Develop Reference

Which view should be used for new Material Design Bottom Navigation? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Android new Bottom Navigation bar or BottomNavigationView
(14 answers)
Closed 5 years ago.
I am sure that y'all have heard about the addition of bottom navigation to the material design guidelines. I am planning on adding it to my app. However, I am not sure what the best way to approach it is. What kind of a view would be best to show the bottom bar?

A LinearLayout with equal weights for its views, horizontal orientation. Buttons in the LinearLayout with drawableTop set to the icon of choice.
Add it to the bottom:
In a FrameLayout or CoordinatorLayout you can add it to the bottom with layout_gravity="bottom" or in a RelativeLayout use android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
Dimensions, font size etc:
Please refer to the material design bottom navigation specs about it for the margins and font sizes etc:
Height: 56dp
Icon: 24 x 24dp
Content alignment:
Text and icon are centered horizontally within
view.
Padding:
6dp above icon (active view), 8dp above icon (inactive view)
10dp under text
12dp left and right of text
Text label:
Roboto Regular 14sp (active view)
Roboto Regular 12sp (inactive view)
Hide on scroll
Use a CoordinatorLayout from android design support library. Add this LinearLayout as a child in the xml and set a Behavior to to hide on scroll.
Update
There is now an open source library available that is built to spec:
https://github.com/roughike/BottomBar
Update 2
It is now part of the support lib.

BottomNavigationView is a component added in Google Support Library 25. It provides a quick navigation between top level views within an app. It should be used when application has three to five top-level destinations. My implementation includes the switching between Fragments on Selecting the Menu Items.
Add to the build.gradle of your project module
compile'com.android.support:design:25.3.1'
Create the BottomNavigationView in xml of your layout and provide a menu resource to it:
<android.support.design.widget.BottomNavigationView
android:id="#+id/navigation"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginEnd="0dp"
android:layout_marginStart="0dp"
android:background="?android:attr/windowBackground"
app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"/>
Create a file here navigation.xml in menu resource folder. This file is used for providing the MenuItems in BottomNavigationView
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_home"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_home_black_24dp"
android:title="#string/title_home" />
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_dashboard"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_dashboard_black_24dp"
android:title="#string/title_dashboard" />
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_notifications"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_notifications_black_24dp"
android:title="#string/title_notifications" />
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_settings"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_settings_black_24dp"
android:title="#string/title_settings" />
</menu>
With everything in line this much code shows up the BottomBar on running the app. Now lets set the listener for the Click Events OnNavigationItemSelectedListener and OnNavigationItemReselectedListener on Menu Items -
private BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener mOnNavigationItemSelectedListener
= new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.navigation_home:
return true;
case R.id.navigation_dashboard:
return true;
case R.id.navigation_notifications:
return true;
case R.id.navigation_settings:
return true;
}
return true;
}
};
private BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemReselectedListener mOnNavigationItemReselectedListener = new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemReselectedListener() {
#Override
public void onNavigationItemReselected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.navigation_home:
Log.d(TAG, "Navigation Reselected ===");
break;
case R.id.navigation_dashboard:
Log.d(TAG, "Dashboard Reselected ===");
break;
case R.id.navigation_notifications:
Log.d(TAG, "Notification Reselected ===");
break;
case R.id.navigation_settings:
Log.d(TAG, "Settings Reselected ===");
break;
}
}
};
bottomNavigationView.setOnNavigationItemSelectedListener
(mOnNavigationItemSelectedListener);
bottomNavigationView.setOnNavigationItemReselectedListener
(mOnNavigationItemReselectedListener);
If the no of Menu Items are more than 3 then the selected Item will take more space in the BottomNavView and it looks a little weird as of now, may be intentionally Google has kept it like this.
This behavior is defined by ShiftingMode property of BottomNavigationView, which can't be disabled in a straightforward way as of now, as its api is not public. But there is a way through Reflection to do it :
BottomNavigationMenuView menuView = (BottomNavigationMenuView)
btmNavigationView.getChildAt(0);
try {
Field shiftingMode = menuView.getClass()
.getDeclaredField("mShiftingMode");
shiftingMode.setAccessible(true);
shiftingMode.setBoolean(menuView, false);
shiftingMode.setAccessible(false);
for (int i = 0; i < menuView.getChildCount(); i++) {
BottomNavigationItemView item =
(BottomNavigationItemView) menuView.getChildAt(i);
item.setShiftingMode(false);
//To update view, set the checked value again
item.setChecked(item.getItemData().isChecked());
}
} catch (NoSuchFieldException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (SecurityException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
After calling above code result is :
For more information checkout my Github Project:
https://github.com/pmahsky/BottomNavigationViewDemo

Since android support library 25 you have a native BottomNavigationView which is the same as mentioned in material design guidelines.
To begin with we need to update our dependancy:
compile 'com.android.support:design:25.0.0'
Next we simply need to add the Bottom Navigation View widget to our desired layout file. Remember that this should be aligned with the bottom of the screen with all content displaying above it. We can add this view like so:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout 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.support.design.widget.BottomNavigationView
android:id="#+id/bottom_navigation"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
app:itemBackground="#color/colorPrimary"
app:itemIconTint="#color/white"
app:itemTextColor="#color/white"
app:menu="#menu/bottom_navigation_main" />
</RelativeLayout>
For a more detailed article please visit this: https://medium.com/#hitherejoe/exploring-the-android-design-support-library-bottom-navigation-drawer-548de699e8e0#.bgoj4br93

How to add dividers between specific menu items?

