public sealed class LayoutView 

//Open a layout project item in a new view.
//A layout project item may exist but it may not be open in a view. 

//Reference a layout project item by name
LayoutProjectItem someLytItem = Project.Current.GetItems<LayoutProjectItem>().FirstOrDefault(item => item.Name.Equals("MyLayout"));

//Get the layout associated with the layout project item
Layout layout = await QueuedTask.Run(() => someLytItem.GetLayout());  //Worker thread

//Create the new pane
ILayoutPane iNewLayoutPane = await ProApp.Panes.CreateLayoutPaneAsync(layout); //GUI thread

//Activate an already open layout view.
//A layout view may be open but it may not be active.

//Find the pane that references the layout and activate it. 
//Note - there can be multiple panes referencing the same layout.
foreach (var pane in ProApp.Panes)
{
  var layoutPane = pane as ILayoutPane;
  if (layoutPane == null)  //if not a layout view, continue to the next pane
    continue;
  if (layoutPane.LayoutView.Layout == layout) //if there is a match, activate the view
  {
    (layoutPane as Pane).Activate();
    return;
  }
}

//Reference the active layout view.

//Confirm if the current, active view is a layout view.  If it is, do something.
LayoutView activeLayoutView = LayoutView.Active;
if (activeLayoutView != null)
{
  // do something
}

//This example references the active layout view.  Next it finds a couple of elements and adds them to a collection. 
//The elements in the collection are selected within the layout view.  Finally, the layout view is zoomed to the
//extent of the selection.

// Make sure the active pane is a layout view and then reference it
if (LayoutView.Active != null)
{
  LayoutView lytView = LayoutView.Active;
  //Reference the layout associated with the layout view
  Layout lyt = await QueuedTask.Run(() => lytView.Layout);

  //Find a couple of layout elements and add them to a collection
  Element map1 = lyt.FindElement("Map1 Map Frame");
  Element map2 = lyt.FindElement("Map2 Map Frame");
  List<Element> elmList = new List<Element>();
  elmList.Add(map1);
  elmList.Add(map2);

  //Set the selection on the layout view and zoom to the selected elements
  await QueuedTask.Run(() => lytView.SelectElements(elmList));
  await QueuedTask.Run(() => lytView.ZoomToSelectedElements());
}