Develop Reference

Navigation Drawer in bottomappbar android

class BottomNavigationDrawerFragment: BottomSheetDialogFragment(),
NavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener {
override fun onCreateView(inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? {
return inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_bottomsheet, container, false)
}
override fun onNavigationItemSelected(item : MenuItem): Boolean {
// Bottom Navigation Drawer menu item clicks
when (item.itemId) {
R.id.nav1 -> context!!.toast("oneeeeee")
R.id.nav2 -> context!!.toast("twoooooo")
R.id.nav3 -> context!!.toast("threeeee")
return true
}
// Add code here to update the UI based on the item selected
// For example, swap
}
override fun onActivityCreated(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onActivityCreated(savedInstanceState)
navigation_view.setNavigationItemSelectedListener(this)
// Add code here to update the UI based on the item selected
// For example, swap
}
}
// This is an extension method for easy Toast call
fun Context.toast(message: CharSequence) {
val toast = Toast.makeText(this, message, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT)
toast.setGravity(Gravity.BOTTOM, 0, 600)
toast.show()
}
What I want to achieve is something given in image. I want to make a navigation drawer in bottom app bar. Above code doesn't work and it tells unresolved reference type setNavigationItemSelectedListener. What is the error in my code?

you should add a drawer icon in your bottomAppbar, then use a bottomsheet for the drawer.
for your drawer you have two choices:
1- go with google standards and add drawer items in menu folder (seems you dont want this)
2- replace a fragment in your bottom sheet, in this way you can customize your fragment and do whatever you like
------------------- replace a fragment in your bottom sheet -------------
your activity.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:custom="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="#+id/main_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layoutDirection="ltr"
android:background="#color/white"
android:orientation="vertical">
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/bottom_sheet"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:clipToPadding="false"
android:elevation="6dp"
android:visibility="visible"
app:layout_behavior="#string/bottom_sheet_behavior">
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/menu"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" />
</FrameLayout>
</androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
your Activity.java
public class Activity extends AppCompatActivity implements
FragmentNavigation.OnFragmentInteractionListener {
private CoordinatorLayout coordinatorLayout;
private View bottomSheet;
private BottomSheetBehavior<View> behavior;
#Override
protected void onCreate(#Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity);
FrameLayout bottomSheetLayout = (FrameLayout)
findViewById(R.id.menu);
FragmentNavigation fragmentNavigation = new FragmentNavigation();
androidx.fragment.app.FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction =
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
fragmentTransaction.replace(bottomSheetLayout.getId(),
fragmentNavigation, "k");
fragmentTransaction.commit();
coordinatorLayout = (CoordinatorLayout)
findViewById(R.id.main_content);
bottomSheet = coordinatorLayout.findViewById(R.id.bottom_sheet);
behavior = BottomSheetBehavior.from(bottomSheet);
}
#Override
public void onFragmentInteraction(Uri uri) {
}
}
your fragment navigation
public class FragmentNavigation extends androidx.fragment.app.Fragment {
private String descriptions;
public FragmentNavigation () {
}
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}
#Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_navigation, container, false);
return view;
}
}
your fragment_navigation.xml
<?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"
xmlns:custom="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="#+id/main_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="#color/white"
android:orientation="vertical">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/bottom_sheet"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:clipToPadding="false"
android:elevation="6dp"
android:visibility="visible"
android:text="here is the navigation menu"
app:layout_behavior="#string/bottom_sheet_behavior"/>
</LinearLayout>

See this code it has a navigationIcon attribute but you can use as a bottom app bar. If you need navigation drawer on this click then you have to customize by our own.
<com.google.android.material.bottomappbar.BottomAppBar
android:id="#+id/bottom_app_bar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="bottom"
app:elevation="5dp"
android:elevation="5dp"
app:fabAttached="true"
app:fabCradleDiameter="0dp"
app:backgroundTint="#color/colorPrimary"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
app:popupTheme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light"
app:fabAlignmentMode="center"
app:menu="#menu/bottom_bar_menu"/>
In res>menu>bottom_bar_menu, change showAsAction to always or ifRoom, put an icon for action_settings and remove orderInCategory
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:title="#string/action_settings"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:icon="" />
<item
android:title="#string/search"
android:id="#+id/search"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_search_black_24dp"
android:showAsAction="always" />
<item
android:id="#+id/app_bar_archieve"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_bottom_bar_hamburger" // navigation icon
android:title="#string/action_archieve"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"/>
</menu>
in java :
BottomAppBar bar = (BottomAppBar) findViewById(R.id.bar);
setSupportActionBar(bar);
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
// Handle the navigation click by showing a BottomDrawer etc.
}
});
bar.setOnMenuItemClickListener(new OnMenuItemClickListener() {
#Override
public boolean onMenuItemClick(MenuItem item) {
// Handle actions based on the menu item
return true;
}
});
Reference Link : https://material.io/develop/android/components/bottom-app-bar/