Background
I have a menu item in the action bar (toolbar actually) that when clicked, shows a list of items to choose from, similar to radio-buttons:
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<item
android:icon="#drawable/..."
android:title="#string/..."
app:showAsAction="always">
<menu>
<group
android:id="#+id/..."
android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item .../>
<item .../>
<item .../>
</group>
</menu>
</item>
</menu>
I need to put an item below this list of items, that will have a divider between it and the list. Similar to what the material design guidelines show (taken from here) :
EDIT: here's a sketch of what I want to do:
The problem
I can't find a way to do it.
What I've tried
The only possible solutions I've found are:
change the theme of the activity (here), but this will also affect other menu items of the activity
methods to put a divider between menu items when they appear on the action bar, but here they do not appear on the toolbar itself. They appear on a popup menu of a selected item.
I tried to put fake items between the list and the extra item, and I also tried to put a group, an empty group and even tried various attributes.
Sadly nothing worked.
The question
How can I add a divider between specific items of an action-item's popup menu ?
Perhaps I need to create a custom popup menu when clicking on the action item (like here) ? If so, how do I put a divider between specific items there ?
Maybe use a Spinner as an action item?

You should use action layout
<menu 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"
tools:context=".LandingActivity">
<item
android:id="#+id/action_cart"
android:title="cart"
android:actionLayout="#layout/cart_update_count"
android:icon="#drawable/shape_notification"
app:showAsAction="always"/>
</menu>
and then the action layout can have the textview with divider.
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<View
android:id="#+id/divider"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#drawable/divider"/>
<TextView
android:id="#android:id/text"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="?android:attr/selectableItemBackground"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:textAppearance="?attr/textAppearanceListItemSmall"/>
</LinearLayout>
then you can add the click listener in code

As of SDK version 28, you can use menu.setGroupDividerEnabled(boolean). If you're using ContextMenu this is only supported on SDK 28+, but MenuCompat offers backwards compatibility when used in onCreateOptionsMenu().
This will add a divider between the actions for each different groupId, shown as 0 and 1 below:
menu.add(0, getAdapterPosition(), action1, R.string.action1);
menu.add(1, getAdapterPosition(), action2, R.string.action2);
menu.setGroupDividerEnabled(true);
// Or for MenuCompat < SDK 28:
MenuCompat.setGroupDividerEnabled(menu, true);
Documentation here: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/Menu#setGroupDividerEnabled(boolean)
EDIT: Sample code as requested by asker:
Here's the code I am currently using in my app, located in a RecyclerView Adapter. It should work with your menu implementation as well. Since you're defining the menu by XML, the below will also work for you as long as you reference the menu resource. Here's what the result looks like:
Override onCreateContextMenu or your menu's relevant onCreate.. method like so within the:
#Override
public void onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu menu, View v, ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo menuInfo) {
menu.setHeaderTitle(getStr(R.string.actions_title));
// Groups 0 and 1, first parameter for menu.add()
menu.add(0, getAdapterPosition(), 0, R.string.homescreen);
menu.add(0, getAdapterPosition(), 1, R.string.lockscreen);
menu.add(0, getAdapterPosition(), 2, R.string.wpLocation_both);
menu.add(1, getAdapterPosition(), 3, R.string.action_download);
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.P) {
menu.setGroupDividerEnabled(true); // This adds the divider between groups 0 and 1, but only supported on Android 9.0 and up.
}
}

