[iOS/macOS] CollectionView: Fix FlowDirection not working on EmptyView

src/Controls/src/Core/Handlers/Items/iOS/ItemsViewController.cs

@@ -448,6 +448,13 @@ public virtual void UpdateFlowDirection()
 				{
 					foreach (var child in ItemsView.LogicalChildrenInternal)
 					{
+						// Skip the empty view element — its flow direction is handled
+						// separately in AlignEmptyView to avoid double application
+						if (child == _emptyViewFormsElement)
+						{
+							continue;
+						}
+
 						if (child is VisualElement ve && ve.Handler?.PlatformView is UIView view)
 						{
 							view.UpdateFlowDirection(ve);
@@ -775,37 +782,30 @@ void AlignEmptyView()
 				return;
 			}
 
-			bool isRtl;
-
-			if (OperatingSystem.IsIOSVersionAtLeast(10) || OperatingSystem.IsTvOSVersionAtLeast(10))
-				isRtl = CollectionView.EffectiveUserInterfaceLayoutDirection == UIUserInterfaceLayoutDirection.RightToLeft;
-			else
-				isRtl = CollectionView.SemanticContentAttribute == UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft;
-
-			if (isRtl)
+			if (_emptyViewFormsElement is not null)
 			{
-				if (_emptyUIView.Transform.A == -1)
+				// The empty view's FlowDirection is handled here instead of in UpdateFlowDirection()
+				// to ensure proper alignment independent of the CollectionView's layout flip behavior.
+				if (_emptyViewFormsElement.Handler?.PlatformView is UIView emptyView)
 				{
-					return;
+					emptyView.UpdateFlowDirection(_emptyViewFormsElement);
 				}
-
-				FlipEmptyView();
 			}
-			else
+			else if (_emptyUIView is UILabel label)
 			{
-				if (_emptyUIView.Transform.A == -1)
+				// For UILabel, set the text alignment to center to ensure consistent behavior with Windows and Android
+				label.TextAlignment = UITextAlignment.Center;
+				label.SemanticContentAttribute = ItemsView.FlowDirection switch
 				{
-					FlipEmptyView();
-				}
+					FlowDirection.RightToLeft => UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft,
+					FlowDirection.LeftToRight => UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceLeftToRight,
+					_ => CollectionView.EffectiveUserInterfaceLayoutDirection == UIUserInterfaceLayoutDirection.RightToLeft
+						? UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft
+						: UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceLeftToRight
+				};
 			}
 		}
 
-		void FlipEmptyView()
-		{
-			// Flip the empty view 180 degrees around the X axis 
-			_emptyUIView.Transform = CGAffineTransform.Scale(_emptyUIView.Transform, -1, 1);
-		}
-
 		void ShowEmptyView()
 		{
 			if (_emptyViewDisplayed || _emptyUIView == null)

src/Controls/src/Core/Handlers/Items2/iOS/ItemsViewController2.cs

@@ -306,6 +306,13 @@ public virtual void UpdateFlowDirection()
 				itemsView.UpdateFlowDirection(ItemsView);
 				foreach (var child in ItemsView.LogicalChildrenInternal)
 				{
+					// Skip the empty view element — its flow direction is handled
+					// separately in AlignEmptyView to avoid double application
+					if (child == _emptyViewFormsElement)
+					{
+						continue;
+					}
+
 					if (child is VisualElement ve && ve.Handler?.PlatformView is UIView view)
 					{
 						view.UpdateFlowDirection(ve);
@@ -320,7 +327,7 @@ public virtual void UpdateFlowDirection()
 						cell.Label.UpdateFlowDirection(ItemsView);
 					}
 				}
-	
+
 				CollectionView.UpdateFlowDirection(ItemsView);
 			}
 
