Develop Reference

Problems styling ActionBar background with Drawable

I have tried to add a image to the ActionBar background using this theme/style
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar">
<item name="android:background">#drawable/actionbar_background</item>
</style>
But although the background is being changed, it's creating a weird effect on the title and menu button. It's as thought they are separate child views within the ActionBar (maybe they are, I'm not sure) and the Drawable is being applied to them individually.
I was hoping for a seamless Drawable being applied across the ActionBar. Is this possible or should I just give up, and instead just change the background with a flat colour?
activity_main.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:id="#+id/layout_activity_main"
tools:context=".MainActivity">
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:id="#+id/appBarLayout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:popupTheme="#style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>
<include layout="#layout/content_main" />
</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
styles.xml
<resources xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<item name="coordinatorLayoutStyle">#style/Widget.Support.CoordinatorLayout</item>
<item name="colorAccent">#android:color/black</item>
<item name="colorPrimary">#android:color/holo_blue_dark</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#android:color/holo_blue_dark</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#android:color/white</item>
<item name="android:textColorSecondary">#android:color/white</item>
<item name="android:textColorHint">#android:color/white</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="android:windowBackground">#drawable/no_actionbar_background</item>
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar">
<item name="android:background">#drawable/actionbar_background</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.PopupOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light">
<item name="android:background">#android:color/black</item>
</style>
</resources>

When you set the android:theme attribute of a view, the style you pass is applied to that view and all of its children. In your case, the AppBarLayout does (internally) use separate views for the title and the overflow menu button.
However, since the only thing your style seems to be doing is setting the android:background attribute, you could just set that directly on the AppBarLayout. So, replace this:
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:id="#+id/appBarLayout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay">
with this:
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:id="#+id/appBarLayout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#drawable/actionbar_background">

"android:background"
in your style change the background to each component in your layouts.
You can change the color of your ActionBar with something like this.
<item name="android:navigationBarColor">#color/colorPrimary</item>

This is an example for the AppCompat-v7 Toolbar, the other Toolbar is a bit different when it comes to theme.
I can't really give you the answer that will suit you the most, and this code is only here to show you the way.
What changes is that the toolbar is using style instead of android:theme and it uses a new style AppTheme.Toolbar.
AppTheme.Toolbar groups your custom background, the theme for the views inside the toolbar (title, subtitle, etc) and the theme for the popup menu.
The theme for the children and the popup menu are separated so you can control each component separately.
Try to play with their parent attribute (from Dark to Light) and pick what is the best for you.
Into your styles.xml
<style name="AppTheme.Toolbar">
<item name="android:background">#drawable/actionbar_background</item>
<item name="popupTheme">#style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay</item>
<item name="android:theme">#style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar">
<!-- Change attribute of the toolbar views-->
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.PopupOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark">
<!--Change attribute of the menu-->
</style>
Into your activity_main.xml
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:id="#+id/appBarLayout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
style="#style/AppTheme.Toolbar"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize" />
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>

Android: How to remove line between Toolbar and Statusbar

I am interested in having a uniform coloured toolbar and status bar. If I provide colorPrimary and colorPrimaryDark as the same colour this should be possible. I am getting the desired result using ActionBar but not with Toolbar. I will also be creating a navigation view so i need the status bar as transparent.
Code : Styles-v21
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="android:windowDrawsSystemBarBackgrounds">true</item>
<item name="android:statusBarColor">#android:color/transparent</item>
</style>
Code : Styles
<resources>
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorAccent">#color/colorAccent</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"/>
<style name="AppTheme.PopupOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light"/>
</resources>
Steps to reproduce :
Create a new project in android studio with Navigation Drawer Activity
Set primary and primaryDark as same colours
Run on device or emulator

The only solution I could come up with was to remove android:fitsSystemWindows="True" from Coordinator Layout
edit : Another solution is to wrap coordinator layout in another coordinator layout.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true">
<android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay"
app:layout_scrollFlags="scroll|enterAlways">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:popupTheme="#style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay"/>
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>
<include
layout="#layout/content_main"
app:layout_behavior="#string/appbar_scrolling_view_behavior"/>
</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
Before
After