OK, I've found a nice workaround, but I'm not sure the styling should be this way. That's what I'm missing:
background of items is on top of the background of the popup of the spinner, and I'm not sure if that's the correct way to put it.
I used the white background of the support library for the popup of the spinner. I think there should be a better way to make it white.
I need to know what is the correct style of the divider. for now I used a simple one
Action bar item style is missing. I just used a simple ImageView, and I think it should be different.
For some reason, on some Android versions (maybe Lollipop and below) the background of the items look black instead of white.
The spinner might sometimes have issues with setOnItemSelectedListener , not sure when.
MainActivity
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.menu_main, menu);
final MenuItem item = menu.findItem(R.id.action_settings);
final Spinner spinner = ((Spinner) MenuItemCompat.getActionView(item));
SimpleImageArrayAdapter adapter = new SimpleImageArrayAdapter(this);
spinner.setAdapter(adapter);
return true;
}
public class SimpleImageArrayAdapter extends ArrayAdapter<String> {
private final String[] items = {"item 1", "item 2", "item 3", "extra item"};
public SimpleImageArrayAdapter(Context context) {
super(context, 0);
}
#Override
public int getCount() {
return items.length;
}
#Override
public String getItem(final int position) {
return items[position];
}
#Override
public View getDropDownView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
View rootView = convertView == null ? LayoutInflater.from(getContext()).inflate(R.layout.spinner_item, parent, false) : convertView;
TextView tv = (TextView) rootView.findViewById(android.R.id.text1);
tv.setTextColor(0xff000000);
tv.setText(items[position]);
boolean isLastItem = position == getCount() - 1;
rootView.findViewById(R.id.action_divider).setVisibility(isLastItem ? View.VISIBLE : View.GONE);
rootView.setLayoutParams(new AbsListView.LayoutParams(LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT));
return rootView;
}
#Override
public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
//this is the view that's shown for the spinner when it's closed
ImageView iv = new ImageView(getContext());
iv.setImageResource(android.R.drawable.ic_menu_add);
int viewSize = getDimensionFromAttribute(MainActivity.this, android.support.v7.appcompat.R.attr.actionBarSize);
iv.setLayoutParams(new ViewGroup.LayoutParams(viewSize, viewSize));
iv.setScaleType(ScaleType.CENTER_INSIDE);
iv.setBackgroundResource(getResIdFromAttribute(MainActivity.this, R.attr.selectableItemBackground));
return iv;
}
}
public static int getResIdFromAttribute(final Activity activity, final int attr) {
if (attr == 0)
return 0;
final TypedValue typedValue = new TypedValue();
activity.getTheme().resolveAttribute(attr, typedValue, true);
return typedValue.resourceId;
}
public static int getDimensionFromAttribute(final Context context, final int attr) {
final TypedValue typedValue = new TypedValue();
if (context.getTheme().resolveAttribute(attr, typedValue, true))
return TypedValue.complexToDimensionPixelSize(typedValue.data, context.getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
return 0;
}
res/menu/menu_main.xml
<menu 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"
tools:context="com.example.user.myapplication.MainActivity">
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:actionLayout="#layout/spinner"
android:title=""
app:actionLayout="#layout/spinner"
app:showAsAction="always"
/>
</menu>
res/layout/spinner_item.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/action_divider"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#drawable/divider"/>
<TextView
android:id="#android:id/text1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="?android:attr/selectableItemBackground"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:minHeight="?attr/listPreferredItemHeightSmall"
android:paddingEnd="?attr/listPreferredItemPaddingRight"
android:paddingLeft="?attr/listPreferredItemPaddingLeft"
android:paddingRight="?attr/listPreferredItemPaddingRight"
android:paddingStart="?attr/listPreferredItemPaddingLeft"
android:textAppearance="?attr/textAppearanceListItemSmall"/>
</LinearLayout>
res/layout/spinner.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/spinner"
style="#style/SpinnerWithoutArrow"
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
res/values/styles.xml
<style name="SpinnerWithoutArrow" parent="#style/Widget.AppCompat.Spinner">
<item name="android:background">#null</item>
<item name="android:popupBackground">#drawable/abc_popup_background_mtrl_mult</item>
</style>
res/drawable/divider.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<shape
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:shape="rectangle">
<size
android:height="1dp"/>
<solid android:color="#FFff0000" />
</shape>

This can be done by using popup window and list view. In your list view, you can have different view types, such as menu item and divider.
I list the code for popup window part:
LayoutInflater inflater = LayoutInflater.from(context);
View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.option_menu, null);
ListView listView = (ListView) view.findViewById(R.id.listView);
listView.setDivider(null);
mAdapter = new OptionListAdapter(context, options);
listView.setAdapter(mAdapter);
listView.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener() {
#Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
//TODO: The code when item is clicked.
}
});
mPopupWindow = new PopupWindow(context, null, R.attr.popupMenuStyle);
mPopupWindow.setFocusable(true); // otherwise on android 4.1.x the onItemClickListener won't work.
mPopupWindow.setContentView(view);
mPopupWindow.setOutsideTouchable(true);
int height = 0;
int width = 0;
float density = context.getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density;
int minWidth = Math.round(196 * density); // min width 196dip, from abc_popup_menu_item_layout.xml
int cellHeight = context.getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.option_height);
int dividerHeight = context.getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.divider_height);
final int widthMeasureSpec = View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED);
final int heightMeasureSpec = View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED);
for (int i = 0; i < mAdapter.getCount(); i++) {
Object item = mAdapter.getItem(i);
if (item != null) {
View childView = mAdapter.getView(i, null, listView);
childView.measure(widthMeasureSpec, heightMeasureSpec);
height += cellHeight;
width = Math.max(width, childView.getMeasuredWidth());
} else {
height += dividerHeight; // divider
}
}
width = Math.max(minWidth, width);
Drawable background = mPopupWindow.getBackground(); // 9-pitch images
if (background != null) {
Rect padding = new Rect();
background.getPadding(padding);
height += padding.top + padding.bottom;
width += padding.left + padding.right;
}
mPopupWindow.setWidth(width);
mPopupWindow.setHeight(height);
mPopupWindow.setInputMethodMode(PopupWindow.INPUT_METHOD_NOT_NEEDED);
Then you can use following method to show the popup window:
PopupWindowCompat.showAsDropDown(mPopupWindow, parent, x, y, gravity);
In the adapter for list view, you can override getViewTypeCount() and getItemViewType() to support both menu item layout and divider layout, also you can add any view type that you need.
Here is a snapshot in my app:

