Develop Reference

Expected resource of type color error when getting color from a color selector

I'm trying to get a color from a selector like this
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:state_checked="true"
android:color="#color/white" />
<item
android:state_checked="false"
android:color="#80FFFFFF" />
</selector>
By calling
ContextCompat.getColorStateList(context, R.drawable.bottom_navigation_colors_white)
But it produces Expected resource of type color error which is highlighted as error (highted in red) but but does not prevent from compiling.
What is wrong with this?

Android Studio: Bottom Navigation View - AAPT: error: ' ' is incompatible with attribute drawable (attr) reference

I have added BottomNavigationView in my application like.
main.xml
<com.google.android.material.bottomnavigation.BottomNavigationView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="56dp"
app:itemBackground="#drawable/nav_bgcolor"
app:itemIconSize="50dp"
app:itemIconTint="#color/nav_item_colors"
app:itemTextColor="#color/nav_item_colors"
app:labelVisibilityMode="unlabeled"
app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
app:menu="#menu/nav_items">
</com.google.android.material.bottomnavigation.BottomNavigationView>
menu/nav_items.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_home"
android:icon="#drawable/home_white"
android:title="#string/nav_home" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_market"
android:icon="#drawable/market_white"
android:title="#string/nav_market" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_news"
android:icon="#drawable/news_white"
android:title="#string/nav_news" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_account"
android:icon="#drawable/account_white"
android:title="#string/nav_account" />
</menu>
drawable/nav_bgcolor.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#FF9800" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:drawable="#FFFFFF" android:state_checked="false" />
</selector>
color/nav_item_colors.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:color="#FFFFFF" android:state_checked="true"/>
<item android:color="#727272"/>
</selector>
this is the preview in the android studio
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yICxFcTbSxYpILDtxg75Z4x-2Y1UaPM_/view?usp=sharing
it is actually displaying the design that i want to happen.
there is no error or something but when i run the app there are errors in drawable/nav_bgcolor.xml
C:\Users\[PCNAME]\AndroidStudioProjects\[APPNAME]\app\src\main\res\drawable\nav_bgcolor.xml:3: AAPT: error: '#FF9800' is incompatible with attribute drawable (attr) reference.
C:\Users\[PCNAME]\AndroidStudioProjects\[APPNAME]\app\src\main\res\drawable\nav_bgcolor.xml:4: AAPT: error: '#ffffff' is incompatible with attribute drawable (attr) reference.
the error happened after i added app:itemBackground="#drawable/nav_bgcolor" in the main.xml
I have searched the internet but no luck in getting any solution.

In your selector you are using
<selector>
<item android:drawable="#FF9800" android:state_checked="true" />
You can't use a color (#FF9800) where you should define an android:drawable.
Use
<menu>
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_home"
android:icon="#drawable/icon_add"
android:title="#string/nav_home" />
...
</menu>
where icon_add is a simple drawable.
And in your BottomNavigationView:
<com.google.android.material.bottomnavigation.BottomNavigationView
app:itemIconTint="#color/nav_item_colors"
../>

replace android:drawable with android:color in drawable/nav_bgcolor.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:color="#FF9800" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:color="#FFFFFF" android:state_checked="false" />
</selector>

Drawable resources referencing attributes

I have the following problem:
My app has a light and a dark theme and I'm trying to apply touch feedback to some custom views for both above and below v21 (ripple touch feedback). I've created two drawable resources in drawable-v21 for a toggle button, one for light and one for dark:
Dark:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ripple xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:color="?attr/color_control_highlight_default">
<item android:id="#android:id/mask" android:drawable="#drawable/dark_button_border"/>
<item android:drawable="#drawable/button_toggle_states"/>
</ripple>
Light:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ripple xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:color="?attr/color_control_highlight_default">
<item android:id="#android:id/mask" android:drawable="#drawable/light_button_border" />
<item android:drawable="#drawable/button_toggle_states" />
</ripple>
As can be seen both resources reference another drawable which defines the colours for different states of the buttons:
button_toggle_states:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="?attr/color_primary_1" android:state_focused="true" />
<item android:drawable="?attr/color_primary_1" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:drawable="?attr/color_primary_1" android:state_selected="true" />
<item android:drawable="?attr/button_border" />
</selector>
This drawable references attributes that change between the light and the dark theme and this is where my problem is. When trying to use this drawable I get a runtime error that the button_toggle_states in res/drawable-v21 can't be found. When I change the drawable to reference colours and other drawables instead of attributes, i.e.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#color/lt_blue" android:state_focused="true" />
<item android:drawable="#color/lt_blue" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:drawable="#color/lt_blue" android:state_selected="true" />
<item android:drawable="#drawable/light_button_border" />
</selector>
everything works fine. But with that solution I'll have to make two button_toggle_state files, one for dark and one for light theme, while I thought this shouldn't be needed since we can reference attributes in v21 and up.
Is there somethin I'm doing wrong or is referencing attributes in a drawable that is used by another drawable just not supported?

i ran into the same issue and was not able to get this running. My workaround is to have the drawable itself as a reference in the theme and then have two Drawables: one for light and one for dark.
See also:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=26251
How to reference colour attribute in drawable?