@@ -529,37 +536,30 @@ void AlignEmptyView()
 				return;
 			}
 
-			bool isRtl;
-
-			if (OperatingSystem.IsIOSVersionAtLeast(10) || OperatingSystem.IsTvOSVersionAtLeast(10))
-				isRtl = CollectionView.EffectiveUserInterfaceLayoutDirection == UIUserInterfaceLayoutDirection.RightToLeft;
-			else
-				isRtl = CollectionView.SemanticContentAttribute == UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft;
-
-			if (isRtl)
+			if (_emptyViewFormsElement is not null)
 			{
-				if (_emptyUIView.Transform.A == -1)
+				// The empty view's FlowDirection is handled here instead of in UpdateFlowDirection()
+				// to ensure proper alignment independent of the CollectionView's layout flip behavior.
+				if (_emptyViewFormsElement.Handler?.PlatformView is UIView emptyView)
 				{
-					return;
+					emptyView.UpdateFlowDirection(_emptyViewFormsElement);
 				}
-
-				FlipEmptyView();
 			}
-			else
+			else if (_emptyUIView is UILabel label)
 			{
-				if (_emptyUIView.Transform.A == -1)
+				// For UILabel, set the text alignment to center to ensure consistent behavior with Windows and Android
+				label.TextAlignment = UITextAlignment.Center;
+				label.SemanticContentAttribute = ItemsView.FlowDirection switch
 				{
-					FlipEmptyView();
-				}
+					FlowDirection.RightToLeft => UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft,
+					FlowDirection.LeftToRight => UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceLeftToRight,
+					_ => CollectionView.EffectiveUserInterfaceLayoutDirection == UIUserInterfaceLayoutDirection.RightToLeft
+						? UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceRightToLeft
+						: UISemanticContentAttribute.ForceLeftToRight
+				};
 			}
 		}
 
-		void FlipEmptyView()
-		{
-			// Flip the empty view 180 degrees around the X axis 
-			_emptyUIView.Transform = CGAffineTransform.Scale(_emptyUIView.Transform, -1, 1);
-		}
-
 		void ShowEmptyView()
 		{
 			if (_emptyViewDisplayed || _emptyUIView == null)
@@ -568,7 +568,25 @@ void ShowEmptyView()
 			}
 
 			_emptyUIView.Tag = EmptyTag;
-			CollectionView.AddSubview(_emptyUIView);
+
+			// Add the empty view to the CollectionView's superview instead of the CollectionView itself.
+			// The compositional layout's flipsHorizontallyInOppositeLayoutDirection (default true) causes
+			// the CollectionView to flip its content coordinate system when SemanticContentAttribute is
+			// ForceRightToLeft. Layout-managed views (cells, supplementary views) are compensated by the
+			// layout, but direct subviews are NOT — resulting in mirror-flipped rendering.
+			// Adding to the superview avoids this flip zone entirely.
+			var targetView = CollectionView.Superview;
+			if (targetView is not null)
+			{
+				targetView.InsertSubviewAbove(_emptyUIView, CollectionView);
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				// TODO: DetermineEmptyViewFrame() returns superview-coordinate-space values (CollectionView.Frame.X/Y),
+				// which are incorrect when the empty view is a child of CollectionView. This fallback is unlikely
+				// to execute in practice since Superview is expected to be non-null by the time ShowEmptyView() is called.
+				CollectionView.AddSubview(_emptyUIView);
+			}
 
 			if (((IElementController)ItemsView).LogicalChildren.IndexOf(_emptyViewFormsElement) == -1)
 			{