In Material3 Design, MDC-Android, make menu items in each group, and call setGroupDividerEnabled(Boolean).
Dividers will inserted between group or menu item(s).
MyActivity.kt
private val binding by lazy { ActivityMyBinding.inflate(layoutInflater) }
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
setContentView(binding.root)
// other initializations..
// ...
binding.toolbar.menu.setGroupDividerEnabled(true)
}
activity_my.xml
<androidx.coordinatorlayout.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">
<com.google.android.material.appbar.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<com.google.android.material.appbar.MaterialToolbar
<!-- Other properties -->
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
app:menu="#menu/main" />
</com.google.android.material.appbar.AppBarLayout>
</androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
menu.xml
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<item
android:id="#+id/item0"
android:title="item0"
app:showAsAction="never" />
<item
android:id="#+id/item1"
android:title="item1"
app:showAsAction="never" />
<group android:id="#+id/group0">
<item
android:id="#+id/item2"
android:title="group0 item2"
app:showAsAction="never" />
</group>
<group android:id="#+id/group1">
<item
android:id="#+id/item3"
android:title="group1 item3"
app:showAsAction="never" />
<item
android:id="#+id/item4"
android:title="group1 item4"
app:showAsAction="never" />
</group>
</menu>

I did it this way:
Reference screenshot:
style.xml:
<style name="popup" parent="Widget.AppCompat.ListView.DropDown">
<item name="android:divider">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="android:dividerHeight">1dp</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="android:itemBackground">#android:color/white</item>
</style>
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!--- Customize popmenu -->
<item name="android:dropDownListViewStyle">#style/popup</item>
</style>
Java code:
private void showPopup(View v) {
Context wrapper = new ContextThemeWrapper(this, R.style.popup);
PopupMenu mypopupmenu = new PopupMenu(wrapper, v);
MenuInflater inflater = mypopupmenu.getMenuInflater();
inflater.inflate(R.menu.menu_patient_language, mypopupmenu.getMenu());
mypopupmenu.show();
mypopupmenu.setOnMenuItemClickListener(new PopupMenu.OnMenuItemClickListener() {
#Override
public boolean onMenuItemClick(MenuItem item) {
txtPreferredLanguage.setText(item.getTitle().toString());
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.menuEnglish:
// Your code goes here
break;
case R.id.menuFrench:
// Your code goes here
break;
}
return false;
}
});
}
Hope this will help you.

Super simple solution that worked out for me:
Define a drawable for the background:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="#android:color/white"/>
<stroke
android:width="3dp"
android:color="#color/colorPrimary"/>
</shape>
then in Styles use the background:
<style name="bluetooth_popup" parent="#android:style/Widget.DeviceDefault.Light.PopupMenu">
<item name="android:textColor">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="android:textStyle">bold</item>
<item name="android:textAllCaps">true</item>
<item name="android:background">#android:color/transparent</item>
<item name="android:itemBackground">#drawable/bluetooth_popup_buttons</item>

now :
group1[ item0 item1 item2 ] group1[item3];
change to :
group1[ item0 item1] group1[item2 item3]
group has a divider;
it likes that group can add a divder between item;
if divider is unavailable,try background;
i never user menu;
its my guess;

Change the color of a checked menu item in a navigation drawer

I am using the new Android Design Support library to implement a navigation drawer in my application.
I can't figure out how to change the color of a selected item!
Here is the xml of the menu :
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<group android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_item_1"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_1"
android:title="#string/navigation_item_1"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_item_2"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_2"
android:title="#string/navigation_item_2"/>
</group>
And here is the navigationview xml which is placed inside a android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout :
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/activity_main_navigationview"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:headerLayout="#layout/drawer_header"
app:itemIconTint="#color/black"
app:itemTextColor="#color/primary_text"
app:menu="#menu/menu_drawer">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/main_activity_version"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="bottom"
android:layout_marginBottom="#dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:layout_marginLeft="#dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:textColor="#color/primary_text" />
</android.support.design.widget.NavigationView>
Thank you for your help !
[EDIT]
I have already looked at solutions such as this one : Change background color of android menu.
It seems to be quite a hack and I thought that with the new Design Support Library, something cleaner would have been introduced?

Well you can achieve this using Color State Resource. If you notice inside your NavigationView you're using
app:itemIconTint="#color/black"
app:itemTextColor="#color/primary_text"
Here instead of using #color/black or #color/primary_test, use a Color State List Resource. For that, first create a new xml (e.g drawer_item.xml) inside color directory (which should be inside res directory.) If you don't have a directory named color already, create one.
Now inside drawer_item.xml do something like this
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:color="checked state color" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:color="your default color" />
</selector>
Final step would be to change your NavigationView
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/activity_main_navigationview"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:headerLayout="#layout/drawer_header"
app:itemIconTint="#color/drawer_item" // notice here
app:itemTextColor="#color/drawer_item" // and here
app:itemBackground="#android:color/transparent"// and here for setting the background color to tranparent
app:menu="#menu/menu_drawer">
Like this you can use separate Color State List Resources for IconTint, ItemTextColor, ItemBackground.
Now when you set an item as checked (either in xml or programmatically), the particular item will have different color than the unchecked ones.