bottom_bar.replaceMenu(R.menu.bottomappbar_menu)
bottom_bar.setOnMenuItemClickListener {
when (it.itemId) {
R.id.app_bar_copy -> {
}
R.id.app_bar_fav -> {
}
R.id.app_bar_tra -> {
}
else -> {
}
}
true
}
Just add code in fragment to handle menu item.

Uneven Bottom Navigation Bar

I'm trying to create a bottom navigation bar with 5 items regularly spaced and without labels underneath the icons. I found lots of guidance and followed it but unlike the examples I followed, my navigation bar display is very uneven. How can I make it evenly distributed?
This is what it looks like now:
My xml view (within Relative Layout):
<android.support.design.widget.BottomNavigationView
android:id="#+id/navigation_search"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
app:itemBackground="#color/colorPrimary"
app:itemIconTint="#android:color/white"
app:itemTextColor="#android:color/white"
app:menu="#menu/navigation" />
Navigation xml file:
<?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">
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_home"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_home_black_24dp"
android:title="Home"
app:showAsAction="always" />
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_look"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_find_in_page_black_24dp"
android:title="Search"
android:enabled="true"
app:showAsAction="always"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_basket"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_shopping_basket_black_24dp"
android:title="Basket"
app:showAsAction="always"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_favourite"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_favorite_black_24dp"
android:title="Favourite"
android:enabled="true"
app:showAsAction="always"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/navigation_account"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_person_black_24dp"
android:title="Account"
app:showAsAction="always"/>
</menu>
And this is what is in my CategoryActivity.java within onCreate:
BottomNavigationView navigationSearch = (BottomNavigationView)
findViewById(R.id.navigation_search);
navigationSearch.setOnNavigationItemSelectedListener(
new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.navigation_home:
Intent main = new Intent(CategoryActivity.this, MainActivity.class);
startActivity(main);
break;
case R.id.navigation_look:
Intent search = new Intent(CategoryActivity.this, SearchActivity.class);
startActivity(search);
break;
case R.id.navigation_basket:
Intent basket = new Intent(CategoryActivity.this, BasketActivity.class);
startActivity(basket);
break;
case R.id.navigation_favourite:
Intent favourite = new Intent(CategoryActivity.this, FavouritesActivity.class);
startActivity(favourite);
break;
case R.id.navigation_account:
Intent account = new Intent(CategoryActivity.this, AccountActivity.class);
startActivity(account);
break;
}
return false;
}
});

i had the same problem but with 4 items, there is a sort of trick, you should use this method on your BottomNavigationView after the findViewById.
#SuppressLint("RestrictedApi")
public static void disableShiftMode(BottomNavigationView view) {
BottomNavigationMenuView menuView = (BottomNavigationMenuView) view.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);
//noinspection RestrictedApi
item.setShiftingMode(false);
// set once again checked value, so view will be updated
//noinspection RestrictedApi
item.setChecked(item.getItemData().isChecked());
}
} catch (NoSuchFieldException e) {
Log.e("BNVHelper", "Unable to get shift mode field", e);
} catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
Log.e("BNVHelper", "Unable to change value of shift mode", e);
}
}
Sorry, i can't really explain the solution more in-depth since it was an issue i solved a long time ago following some advice on StackOverflow and i don't remember the theory/reasons there was a need for this, but this works fine for me on Android Oreo so you could do some experiments and find a better way.

