# Navigation

The Shell class defines the following navigation-related properties:

* `BackButtonBehavior`, of type `BackButtonBehavior`, an attached property that defines the behavior of the back button.
* `CurrentItem`, of type `ShellItem`, the currently selected item.
* `CurrentPage`, of type `Page`, the currently presented page.
* `CurrentState`, of type `ShellNavigationState`, the current navigation state of the `Shell`.
* `Current`, of type `Shell`, a type-casted alias for `Application.Current.MainPage`.

Navigation is performed by invoking the `GoToAsync` method, from the `Shell` class.

#### Routes <a href="#routes" id="routes"></a>

Navigation is performed in a Shell app by specifying a URI to navigate to. Navigation URIs can have three components:

* A *route*, which defines the path to content that exists as part of the Shell visual hierarchy.
* A *page*. Pages that don't exist in the Shell visual hierarchy can be pushed onto the navigation stack from anywhere within a Shell app. For example, a details page won't be defined in the Shell visual hierarchy, but can be pushed onto the navigation stack as required.
* One or more *query parameters*. Query parameters are parameters that can be passed to the destination page while navigating.

When a navigation URI includes all three components, the structure is: //route/page?queryParameters


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