I believe app:itemBackground expects a drawable. So follow the steps below :
Make a drawable file highlight_color.xml with following contents :
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="rectangle">
<solid android:color="YOUR HIGHLIGHT COLOR"/>
</shape>
Make another drawable file nav_item_drawable.xml with following contents:
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#drawable/highlight_color" android:state_checked="true"/>
</selector>
Finally add app:itemBackground tag in the NavView :
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/activity_main_navigationview"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:headerLayout="#layout/drawer_header"
app:itemIconTint="#color/black"
app:itemTextColor="#color/primary_text"
app:itemBackground="#drawable/nav_item_drawable"
app:menu="#menu/menu_drawer">
here the highlight_color.xml file defines a solid color drawable for the background. Later this color drawable is assigned to nav_item_drawable.xml selector.
This worked for me. Hopefully this will help.
********************************************** UPDATED **********************************************
Though the above mentioned answer gives you fine control over some properties, but the way I am about to describe feels more SOLID and is a bit COOLER.
So what you can do is, you can define a ThemeOverlay in the styles.xml for the NavigationView like this :
<style name="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.navTheme">
<!-- Color of text and icon when SELECTED -->
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/color_of_your_choice</item>
<!-- Background color when SELECTED -->
<item name="colorControlHighlight">#color/color_of_your_choice</item>
</style>
now apply this ThemeOverlay to app:theme attribute of NavigationView, like this:
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/activity_main_navigationview"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.navTheme"
app:headerLayout="#layout/drawer_header"
app:menu="#menu/menu_drawer">
I hope this will help.

One need to set NavigateItem checked true whenever item in NavigateView is clicked
//listen for navigation events
NavigationView navigationView = (NavigationView)findViewById(R.id.navigation);
navigationView.setNavigationItemSelectedListener(this);
// select the correct nav menu item
navigationView.getMenu().findItem(mNavItemId).setChecked(true);
Add NavigationItemSelectedListener on NavigationView
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(final MenuItem menuItem) {
// update highlighted item in the navigation menu
menuItem.setChecked(true);
mNavItemId = menuItem.getItemId();
// allow some time after closing the drawer before performing real navigation
// so the user can see what is happening
mDrawerLayout.closeDrawer(GravityCompat.START);
mDrawerActionHandler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
navigate(menuItem.getItemId());
}
}, DRAWER_CLOSE_DELAY_MS);
return true;
}

Step 1: Build a checked/unchecked selector:
selector.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:color="#color/yellow" android:state_checked="true" />
<item android:color="#color/white" android:state_checked="false" />
</selector>
Step 2: use the XML attribute app:itemTextColor within NavigationView widget for selecting the text color.
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/nav_view"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:headerLayout="#layout/navigation_header_layout"
app:itemTextColor="#drawable/selector"
app:menu="#menu/navigation_menu" />
Step 3 & 4:
Step 3: To make menu icons check-able: wrap all items in a <group> and setandroid:checkableBehavior="single"
Step 4: To change icon color: set the selector to all the items with app:iconTint
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<group android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_account"
android:checked="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_person_black_24dp"
android:title="My Account"
app:iconTint="#drawable/selector" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_settings"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_settings_black_24dp"
android:title="Settings"
app:iconTint="#drawable/selector" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_logout"
android:icon="#drawable/logout"
android:title="Log Out"
app:iconTint="#drawable/selector" />
</group>
</menu>
Step 5:: make sure that onNavigationItemSelected() callback returns true to consume selection event
navView.setNavigationItemSelectedListener(new NavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
drawerLayout.closeDrawer(GravityCompat.START);
return true;
}
});
Result:
Side Note:
If setting android:checkableBehavior="single" not working, then you handle this programmatically by manually making the selected item checked and clear the previously selected item:
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
int id = item.getItemId();
// remove all colors of the items to the `unchecked` state of the selector
removeColor(mNavigationView);
// check the selected item to change its color set by the `checked` state of the selector
item.setChecked(true);
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.dashboard:
...
}
drawerLayout.closeDrawer(GravityCompat.START);
return true;
}
private void removeColor(NavigationView view) {
for (int i = 0; i < view.getMenu().size(); i++) {
MenuItem item = view.getMenu().getItem(i);
item.setChecked(false);
}
}

Here is the another way to achive this:
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
int id = item.getItemId();
item.setOnMenuItemClickListener(new MenuItem.OnMenuItemClickListener() {
#Override
public boolean onMenuItemClick(MenuItem item) {
item.setEnabled(true);
item.setTitle(Html.fromHtml("<font color='#ff3824'>Settings</font>"));
return false;
}
});
//noinspection SimplifiableIfStatement
if (id == R.id.action_settings) {
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}

Here's how you can do it in your Activity's onCreate method:
NavigationView navigationView = findViewById(R.id.nav_view);
ColorStateList csl = new ColorStateList(
new int[][] {
new int[] {-android.R.attr.state_checked}, // unchecked
new int[] { android.R.attr.state_checked} // checked
},
new int[] {
Color.BLACK,
Color.RED
}
);
navigationView.setItemTextColor(csl);
navigationView.setItemIconTintList(csl);

if you want to keep the fillet of selected item in material 3, use app:itemShapeFillColor="#color/main_navigation_view" instead of app:itemBackground="#color/main_navigation_view"

NavigationView menu items with counter on the right

The new NavigationView in the new Design Support Library works really great.
They use "menu-items" to display the options.
But how can I display a counter to the right of the menu item?
Like in this picture:
Or like in the GMail app.

