Develop Reference

How is a bottom line added with this layer-list drawable?

I want to have a bottom line in a view. The following drawable somehow adds a bottom border:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item>
<shape
android:shape="rectangle">
<!-- Set the border color of your layout here -->
<solid android:color="#color/red" />
</shape>
</item>
<!-- This is for border bottom but
you can change this according to your need -->
<item android:bottom="2dp" >
<shape
android:shape="rectangle">
<!-- Set the background color of your layout here -->
<solid android:color="#color/green" />
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
The result of this is:
Problem:
1) I don't understand how this works at all. It seems this is some trick using margins to get a red bottom border but I don't really get it.
2) I need to be able to add a bottom border but I don't want to set any specific background color for the whole view. Is that possible?

This is telling the system from where to start this item layout.
Since here we have bottom 2dp so this layout start 2dp from bottom.
Change bottom to end,start or other options for more understanding.

For 2) I need to be able to add a bottom border but I don't want to set any specific background color for the whole view. Is that possible?
replace your drawable with below code:
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:left="-2dp"
android:right="-2dp"
android:top="-2dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#ffffff" />
<!--Uncomment this if you wnat to set any background color to
your rectangle
<solid android:color="#ffffff" />-->
<stroke
android:width="1dp"
android:color="#color/red" />
</shape>
</item>

Android shadow color for layout

I have developed a listView for my app. My UI is simple flat UI, here is a snapshot:
when I searched internet for better interfaces I found this for example:
As you see in this sample, background colors have shadows at the bottom. Is there a way that I can color my Layout background like this? Thanks in advanced.

In order to achieve a shadow effect I'd guess that it's better to use a layer-list with two items, one with the solid color and the second item would be a gradient coming from transparent to a black color with an alpha value.
Here's how this would look like (needs to be placed in res/drawable/):
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#ff33b5e5" />
</shape>
</item>
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<gradient
android:angle="-90"
android:endColor="#90000000"
android:startColor="#android:color/transparent" />
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
Doing it this way, you won't need to "search" for a darker color of your solid color all the time.
Output would look like this:

Create an XML file and named it as "gradient_effect" in Res -> Drawable folder and put below code in it
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:shape="rectangle">
<gradient
android:startColor="#a0a0a0"
android:endColor="#f5f5f5"
android:angle="0"
/>
Now use this file as a background in any of your layout as you can get is like
android:Background= "#Drawable/gradient_effect"
Set above line as an attribute for any of you view or layout in xml file

This can help too!
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<gradient
android:angle="90"
android:endColor="#A2000000"
android:startColor="#android:color/transparent" />
</shape>
</item>

Text with shapes in drawable resource

Can i create text-shape in drawable resource?
I was googling much but found nothing...
Here is my drawable file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<shape android:shape="oval">
<stroke android:width="3dp" android:color="#QQffQQ"/>
<size android:width="120dp" android:height="120dp"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item android:right="59dp" android:left="59dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="£22££20"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item android:top="59dp" android:bottom="59dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="£20££20"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item>
<!--text should be here-->
</item>
</layer-list>

No, you cannot do so. One idea is to set the Drawable as the background for a TextView and then simply set text in the TextView, which will appear above the other layers of your Drawable. Of course, this cannot be used for a splash screen, which requires a drawable resource as mentioned by zyamys in a comment below. An idea for that case is to generate static images with the text you are interested in. This unfortunately does not cover cases where the text is to be dynamic.

You can use vector drawable instead (say by converting from svg file).
Then use vector as one of the layers.
This lets you create a single drawable without any TextViews, so you can easily use it as a windowBackground in your splash screen theme.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:shape="rectangle">
<gradient android:angle="270"
android:startColor="#C3DAE0"
android:endColor="#FFFFFF"
android:type="linear"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item
android:gravity="center"
android:drawable="#drawable/ic_splash_text"/>
</layer-list>
Where ic_splash_text - is a vector drawable with the text.
Not forget to add vectors support if you are4 targeting onto API<21.
For this you have to:
Add to your module build.gradle (app-level):
android {
vectorDrawables.useSupportLibrary = true.
}
Register delegate in a static block of your activity:
static {
AppCompatDelegate.setCompatVectorFromResourcesEnabled(true);
}

android - How to draw multi color line with only a shape

I need to draw a line using android drawable, but this line need to has more than one color, and it cant be gradient. My target is as below:
Note the line with green, blue and orange colors.
I´ve read here a post that mentions that it could be done with an image in png, but i doesnt liked the idea.
Is there another clean solution?
Thanks.