I recommend you to use the fragments
navigationSearch.setOnNavigationItemSelectedListener(new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
Fragment selectedFragment = null;
switch (item.getItemId())
{
case R.id.navigation_home:
selectedFragment = HomeFragment.newInstance();
break;
case R.id.navigation_look:
selectedFragment = LookFragment.newInstance();
break;
case R.id.navigation_basket:
selectedFragment = BasketFragment.newInstance();
break;
case R.id.navigation_favourite:
selectedFragment = FavouriteFragment.newInstance();
break;
case R.id.navigation_account:
selectedFragment = AccountFragment.newInstance();
break;
}
FragmentTransaction transaction = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
transaction.replace(R.id.frame_layout,selectedFragment);
transaction.commit();
return true;
}
});
setDefaulFragment();
private void setDefaulFragment() {
FragmentTransaction transaction = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
transaction.replace(R.id.frame_layout,HomeFragment.newInstance());
transaction.commit();
}
activity_category.xml
<?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"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="#drawable/gradient"
tools:context=".CategoryActivity">
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/frame_layout"
android:animateLayoutChanges="true"
android:layout_above="#+id/navigation"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
<android.support.design.widget.BottomNavigationView
android:id="#+id/navigation"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:background="#color/colorPrimaryDark"
app:itemIconTint="#drawable/nav_item_color_state"
app:itemTextColor="#drawable/nav_item_color_state"
app:menu="#menu/bottom_menu"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
</RelativeLayout>
Example fragment:
HomeFragment.java:
public class HomeFragment extends Fragment {
View mFragment;
public static HomeFragment newInstance(){
HomeFragment homeFragment = new HomeFragment();
return homeFragment ;
}
#Override
public void onCreate(#Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}
#Nullable
#Override
public View onCreateView(#NonNull LayoutInflater inflater, #Nullable ViewGroup container, #Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
mFragment = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_home,container,false);
return mFragment;
}
}
Example fragment :
fragment_home.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FrameLayout 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"
tools:context=".HomeFragment">
<TextView
android:text="Home Fragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
</FrameLayout>

What you can do is give the Title attribute as android:title="" in Navigation.xml and then to disable the shift mode use BottomNavigationViewHelper.disableShiftMode(your BottomNavigationView)

Use a linear layout with horizontal orientation.
You can give layout_weight for each item about 20. WeightSum of 100 for the Linear layout.
Load the data using fragments.

How to add navigation drawer in MainActivity Tab Layout?

Please teach me how to add navigation drawer in this activity.
MainActivity (Tab Layout)
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
TabLayout tabLayout = (TabLayout) findViewById(R.id.tab_layout);
assert tabLayout != null;
tabLayout.addTab(tabLayout.newTab().setText(R.string.welcome));
tabLayout.addTab(tabLayout.newTab().setText(R.string.venue));
tabLayout.setTabGravity(TabLayout.GRAVITY_FILL);
final ViewPager viewPager = (ViewPager) findViewById(R.id.pager);
final PagerAdapter adapter = new FragmentStatePagerAdapter(getSupportFragmentManager()) {
#Override
public Fragment getItem(int position) {
switch (position) {
case 0:
return new WelcomeFragment();
case 1:
return new pptp();
}
return null;
}
#Override
public int getCount() {
return 2;
}
};
assert viewPager != null;
viewPager.setAdapter(adapter);
viewPager.addOnPageChangeListener(new TabLayout.TabLayoutOnPageChangeListener(tabLayout));
tabLayout.setOnTabSelectedListener(new TabLayout.OnTabSelectedListener() {
#Override
public void onTabSelected(TabLayout.Tab tab) {
viewPager.setCurrentItem(tab.getPosition());
}
#Override
public void onTabUnselected(TabLayout.Tab tab) {
}
#Override
public void onTabReselected(TabLayout.Tab tab) {
}
});
}
public void refreshNow() {
finish();
overridePendingTransition(0,0);
startActivity(getIntent());
overridePendingTransition(0,0);
}
}
Teach me how to add navigation drawer it will helps me a lot.
Thank you in advance for those who willing to help me.

add the following dependencies to your apps module's build.gradle file:
dependencies {
implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:27.0.2'
implementation 'com.android.support:design:27.0.2'
}
Inside the DrawerLayout, add a layout for the main content for the UI (your primary layout when the drawer is hidden) and another view that contains the contents of the navigation drawer.
For example, the following layout uses a DrawerLayout with two child views: a FrameLayout to contain the main content (which could, for example, by populated by a Fragment at runtime), and a NavigationView for the contents of the navigation drawer.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- Use DrawerLayout as root container for activity -->
<android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="#+id/drawer_layout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true">
<!-- Layout to contain contents of main body of screen (drawer will slide over this) -->
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/content_frame"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
<!-- Container for contents of drawer - use NavigationView to make configuration easier -->
<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" />
</android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout>
To configure the menu items listed in the drawer, specify a menu resource with the app:menu attribute, as shown in the example code below:
<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:menu="#menu/drawer_view" />
Create the menu resource with the corresponding file name. For example, at res/menu/drawer_view.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<group android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_camera"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_camera"
android:title="#string/import" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_gallery"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_gallery"
android:title="#string/gallery" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_slideshow"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_slideshow"
android:title="#string/slideshow" />
<item
android:id="#+id/nav_manage"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_manage"
android:title="#string/tools" />
</group>
</menu>

android - How to set menu items in the middle in a Bottom Navigation View?