Starting from version 23 of appcompat-v7 NavigationView supports action views, so it is quite easy to implement counter yourself.
Create counter layout, i.e. menu_counter.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:textAppearance="#style/TextAppearance.AppCompat.Body2" />
Reference it in your drawer menu xml, i.e. menu/drawer.xml:
<item
...
app:actionLayout="#layout/menu_counter" />
Note that you should use app namespace, don't try to use android.
Alternatively you can manually set action view with MenuItem.setActionView() method.
Find menu item and set counter:
private void setMenuCounter(#IdRes int itemId, int count) {
TextView view = (TextView) navigationView.getMenu().findItem(itemId).getActionView();
view.setText(count > 0 ? String.valueOf(count) : null);
}
Note, that you will need to use MenuItemCompat if you have to support Android 2.x versions.

My workaround was passing a SpannableString with a different background as new title of the MenuItem.
I known is not the best solution and it's not right-aligned but it works as a counter quite well. Something like this:
NavigationView navigation = (NavigationView)findViewById(R.id.navigation);
Menu menuNav = navigation.getMenu();
MenuItem element = menuNav.findItem(R.id.item5);
String before = element.getTitle().toString();
String counter = Integer.toString(5);
String s = before + " "+counter+" ";
SpannableString sColored = new SpannableString( s );
sColored.setSpan(new BackgroundColorSpan( Color.GRAY ), s.length()-(counter.length()+2), s.length(), 0);
sColored.setSpan(new ForegroundColorSpan( Color.WHITE ), s.length()-(counter.length()+2), s.length(), 0);
element.setTitle(sColored);
To improve the counter, here you can find a good answer to set the corners rounded
Example:

Looking at the source for NavigationView, they currently do not support any custom rendering of the menu items (See NavigationMenuPresenter and NavigationMenuAdapter). Hopefully they expose more functionalities soon as I want to set a custom font on the menu items but am unable to without using reflection.

I wanted to have a badge icon for the counters as well. This badge would be pill shaped and have the ability to be different colors to differentiate between important badges and unimportant badges.
To accomplish this, I created a custom view Badge
class Badge #JvmOverloads constructor(
context: Context,
attrs: AttributeSet? = null,
defStyle: Int = 0,
defStyleRes: Int = 0
) : LinearLayout(context, attrs, defStyle, defStyleRes) {
private val badgeText: TextView
private var important: Boolean
init {
inflate(context, R.layout.badge, this)
badgeText = findViewById(R.id.badge)
important = false
isImportant(important)
adjustVisibility()
}
fun setText(text: String) {
badgeText.text = text
adjustVisibility()
}
fun isImportant(isImportant: Boolean) {
if (isImportant) {
badgeText.backgroundTintList = ColorStateList.valueOf(
ContextCompat.getColor(
context,
R.color.nav_badge_important
)
)
} else {
badgeText.backgroundTintList = ColorStateList.valueOf(
ContextCompat.getColor(
context,
R.color.nav_badge_unimportant
)
)
}
}
private fun adjustVisibility() {
if (badgeText.text.isNullOrBlank() && this.visibility == VISIBLE) {
this.visibility = INVISIBLE
} else {
this.visibility = VISIBLE
}
}
}
The layout for the Badge
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:orientation="vertical">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/badge"
style="#style/BadgeStyle"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</LinearLayout>
The style for the Badge
<resources>
<style name="BadgeStyle" parent="Widget.AppCompat.TextView">
<item name="android:textSize">10sp</item>
<item name="android:background">#drawable/badge_curved</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#color/white</item>
</style>
</resources>
The drawable for the Badge
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<corners android:radius="300dp" />
<padding
android:bottom="2dp"
android:left="8dp"
android:right="8dp"
android:top="2dp" />
</shape>
For each menu item with the ability to show a Badge, you need to add app:actionViewClass="com.example.ui.Badge" to your Navigation Menu.
The Badge class gives you the ability to set the text and importance of the badge programmatically.
private fun setupBadges(navView: NavigationView) {
val badgesItemOne = navView.menu.findItem(R.id.nav_one).actionView as Badge
val badgesItemTwo = navView.menu.findItem(R.id.nav_two).actionView as Badge
val badgesItemThree = navView.menu.findItem(R.id.nav_three).actionView as Badge
badgesItemOne.setText("6+")
badgesItemOne.isImportant(true)
badgesItemTwo.setText("2")
badgesItemThree.setText("99+")
}

Step 1 :Identify the group item and add “app:actionViewClass=android.widget.TextView” as given below:
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<group android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_recorder"
app:actionViewClass="android.widget.TextView"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_gallery"
android:title="Gallery" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_night_section"
app:actionViewClass="android.widget.TextView"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_slideshow"
android:title="Slideshow" />
</group>
Step 2: Declare the Navigation Drawer menu item and initialize the item with the badge value
//Create these objects above OnCreate()of your main activity
TextView recorder,nightSection;
//These lines should be added in the OnCreate() of your main activity
recorder =(TextView) MenuItemCompat.getActionView(navigationView.getMenu().
findItem(R.id.nav_recorder));
recordSection=(TextView) MenuItemCompat.getActionView(navigationView.getMenu().
findItem(R.id.nav_night_section));
//This method will initialize the count value
initializeCountDrawer();
Step 3: initializeCountDrawer() can be called where ever it’s required. It can also be used to update the count or badge value in the navigation drawer menu item.
private void initializeCountDrawer(){
//Gravity property aligns the text
recorder.setGravity(Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL);
recorder.setTypeface(null, Typeface.BOLD);
recorder.setTextColor(getResources().getColor(R.color.colorAccent));
recorder.setText("99+");
slideshow.setGravity(Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL);
slideshow.setTypeface(null,Typeface.BOLD);
slideshow.setTextColor(getResources().getColor(R.color.colorAccent));
//count is added
slideshow.setText("7");
}