This shadow you are seeing is window content overlay, you could remove it:
Please add this line to your theme specification:
<item name="android:windowContentOverlay">#null</item>

Toolbar getting added automatically

I am trying to bring the Navigation drawer on top of the ActionBar/Toolbar in the following code. The problem is, I didn't add toolbar in the xml file and the actionbar setting has been set to false in the style.xml file. However still an actionbar thingy is being added automatically in the window. I don't know what is causing this actionbar/toolbar to be added.
Following is the code:
NavigationDrawer_Activity.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
>
**<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.AppBarOverlay"
>
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:popupTheme="#style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>**
<TextView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="Layout Here"
android:gravity="center"/>
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:headerLayout="#layout/navigation_view_header_layout"
app:menu="#menu/navigation_view_list_items"/>
</android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout>
styles.xml
<resources>
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#color/colorPrimaryDark</item>
<item name="colorAccent">#color/colorAccent</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar" />
<style name="AppTheme.PopupOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light" />
</resources>
Questions:
If I am not adding this toolbar, what is causing it to appear?
How to bring the NavigationDrawer on top of this automagically added toolbar?
Best

Remove the windowActionBar property and change your style parent to this:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
You are adding a toolbar here:
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:popupTheme="#style/AppTheme.PopupOverlay" />
Remove this in order to not display a Toolbar?

In manifest
change
android:theme="#style/AppTheme"
to
android:theme="#style/Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar"

Android ActionBar preferences text is black after Update to appcompat-v7:22.2.1'

I've updated my appcompat dependencies in Android Studio -> build.gradle from
com.android.support:appcompat-v7:22.1.1'
to
com.android.support:appcompat-v7:22.2.1'
After the update, the text of the title is black instead of white, but only in the Preferences. I'm using this toolbar.xml to style my ActionBar in the PreferencesActivity:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:popupTheme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar">
</android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>
</LinearLayout>
I've tried in vain to set the color in the xml file:
android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
And I've tried to style the ActionBar in the style.xml, but without any success:
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="#style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<item name="actionBarStyle">#style/MyActionBar</item>
</style>
<style name="MyActionBar" parent="#style/Widget.AppCompat.ActionBar.Solid">
<item name="titleTextStyle">#style/MyTitleTextStyle</item>
</style>
<style name="MyTitleTextStyle" parent="#style/TextAppearance.AppCompat.Widget.ActionBar.Title">
<item name="android:textColor">#FFFFFF</item>
</style>
Does somebody has any idea?

You should set:
<item name="android:textColorPrimary">#color/white</item>

Android customizing Toolbar for Material Design

I'm trying to implement a Material style ActionBar using toolbar. So far I made a working Material style ActionBar but can't change its icon and text color. I've already set a
Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar
in style.xml and
android:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark"
as the toolbar theme.
Is there any way to change the text color and the black icons into the white ones?
Sources are given below,
Toolbar:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark" >
</android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>
AppTheme:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/ColorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#color/ColorPrimaryDark</item>
</style>
activity_main.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical"
tools:context="com.example.materialactionabar.MainActivity" >
<include layout="#layout/toolbar" />
<android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout
android:id="#+id/drawer_layout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" >
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/container"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
<fragment
android:id="#+id/navigation_drawer"
android:name="com.example.materialactionabar.NavigationDrawerFragment"
android:layout_width="240dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start" />
</android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout>

In your styles just add as below:
<item name="spinBars">true</item>
<item name="color">#color/white</item>
Complete code as below:
<resources>
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/ColorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#color/ColorPrimaryDark</item>
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="drawerArrowStyle">#style/DrawerArrowStyle</item>
</style>
<style name="DrawerArrowStyle" parent="Widget.AppCompat.DrawerArrowToggle">
<item name="spinBars">true</item>
<item name="color">#color/white</item>
</style>