I have a Bottom Navigation View with 4 items.
I wish to set the items in the middle of each bottom navigation view button and I have found a method but it works only when the application starts.
After I select another item, every icon moves up and I don't know why they are not keeping their position.
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity{
private Toolbar mToolbar;
private BottomNavigationView bottomNavigationView;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
mToolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.customToolbar);
setSupportActionBar(mToolbar);
setTitle("");
mToolbar.setNavigationIcon(R.mipmap.back_icon);
bottomNavigationView = (BottomNavigationView) findViewById(R.id.bottom_navigation);
BottomNavigationViewShiftDisable.disableShiftMode(bottomNavigationView);
bottomNavigationView.setOnNavigationItemSelectedListener(new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
Fragment fragment = null;
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.profile:
fragment = new FirstFragment();
break;
case R.id.friends:
fragment = new SecondFragment();
break;
case R.id.circle:
fragment = new ThirdFragment();
break;
case R.id.settings:
fragment = new ForthFragment();
break;
}
FragmentTransaction transaction = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
transaction.replace(R.id.frame_layout, fragment);
transaction.commit();
setMenuIconsInMiddle(bottomNavigationView);
return true;
}
});
bottomNavigationView.setSelectedItemId(R.id.profile);
}
/**
* This method is used to set margins for all the icons in the menu that is used in the
* bottom navigation view.
* #param navigationView an instance of the Bottom navigation view that holds the menu with
* the icons.
*/
public void setMenuIconsInMiddle(BottomNavigationView navigationView){
BottomNavigationMenuView menuView = (BottomNavigationMenuView)navigationView.getChildAt(0);
for(int index = 0; index <menuView.getChildCount(); index++){
final View iconView = menuView.getChildAt(index).findViewById(android.support.design.R.id.icon);
final ViewGroup.MarginLayoutParams layoutParams = (ViewGroup.MarginLayoutParams)iconView.getLayoutParams();
layoutParams.setMargins(0,50,0,0);
navigationView.requestLayout();
}
}
activity_main.xml
<?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"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context="com.example.hermes.profilescreen.MainActivity">
<include layout="#layout/custom_toolbar"/>
<include layout="#layout/bottom_navigation"/>
</RelativeLayout>
bottom_nav_main.xml
<?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"
>
<item
android:id="#+id/profile"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_people_outline_black_24dp"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title=""
/>
<item
android:id="#+id/friends"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_person_black_24dp"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title=""
/>
<item
android:id="#+id/circle"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_panorama_fish_eye_black_24dp"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title=""
/>
<item
android:id="#+id/settings"
android:enabled="true"
android:icon="#drawable/setting_white"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title=""
/>
</menu>
bottom_navigation.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
>
<FrameLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:id="#+id/frame_layout"
android:layout_above="#+id/bottom_navigation"
>
</FrameLayout>
<android.support.design.widget.BottomNavigationView
android:id="#+id/bottom_navigation"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:background="#color/light_black"
app:itemBackground="#drawable/set_backgorund"
app:itemIconTint="#color/item_state"
app:menu="#menu/bottom_nav_main"
/>
</RelativeLayout>

call setMenuIconsInMiddle on a thread. try this:-
bottomNavigationView.setOnNavigationItemSelectedListener(new BottomNavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
#Override
public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(#NonNull MenuItem item) {
//your code here
...
...
...
//Looper.getMainLooper() runs on main thread
new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).post(new Runnable(){
#Override
public void run() {
setMenuIconsInMiddle(bottomNavigationView);
}
});
return true;
}
});
this is working for me...

Creating a Preference Screen with support (v21) Toolbar

I was having trouble using the new Material Design toolbar in the support library on a Preference screen.
I have a settings.xml file as below:
<PreferenceScreen xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<PreferenceCategory
android:title="#string/AddingItems"
android:key="pref_key_storage_settings">
<ListPreference
android:key="pref_key_new_items"
android:title="#string/LocationOfNewItems"
android:summary="#string/LocationOfNewItemsSummary"
android:entries="#array/new_items_entry"
android:entryValues="#array/new_item_entry_value"
android:defaultValue="1"/>
</PreferenceCategory>
</PreferenceScreen>
The strings are defined elsewhere.

