I am trying to decide on the best approach for creating an app splash-screen while taking into consideration Google's latest recommendations on choosing a single Activity app whenever possible.
See here:
"The new approach is to use one-activity structure whenever possible."
and here:
"Today we are introducing the Navigation component as a framework for structuring your in-app UI, with a focus on making a single-Activity app the preferred architecture."
Any good splash-screen approaches I have found have a dedicated Activity for the splash screen:
See here
and here
Has anyone else had any experience creating a splash screen in a single Activity app? Does the the single Activity recommendation include the splash-screen or is it a special case? Does anyone have any good examples or advice on this?
Cheers,
Paul.
The approach I use is the following:
First define a drawable for the background:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:drawable="#color/green"/>
<item>
<bitmap
android:gravity="center"
android:src="#mipmap/ic_launcher"/>
</item>
</layer-list>
2. Define a new style to use in the splashScreen:
<style name="SplashTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar">
<item name="android:windowBackground">#drawable/background_splash</item>
</style>
3. Make your activity implement use the splash theme:
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:theme="#style/SplashTheme">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
4. In on create, before the super invocation and before the set content view set the default app theme:
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle) {
setTheme(android.R.style.AppTheme)
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
This approach is the one I've been using even with multiple Activities, since it follows the guidelines laid down by google: itshows the splash right away and doesn't stay longer than needed.
If you are using ConstraintLayout in your layouts, you can use the Group class of Android to group multiple views. Please refer to the following link for more information.
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/constraint/Group
This class controls the visibility of a set of referenced widgets. Widgets are referenced by being added to a comma separated list of ids, e.g:
<android.support.constraint.Group
android:id="#+id/group"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:visibility="visible"
app:constraint_referenced_ids="button4,button9" />
FYI - Multiple groups can reference the same widgets -- in that case, the XML declaration order will define the final visibility state (the group declared last will have the last word).
Hope this helps you resolve the issue.
Related
I am seeing a weird issue with a new app that I am starting. I am utilizing the new Android 12 splash screen API to create my splash screen and I followed the guide provided by Google to do so. I included core-splashscreen in my project to provide compatibility with older versions of Android OS. When I run the app, I see the splash screen as expected on older OS versions like API 30, but when I run it on API 31, the splash screen icon that I provide is not displayed. The background color that I specify is displayed, but the icon is not there at all. I have tried this with a drawable asset as well as a mipmap and nothing is working. I am stumped as every tutorial I find shows the same steps I have followed and screenshots of their working splash screens, but I am not having any luck.
For context here is my splash screen style definition for v31:
<style name="Theme.Splash" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
<item name="android:windowSplashScreenBackground">#color/orange_7A</item>
<item name="android:windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">#drawable/splash_foreground</item>
<item name="postSplashScreenTheme">#style/Theme.App</item>
</style>
I have an identical style for all other OS versions except I'm using "windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon" instead of "android:windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon". I have tried v31 with and without the "android:" in front of the item names and neither work. Here is my MainActivity.kt:
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
installSplashScreen()
setContent {
MyVeevaTheme {
Login()
}
}
}
I am also setting the "android:theme" property to my splash style in my AndroidManifest.xml. I know the splash style is being applied because it honors the background color, but it is not showing the icon for some reason even though the icon shows fine for older OS versions. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
TL;DR kill the app and run from the launcher, icon does not show up when run from Android Studio.
Adding my comment here as an answer for better visibility.
I did figure out how to get it to show. I was following this tutorial to set up a base project to recreate the issue and I noticed the note the author put right near the bottom that mentions that just running the app doesn't show the full splash screen. You have to kill it and open the app from the launcher. Once I did that, I was able to see my splash screen. Annoying, but at least I have a way to test it now. I did go ahead and log a bug report for this as well, but I have a work around for now. Thanks for everyone's answers/comments!
folks as per the document installSplashScreen() should have been called prior to super.onCreate()
When you use the AndroidX SplashScreen Library, like you are doing (Theme.SplashScreen) you need to use the windowSplashScreen* attributes without the android: prefix.
The android: prefix is used to call the platform attributes, but in this case you are using the library and not the platform, so no need for the prefix:
res/values/themes.xml:
<style name="Theme.Splash" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
<item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">#color/orange_7A</item>
<item name="windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">#drawable/splash_foreground</item>
<item name="postSplashScreenTheme">#style/Theme.App</item>
</style>
For some reason when the app is launched through android studio it doesn't show the icon. Kill the app and launch app from the menu. Then the icon will appear.
This is true if you are not using Splash API: https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/launch/splash-screen/migrate
Icons are also not shown when navigating from the deeplink.
And It looks like its more then only not showing the icon. It also stops calling code for setOnExitAnimation lambda.
installSplashScreen().apply {
setOnAnimationListener { viewProvider ->
viewProvider.iconView
.animate()
.setDuration(500L)
.alpha(0f)
.withEndAnimation {
viewProvider.remove()
someActionCall()
}
.start()
}
If you relied upon this code to be always called it is not.
