrollable control

At a high level:

1. Add a ScrollModel field: private readonly ScrollModel _scroll;
2. Implement IScrollable.Scroll => _scroll;
3. In Arrange, update viewport/extent and render content offset by Scroll.OffsetX/OffsetY.

ScrollBar

ScrollBar is an abstract base for scroll bars. Use VScrollBar (vertical) or HScrollBar (horizontal) directly, or let ScrollViewer create and manage them for you.

See also:

• ScrollViewer
• ScrollBar