src/Controls/tests/TestCases.HostApp/Issues/Issue32404.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+namespace Maui.Controls.Sample.Issues;
+
+[Issue(IssueTracker.Github, 32404, "[Android, iOS, MacOS] FlowDirection not working on EmptyView in CollectionView", PlatformAffected.iOS | PlatformAffected.macOS)]
+public class Issue32404 : ContentPage
+{
+    Label flowDirectionLabel;
+    CollectionView emptyViewStringCollectionView;
+    CollectionView emptyViewViewCollectionView;
+    CollectionView emptyViewTemplateCollectionView;
+
+    public Issue32404()
+    {
+        var grid = new Grid
+        {
+            Padding = new Thickness(10),
+            RowDefinitions =
+                {
+                    new RowDefinition { Height = GridLength.Auto },
+                    new RowDefinition { Height = GridLength.Auto },
+                    new RowDefinition { Height = GridLength.Star },
+                    new RowDefinition { Height = GridLength.Star },
+                    new RowDefinition { Height = GridLength.Star }
+                }
+        };
+
+        var toggleButton = new Button
+        {
+            Text = "Toggle FlowDirection",
+            HorizontalOptions = LayoutOptions.Center,
+            Margin = new Thickness(0, 10),
+            AutomationId = "Issue32404ToggleButton"
+        };
+
+        toggleButton.Clicked += OnToggleFlowDirectionClicked;
+        grid.Add(toggleButton);
+        Grid.SetRow(toggleButton, 0);
+
+        flowDirectionLabel = new Label
+        {
+            Text = "Current FlowDirection: LeftToRight",
+            HorizontalOptions = LayoutOptions.Center,
+            FontAttributes = FontAttributes.Bold
+        };
+        grid.Add(flowDirectionLabel);
+        Grid.SetRow(flowDirectionLabel, 1);
+
+        // String EmptyView
+        emptyViewStringCollectionView = new CollectionView
+        {
+            BackgroundColor = Colors.LightGray,
+            FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight,
+            EmptyView = "EmptyView Text (String)",
+            AutomationId = "CollectionView1"
+        };
+
+        // View EmptyView
+        emptyViewViewCollectionView = new CollectionView
+        {
+            BackgroundColor = Colors.LightBlue,
+            FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight,
+            AutomationId = "CollectionView2"
+        };
+
+        var emptyViewGrid = new Grid();
+        var emptyViewLabel = new Label
+        {
+            Text = "EmptyView (Grid View)",
+        };
+        emptyViewGrid.Add(emptyViewLabel);
+        emptyViewViewCollectionView.EmptyView = emptyViewGrid;
+
+        // DataTemplate EmptyView
+        emptyViewTemplateCollectionView = new CollectionView
+        {
+            BackgroundColor = Colors.LightGreen,
+            FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight,
+            AutomationId = "CollectionView3"
+        };
+
+        emptyViewTemplateCollectionView.EmptyViewTemplate = new DataTemplate(() =>
+        {
+            var stackLayout = new VerticalStackLayout();
+            var templateLabel = new Label
+            {
+                Text = "EmptyView Template",
+            };
+
+            stackLayout.Add(templateLabel);
+            return stackLayout;
+        });
+
+        grid.Add(emptyViewStringCollectionView);
+        Grid.SetRow(emptyViewStringCollectionView, 2);
+        grid.Add(emptyViewViewCollectionView);
+        Grid.SetRow(emptyViewViewCollectionView, 3);
+        grid.Add(emptyViewTemplateCollectionView);
+        Grid.SetRow(emptyViewTemplateCollectionView, 4);
+        // Set Grid as Content
+        Content = grid;
+    }
+
+    void OnToggleFlowDirectionClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
+    {
+        // Toggle between LeftToRight and RightToLeft
+        if (emptyViewStringCollectionView.FlowDirection == FlowDirection.LeftToRight)
+        {
+            emptyViewStringCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.RightToLeft;
+            emptyViewViewCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.RightToLeft;
+            emptyViewTemplateCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.RightToLeft;
+            flowDirectionLabel.Text = "Current FlowDirection: RightToLeft";
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            emptyViewStringCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight;
+            emptyViewViewCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight;
+            emptyViewTemplateCollectionView.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.LeftToRight;
+            flowDirectionLabel.Text = "Current FlowDirection: LeftToRight";
+        }
+    }
+}

src/Controls/tests/TestCases.Shared.Tests/Tests/Issues/Issue32404.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#if TEST_FAILS_ON_WINDOWS // https://github.com/dotnet/maui/issues/18551
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using UITest.Appium;
+using UITest.Core;
+
+namespace Microsoft.Maui.TestCases.Tests.Issues;
+
+public class Issue32404 : _IssuesUITest
+{
+    public Issue32404(TestDevice testDevice) : base(testDevice)
+    {
+    }
+    public override string Issue => "[Android, iOS, MacOS] FlowDirection not working on EmptyView in CollectionView";
+
+    [Test]
+    [Category(UITestCategories.CollectionView)]
+    public void FlowDirectionShouldWorkOnEmptyView()
+    {
+        App.WaitForElement("Issue32404ToggleButton");
+        App.Tap("Issue32404ToggleButton");
+        VerifyScreenshot("FlowDirectionShouldWorkOnEmptyView_RightToLeft");
+        App.Tap("Issue32404ToggleButton");
+        VerifyScreenshot("FlowDirectionShouldWorkOnEmptyView_LeftToRight");
+    }
+}
+#endif