See mention in issue tracker: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/207095799
The following instructions helped me, you may try this one. A few things need to keep in mind while working with the new splash screen API.
Keep updated on the latest library version. Follow this link (https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/core).
Put installSplashScreen() before setContentView()
Make a proper theme for the splash screen. You may try the following one.
Put this into your styles.xml or themes.xml folder and use it with your activity as the theme.
<!-- Splash Screen Theme. -->
<style name="Theme.AppSplash" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
<item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">#color/white</item>
<item name="windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">#mipmap/ic_launcher_round</item>
<item name="windowSplashScreenAnimationDuration">1000</item>
<item name="postSplashScreenTheme">#style/AppTheme</item>
</style>
Make sure you set the theme to the MainActivity as well. For me that was the cause for the splash screen to now show. So you have to set the theme in both the application and the MainActivity
In addition to the other explanations above, I had the same issue but I realized that in my Manifest file I was setting the Splashscreen theme on my MainActivity which is correct, but my MainActivity was not having the main/launcher intent-filter which tells the android OS that this is the starting activity.
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
So in your manifest, check that you are actually setting the Splashscreen theme on the Starting activity that is having the main/launcher intent-filter, and leave the Application tag to have your application theme and not the Splashscreen theme, to avoid having your app misbehave on other activities due to the theme because I experienced that too (This is especially for those migrating to the new splash screen).
Thank you, I hope someone finds this helpful
I had the same problem on my phone running Android 12. None of the above suggestions worked, (moving installSpashScreen() above super.onCreate etc...)
What fixed it for me was adding the android:theme attribute in the manifest to the Launching <activity> Tag, Not the <application> Tag, which is contrary to the documentation :
In the manifest, replace the theme of the starting activity to the theme you created in the previous step.
<manifest>
<application android:theme="#style/Theme.App.Starting">
<!-- or -->
<activity android:theme="#style/Theme.App.Starting">
Note, you still have to kill the activity and launch it from the launcher for this to work :(
In my case, the problem with the lack of a splash screen was the installation of the default activity theme:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">
<application
android:name=".App"
android:theme="#style/Theme.Tracker.StartSplashScreen"
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:allowBackup="true"
android:dataExtractionRules="#xml/data_extraction_rules"
android:fullBackupContent="#xml/backup_rules"
tools:targetApi="tiramisu">
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:exported="true"
android:theme="#style/Theme.Tracker"> <-------
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
When I deleted android:theme="#style/Theme.Tracker" line, it started working.
I don't seem to be lucky enough to hit the right keywords, so that I could find out what is the preferred way to prevent an application from being brought to front when sharing a link from a browser.
In my AndroidManifest.xml I've the required Intent filter and my application receives a link just fine, but I'd like to stay in the browser of my choice after the sharing.
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND"/>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
<data android:mimeType="text/plain"/>
</intent-filter>
Alternatively, I'd like to be asked by my application "to what predefined category I would like put the shared link".
After considering this for a moment, it began to make sense to create another activity, which would be
fully transparent and without any titles etc. when I just need a link to be saved quickly - and then just call finish() to hide the activity or
partially transparent from its sides, when I want to make a choice before saving a link.
Simple preparations for the latter one:
Set a custom theme for the activity:
android:theme="#style/windowNoTitle"
Use a style resource:
<style name="windowNoTitle" parent="android:Theme.Holo.Light">
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="android:background">#android:color/transparent</item>
<item name="android:windowBackground">#android:color/transparent</item>
<item name="android:windowIsTranslucent">true</item>
</style>
Add margin:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_margin="50dp"
android:orientation="horizontal">
I have not created separate activity for splash screen but added a theme:
<style name="SplashTheme" parent="AppTheme">
<item name="android:windowBackground">#drawable/splash</item>
</style>
and just updated the manifest file
<activity android:name=".MainActivity"
android:theme="#style/SplashTheme">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
my splash xml is:
<FrameLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<ImageView
android:src="#drawable/splash"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
</FrameLayout>
I found all the answers which are just to increase time with the separate splash activity.
It might not be the answer, but just wanted to clear something.(or for people who will visit this link in future).
You know what.. most of the people think that Splash Screen is just for showing Interactive UI to the user.
But trust me it is more useful than your expectations.
It offers a unique way to Initialize the app's resources and checking properties etc.
You can do network check or lot of work in background that needed to be done before the user interact with app.
That's the actual motive of splash screen, not just showing the App logo or welcome message.
So, keep it simple.
Now, for you.. i will suggest.. use separate Activity. :)
Recently I have read a chapter about dialogs in The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (2nd edition) and I have done everything by the book. However there are some issues, which are not mensioned in the book. Preview area of Intellij Idea doesn't work correctly with AppCompat themes.