Navigation Drawer item background colour for selected item

I used Android Studio to implement the Navigation Drawer and I can't get the blue colour that is used to show which section we're currently in to change.
I've tried numerous things, I'm currently using a listSelector which looks like:
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_activated="true" android:drawable="#color/selected" />
<item android:state_pressed="true" android:drawable="#color/highlight" />
</selector>
I've also tried state_checked. state_pressed works in this situation but the currently selected item is still blue.
EDIT:
I've been examining this more and when the adapter is created the context that is passed is getActionBar().getThemedContext() so I'm thinking if I can find the right attribute to assign to my actionbar style I can change it from there. I've tried a few different attributes with no luck. Does anyone know the exact attribute?
I've also realised if I put
<item name="android:activatedBackgroundIndicator">#drawable/nav_listview_selector</item>
in the main part of my theme and change getActionBar().getThemedContext() for getActivity.getBaseContext then I can change the color but I don't think this is the correct way. I think the themed context should be used. So if anyone knows where the activatedBackgroundIndicator could be put so that it would be used in getActionBar.getThemedContext()
EDIT2:
So the text view used for the listview is one within the SDK it looks like this:
<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#android:id/text1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceListItemSmall"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:paddingStart="?android:attr/listPreferredItemPaddingStart"
android:paddingEnd="?android:attr/listPreferredItemPaddingEnd"
android:background="?android:attr/activatedBackgroundIndicator"
android:minHeight="?android:attr/listPreferredItemHeightSmall"
/>
So I tried modifying the "?android:attr/activatedBackgroundIndicator" at the theme level but it has no effect for checked/selected/activated but it does for pressed. Does anyone know why this is? And how I can change it?

To solve this problem:
1- You don't need android:listSelector under your ListView.
2- Open (or Create) styles.xml under (res/values).
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
<item name="android:activatedBackgroundIndicator">#drawable/drawer_list_selector</item>
</style>
3- Under res/drawable folder create drawer_list_selector.xml file
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_pressed="true" android:drawable="#drawable/light_gray_color" />
<item android:state_activated="true" android:drawable="#drawable/red_color" />
<item android:drawable="#android:color/transparent" />
</selector>
4- Under res/drawable create red_color.xml / light_gray_color.xml (or any other name) and add your desired Hex color:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<solid android:color="#C8FF0000"/>
</shape>
5- Open your project AndroidManifest.xml and add android:theme tag (if not exist)
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme" >
Reference / Credit: Changing Navigation Drawer Selected Item Color from default blue

To change the "Navigation Drawer item background colour for selected item" you could do it with the attribut:
colorControlHighlight
In your "styles.xml" it could look like this:
<style name="YourStyleNameFor.NavigationDrawer" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light">
<item name="colorControlHighlight">#color/your_highlight_color</item>
</style>
Don't forget to apply your Style in the tag:
android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
For example in your activity_main.xml it could look like this:
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/nav_view"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
app:headerLayout="#layout/navigationdrawer_header"
<!-- the following line referes to your style -->
app:theme="#style/YourThemeNameFor.NavigationDrawer"
<!-- the following two lines are maybe also interesting for you -->
app:itemIconTint="#color/gray3"
app:itemTextColor="#color/gray3"
app:menu="#menu/navigationdrawer_main" />

This is working for me:
First define a drawable item_bg.xml as:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_checked="true" android:drawable="#drawable/nav_menu_bg" />
</selector>
Then use this drawable in navigation_main_layout.xml as:
<android.support.design.widget.NavigationView
android:id="#+id/nav_view"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:itemBackground="#drawable/item_bg"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
app:headerLayout="#layout/nav_header_navigation"
app:menu="#menu/navigation_main_layout_drawer" />

here is how i have done and it is working, the brief concept is maintain the position of selected item in adapter and call notifyDataSetChanged on calling notifyDatasetChanged the getView method is called again and in get view check the position on the selected position change the background view. Here is the code :
Adapter of NavigationDrawer List View
public class MenuAdapter extends BaseAdapter {
private static final int TYPE_HEADER = 0;
private static final int TYPE_ITEM = 1;
private Context mContext;
private String name;
private int profile;
private int mIcons[];
private int selectedPosition = 0;
private String mNavTitles[];
private LayoutInflater mInflater;
public MenuAdapter(String titles[], int icon[], String Name, int profile) {
mNavTitles = titles;
mIcons = icon;
name = Name;
this.profile = profile;
}
public MenuAdapter(String Titles[], int Icons[], Context mContext) {
mNavTitles = Titles;
mIcons = Icons;
this.mContext = mContext;
mInflater = (LayoutInflater) mContext.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
}
#Override
public int getCount() {
return mNavTitles.length;
}
#Override
public Object getItem(int position) {
return position;
}
#Override
public long getItemId(int position) {
return position;
}
#Override
public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
convertView = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.item_row, parent, false);
TextView textView = (TextView) convertView.findViewById(R.id.rowText);
ImageView imageView = (ImageView) convertView.findViewById(R.id.rowIcon);
final LinearLayout layout = (LinearLayout) convertView.findViewById(R.id.outerLayout);
imageView.setImageResource(mIcons[position]);
textView.setText(mNavTitles[position]);
if (position == selectedPosition)
layout.setBackgroundColor(mContext.getResources().getColor(R.color.app_bg));
else
layout.setBackgroundColor(mContext.getResources().getColor(R.color.normal_bg));
return convertView;
}
public void setSelectedPosition(int position) {
this.selectedPosition = position;
}
}
in your activity do this
private class DrawerItemClickListener implements ListView.OnItemClickListener {
#Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView parent, View view, int position, long id) {
mMenuAdapter.setSelectedPosition(position - 1);
mMenuAdapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
}
}
if anyone still face any difficulty, feel free to ask.