You can use a layer list as like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#drawable/back" />
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#f000"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item android:left="20dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#f001"/>
</shape>
</item>
<item android:left="60dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#f003"/>
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
Set this as the background of your view

How to get gravity 'bottom' working on a drawable in xml

I have a simple aim. I want a light grey background on my FrameLayout with a black dividing line underneath it (only undernearth, not all around). So far I have this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle" android:gravity="center">
<solid android:color="#EEEEEE" />
</shape>
</item>
<item>
<shape android:shape="line" android:gravity="bottom" >
<stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="#010101"/>
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
But it draws the line through the centre, i.e. ignores the gravity='bottom' bit. How can I fix this?
EDIT: This question is very old. The selected answer may or may not be in-line with current APIs, etc. You are encouraged to start your own question rather than add to this one, which is no longer monitored.

I've struggled a lot with this as well. Basically, to create a border at the bottom, you have to think in opposite direction from what you expect. You start with a rectangle with your Border color. On top of that, you draw the actual color, with an offset from the bottom.
I use this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<!-- CREATE A RECTANGLE WITH YOUR BORDER COLOR -->
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle" >
<solid android:color="#fff"/>
</shape>
</item>
<!-- NOW DEFINE THE NORMAL COLOR-->
<item android:bottom="BOTTOM_BORDER_THICKNESS E.G. 4dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle" >
<solid android:color="#ccc"/>
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
Or, as Juan Pablo Saraceno suggested :
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item>
<color android:color="YOUR_BORDER_COLOR" />
</item>
<item android:top="YOUR_BORDER_THICKNESS">
<color android:color="YOUR_BG_COLOR" />
</item>
</layer-list>

Unfortunately I have not found a way to get the gravity working for drawables, but I found how you can achieve what you want with pure xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:top="-2dp"
android:left="-2dp"
android:right="0dp"
android:bottom="1dp"
>
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#EEEEEE"/>
<stroke android:width="1dp" android:color="#010101"/>
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
Good luck:)

I'd recommend using a nine-patch image for this - here's an example that should do the job:
(It's only tiny but it is there!)
If you place this in your drawable folder and set your FrameLayout's background to it then you should get the desired result. The content will go in the grey area and the #010101 pixel will be stretched horizontally to form a line at the bottom. Just make sure to keep the .9.png extension to ensure it gets loaded as a nine-patch.
Hope that helps you

This works!
<item>
<bitmap
android:gravity="left|bottom"
android:src="#drawable/myDrawable" />
</item>

I know it's pretty old question but given answers didn't work for me. Turns out in order to gravity property work you just need to add size tag in drawable item.
So following will work as expected:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:gravity="center">
<shape android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#EEEEEE" />
</shape>
</item>
<item
android:gravity="bottom">
<shape android:shape="line">
<size android:height="2dp"/>
<stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="#010101"/>
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
ps. this feature added in api level 23
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/drawable/LayerDrawable#setLayerGravity%28int,%20int%29

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item>
<shape android:shape="rectangle" >
<solid android:color="#color/Black" />
</shape>
</item>
<item android:bottom="5dp">
<shape android:shape="rectangle" >
<solid android:color="#color/White" />
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>

Well, it's pretty old question, but none of the answers seem to answer the actual question (how to make gravity working) so here's a working example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item>
<color android:color="#2196F3"/> <!-- Background color -->
</item>
<item android:gravity="bottom">
<shape>
<size android:height="10dp" /> <!-- I would suggest 1dp -->
<solid android:color="#F50057" /> <!-- Line color -->
</shape>
</item>
</layer-list>
By analogy, if you want to use gravity left or right change attribute height to width