This is my current theme:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
</style>
And this is what I have in preview area:
In the Internet I have read that using Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar may help. It removes the message, but ActionBar dissapeares also.
Oh, and DatePicker doesn't work with both and any Material Design:
This is just a render issue, because both themes work fine on devices. Can someone try to preview DatePicker in IDEA and Android Studio with AppCompat theme? May be this is just an IDEA issue.
P.S. dialog_date.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<DatePicker xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/dialog_date_date_picker"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:calendarViewShown="false"
/>
AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.criminalintent" >
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".CrimeListActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name=".CrimePagerActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name" >
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Whole project: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=4653F2D263EA4131!21585&authkey=!AESze90_ZZ0p9WY&ithint=folder%2cproperties
Switching Themes
If you look at the declaration for Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar, it aliases directly to Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar in AppCompat's values/themes.xml file:
<!-- Platform-independent theme providing an action bar in a dark-themed activity. -->
<style name="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar" parent="Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar" />
source
This isn't aliased in any of the other device configurations (e.g. values-v23/themes.xml, values-v18/themes.xml, etc). Have a look at the resouces for AppCompat here. This means that for every device, Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar will always and only alias to Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar.
The docs for the Base theme make this even more clear:
Themes in the "Base.Theme" family vary based on the current
platform version to provide the correct basis on each device. You
probably don't want to use them directly in your apps.
Themes in the "Theme.AppCompat" family are meant to be extended or
used directly by apps.
source
So your switching from Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar to Base.Theme.Light.DarkActionBar will never affect how things are displayed on actual devices and really isn't a change. The fact that Android Studio behaved differently is a problem with Android Studio (which I was unable to reproduce using your code on AS 2.0 preview 9).
Problem with Android Studio
I'll say that the Design tab has always been a bit flaky. It's getting better but hasn't always played nice, especially with support library stuff. To change your app's theme (even if what I said above wasn't true) just to make the Design tab look pretty is probably a bad idea. Think about your users. If you really want to know what your screen looks like, then deploy it to a real device or emulator.
Dialogs
I was also unable to reproduce your Dialog problem in AS 1.4 (stable) or AS 2.0 preview 9 (canary, ATM). But since your entire layout file is a DatePicker, I don't think you will get much benefit. This is even less beneficial when you consider that your DatePicker will be displayed in a dialog (which the Design tab is unable to simulate). I don't mean to sound harsh but you might just have to bite the bullet and use an emulator or physical device.
Make your style.xml look like this, toolbar will show up:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
And your DatePicker needs to loo like this:
<DatePicker
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:datePickerMode="spinner"
android:id="#+id/datePicker" />
If you need CalendarView in your xml add this insted of DatePicker:
<CalendarView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:id="#+id/calendarView1" />
Shitty Android Studio 1.5.0 should be updated to 1.5.1. So easy
I can't seem to get past this error:
android.util.AndroidRuntimeException: You cannot combine custom titles
with other title features
I am running API > 14.
Manifest is as follows:
<activity
android:name=".activity.ActivityWelcome"
android:label="#string/app_label_name"
android:launchMode="singleTask"
android:clearTaskOnLaunch="true"
android:theme="#style/My.Theme">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
My activity is doing the following:
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE);
setContentView(R.layout.welcome);
getWindow().setFeatureInt(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE, R.layout.window_title_main);
...
Where R.layout.window_title_main is:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/layout_title"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:paddingLeft="5dp" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textview_title"
android:drawableLeft="#null"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:ellipsize="marquee"
android:marqueeRepeatLimit="-1"/>
</LinearLayout>
Why is this not working when it seems to work for others?
This is the kind of error that will drive you to insanity and beyond.
So I happen to be using Theme.Holo as my parent theme. (The theme that my own theme extends)
The documentation says:
...the action bar is included in all activities that use the Theme.Holo
theme (or one of its descendants), which is the default theme when
either the targetSdkVersion or minSdkVersion attribute is set to "11"
or greater.
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/actionbar.html#Adding (first paragraph)
Ok, so when I try to go through the process above (my question) I get the error:
You cannot combine custom titles with other title features
Well, that's because, by default action bar is setup already and it won't allow you to use a custom title bar as well.
Documentation reveals that "each activity includes the action bar":
This way, when the application runs on Android 3.0 or greater, the
system applies the holographic theme to each activity, and thus, each
activity includes the action bar.
So, I will now focus my time on altering the action bar and not the title bar!
FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE
and
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
Are mutially exclusive. Remove
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
and it will work again.
As a beginner most of the answers didn't help me for my case. So here is my answer.
Go to res/values folder in your android project and check for strings.xml (this file may vary in your case, something like themes.xml)
Inside the file under resource tag check whether you have style tags. If you don't find it, add the code below as mentioned below as a child to resources tag
something like below
<resources>
<style name="SomeNameHere">
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
</resources>
if you already have style tag, just add the code below to your style tag
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>