I have implement drawer menu with custom adapter class. May be it will help someone Drawer List
<ListView
android:id="#+id/listview_drawer"
android:layout_width="260dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
android:background="#color/menu_item_color"
android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
android:divider="#android:color/transparent"
android:dividerHeight="0dp"
android:fadingEdge="none"
/>
drawer_list_item.xml
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#drawable/menu_selector"
>
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/imgIcon"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="12dp"
android:layout_marginRight="12dp"
android:src="#drawable/ic_menu_home" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/lblName"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:layout_toRightOf="#+id/imgIcon"
android:minHeight="48dp"
android:textColor="#color/menu_txt_color" />
menu_selector.xml
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:exitFadeDuration="#android:integer/config_mediumAnimTime">
<!-- selected -->
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_active_color" android:state_focused="true" android:state_pressed="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_active_color" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_active_color" android:state_activated="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_active_color" android:state_checked="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_active_color" android:state_selected="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#color/menu_item_color" android:state_activated="false"/>
Add this on item click listner of listview
yourlistview.setItemChecked(position, true);

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#color/list_item_back_pressed" android:state_pressed="true" />
<item android:state_activated="true"><color android:color="#color/primary_blue"/></item>
<item android:drawable="#color/list_item_back_normal"/>
</selector>

In addition to providing a custom selector drawable for the listSelector, you should also set the background resource of the list item to a similar selector drawable that has different drawables for the different states.

I usually use my custom adapter that has an int selection field, and a setSelection(int) function. And in the getView function I set the background of the view according to position == selection.

Still not sure why it is that it doesn't work. But the way I found around it is to use my own simple_list_item_activated layout to be passed to the ArrayAdapter which was basically the same except for setting the text colour to white. I then replaced getActionBar().getThemedContext() with getActivity().getBaseContext() and it now has an effect.
This may not be the correct way and may have repercussions in the future, but for now I have it working the way I want it to.

I know its too late but I have solved this issue in my app.
Pls dont think it is silly, just simply change the position of "state_pressed" to top.
<item android:drawable="#drawable/list_item_bg_pressed" android:state_pressed="true"/>
<item android:drawable="#drawable/list_item_bg_normal" android:state_activated="false"/>
<item android:drawable="#drawable/list_item_bg_selected" android:state_activated="true"/>

In Future if anyone comes here using, Navigation Drawer Activity (provided by Studio in Activity Prompt window)
The answer is -
Use this before OnCreate() in MainActivity
int[][] state = new int[][] {
new int[] {android.R.attr.state_checked}, // checked
new int[] {-android.R.attr.state_checked}
};
int[] color = new int[] {
Color.rgb(255,46,84),
(Color.BLACK)
};
ColorStateList csl = new ColorStateList(state, color);
int[][] state2 = new int[][] {
new int[] {android.R.attr.state_checked}, // checked
new int[] {-android.R.attr.state_checked}
};
int[] color2 = new int[] {
Color.rgb(255,46,84),
(Color.GRAY)
};
ColorStateList csl2 = new ColorStateList(state2, color2);
and use this in onNavigationItemSelected() in MainActivity (you dont need to Write this function if you use Navigation Drawer activity, it will be added in MainActivity).
NavigationView nav = (NavigationView) findViewById(R.id.nav_view);
nav.setItemTextColor(csl);
nav.setItemIconTintList(csl2);
nav.setItemBackgroundResource(R.color.white);
Tip - add this code before If else Condition in onNavigationItemSelected()

This worked for me :
implemented menu drawer not by populating the navigation view with list, but with menu items.
created a drawable like this :
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:drawable="#color/drawer_menu_selector_color" android:state_checked="true"></item>
<item android:drawable="#color/drawer_menu_selector_color" android:state_activated="true"></item>
and in onCreate method , set the id of the menu item which corresponds to selected activity as checked.
and implement the drawable selector file to your navigation drawer like this
app:itemBackground="#drawable/drawer_menu_selector"
fyi : need to define your 'app' namespace.

I searched for solution on this issue, tried everything, and only this solution worked for me.
You can find it on this link https://tuchangwei.github.io/2016/07/18/The-solution-that-the-menu-item-of-Navigation-View-can-t-change-its-background-When-it-is-selected-checked/
All the credit to https://tuchangwei.github.io/