Android Selector Drawable doesnt work with attributes

I am using attr to create a selector drawable for my project so that once i change theme colors, i dont have to make any change in the drawable file. I am using following libs:
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:+'
compile 'com.android.support:cardview-v7:+'
compile 'com.android.support:design:22.2.0'
Here is the source code for drawable:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimary" android:state_enabled="true" android:state_window_focused="false"/>
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimaryDark" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#android:color/darker_gray" android:state_enabled="false"/>
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimary"/>
</selector>
in this same code, if i replace attributes with colors defined in colors.xml file, the same drawable works.
Sample drawable with colors:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#color/color_primary" android:state_enabled="true" android:state_window_focused="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/color_primary_dark" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#android:color/darker_gray" android:state_enabled="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/color_primary"/>
</selector>
Thanks in advance!

Finally, found the problem. There is a bug in android [pre-lollipop] OS which doesnt allow you to use attr in drawable. Here is the link to bug:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=26251
Android dev team has released a fix but it works on android L and above.For workaround to this problem, refer to following solution:
How to reference style attributes from a drawable?

I encountered the same problem and as of 2019 it hasn't been resolved so you can't have an attribute referenced in a selector as a drawable. I will share the solution I got for the problem as I don't see it posted in here. I found it in the last comment of the bug report also referred by mudit in his answer.
The workaround is basically create a drawable resource that will be the one referring the attribute value.
To illustrate your case the solution would be instead of:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimary" android:state_enabled="true" android:state_window_focused="false"/>
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimaryDark" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#android:color/darker_gray" android:state_enabled="false"/>
<item android:drawable="?attr/colorPrimary"/>
</selector>
you would replace the ?attr/* for a drawable resource:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#drawable/colorPrimaryDrawable" android:state_enabled="true" android:state_window_focused="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#drawable/colorPrimaryDarkDrawable" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#android:color/darker_gray" android:state_enabled="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#drawable/colorPrimaryDrawable"/>
</selector>
The drawables would be defined as:
drawable/colorPrimaryDrawable
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="?attr/colorPrimary" />
</shape>
drawable/colorPrimaryDarkDrawable
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="?attr/colorPrimaryDark" />
</shape>
Hope it helps!!

I dunno if it's still relevant to you, but I was struggling with the same thing and I think I have found a workaround (kinda). The direct use of ?attr/ is not working (working on api 21 and up, but even then it's not working with color selectors (only with drawables).
So I did it like this (giving you my own example).
Create an atribute in attr.xml
<attr name="nav_item_color_selector" format="reference|color"/>
Then in all the themes you're using, add the attribute like so (f.e. for the Light Theme):
<item name="nav_item_color_selector">#color/text_color_selector_light</item>
or for the dark theme(default):
<item name="nav_item_color_selector">#color/text_color_selector</item>
Now my text_color_selector.xml (both) look like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_selected="true"
android:color="#color/myAccentColor" />
<item android:state_selected="false"
android:color = "#color/myTextPrimaryColor"/>
<item android:color="#color/myTextPrimaryColor" />
and when I want to use them, f.e in tinting my custom image view, I use:
<com.yourdomain.yourpackage.NavDrawerIcon
android:layout_width="24dp"
android:layout_height="24dp"
android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"
android:src="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:id="#+id/nav_item_icon"
android:layout_margin="24dp"
android:tint = "?attr/nav_item_color_selector"
android:tintMode="src_atop"/>
You can also reitieve it programmatically by using TypedValue, like so:
TypedValue typedValue = new TypedValue();
Resources.Theme theme = context.getTheme();
theme.resolveAttribute(R.attr.nav_item_color_selector, typedValue, true);
XmlResourceParser parser = viewGroup.getContext().getResources().getXml(typedValue.resourceId);
try {
ColorStateList sl = ColorStateList.createFromXml(viewGroup.getContext().getResources(), parser);
viewHolder.textView.setTextColor(sl);
} catch (Exception e) { }
I hope this helps :-)

I ran into a similar problem while using attributes for color in a drawable selector.
I solved it by making a color selector instead of a drawable selector.
Basically, make a new resource, with Resource Type as Color, which will be your color selector. Here, unlike with drawable selectors, you can use your attributes without issue:
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:color="?colorBackgroundDisabled" android:state_enabled="false" />
<item android:color="?colorBackground" />
</selector>
^I named this selector_background.
Then you can use that selector:
<TextView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#color/selector_background"/>

In stead of putting a "?" Change it to "#"

How to modify the default button state in Android Studio using selector tag?

android studio show me: element selector must be declared,why?
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#drawable/rd_btn_press"
android:state_pressed="true" />
<item android:drawable="#drawable/rd_btn"
android:state_focused="true" />
<item android:drawable="#drawable/rd_btn" />
</selector>

Make sure you have this file in the res/drawable folder. It seems to me that you have it in some other folder in android project. Please comment if that's not the case.