Please find the GitHub Repo: Here
A bit late to the party, but this is my solution that I am using as a work around continuing to use PreferenceActivity:
settings_toolbar.xml :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:navigationContentDescription="#string/abc_action_bar_up_description"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:navigationIcon="?attr/homeAsUpIndicator"
app:title="#string/action_settings"
/>
SettingsActivity.java :
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
Toolbar bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
}
Result :
UPDATE (Gingerbread Compatibility) :
As per the comments, Gingerbread Devices are returning NullPointerException on this line:
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
FIX:
SettingsActivity.java :
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
Toolbar bar;
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout) findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
} else {
ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) findViewById(android.R.id.content);
ListView content = (ListView) root.getChildAt(0);
root.removeAllViews();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
int height;
TypedValue tv = new TypedValue();
if (getTheme().resolveAttribute(R.attr.actionBarSize, tv, true)) {
height = TypedValue.complexToDimensionPixelSize(tv.data, getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}else{
height = bar.getHeight();
}
content.setPadding(0, height, 0, 0);
root.addView(content);
root.addView(bar);
}
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
}
Any issues with the above let me know!
UPDATE 2: TINTING WORKAROUND
As pointed out in many dev notes PreferenceActivity does not support tinting of elements, however by utilising a few internal classes you CAN achieve this. That is until these classes are removed. (Works using appCompat support-v7 v21.0.3).
Add the following imports:
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintCheckBox;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintCheckedTextView;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintEditText;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintRadioButton;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintSpinner;
Then override the onCreateView method:
#Override
public View onCreateView(String name, Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
// Allow super to try and create a view first
final View result = super.onCreateView(name, context, attrs);
if (result != null) {
return result;
}
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
// If we're running pre-L, we need to 'inject' our tint aware Views in place of the
// standard framework versions
switch (name) {
case "EditText":
return new TintEditText(this, attrs);
case "Spinner":
return new TintSpinner(this, attrs);
case "CheckBox":
return new TintCheckBox(this, attrs);
case "RadioButton":
return new TintRadioButton(this, attrs);
case "CheckedTextView":
return new TintCheckedTextView(this, attrs);
}
}
return null;
}
Result:
AppCompat 22.1
AppCompat 22.1 introduced new tinted elements, meaning that there is no longer a need to utilise the internal classes to achieve the same effect as the last update. Instead follow this (still overriding onCreateView):
#Override
public View onCreateView(String name, Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
// Allow super to try and create a view first
final View result = super.onCreateView(name, context, attrs);
if (result != null) {
return result;
}
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
// If we're running pre-L, we need to 'inject' our tint aware Views in place of the
// standard framework versions
switch (name) {
case "EditText":
return new AppCompatEditText(this, attrs);
case "Spinner":
return new AppCompatSpinner(this, attrs);
case "CheckBox":
return new AppCompatCheckBox(this, attrs);
case "RadioButton":
return new AppCompatRadioButton(this, attrs);
case "CheckedTextView":
return new AppCompatCheckedTextView(this, attrs);
}
}
return null;
}
NESTED PREFERENCE SCREENS
A lot of people are experiencing issues with including the Toolbar in a nested <PreferenceScreen /> however, I have found a solution!! - After a lot of trial and error!
Add the following to your SettingsActivity:
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
#Override
public boolean onPreferenceTreeClick(PreferenceScreen preferenceScreen, Preference preference) {
super.onPreferenceTreeClick(preferenceScreen, preference);
// If the user has clicked on a preference screen, set up the screen
if (preference instanceof PreferenceScreen) {
setUpNestedScreen((PreferenceScreen) preference);
}
return false;
}
public void setUpNestedScreen(PreferenceScreen preferenceScreen) {
final Dialog dialog = preferenceScreen.getDialog();
Toolbar bar;
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout) dialog.findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
} else {
ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) dialog.findViewById(android.R.id.content);
ListView content = (ListView) root.getChildAt(0);
root.removeAllViews();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
int height;
TypedValue tv = new TypedValue();
if (getTheme().resolveAttribute(R.attr.actionBarSize, tv, true)) {
height = TypedValue.complexToDimensionPixelSize(tv.data, getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}else{
height = bar.getHeight();
}
content.setPadding(0, height, 0, 0);
root.addView(content);
root.addView(bar);
}
bar.setTitle(preferenceScreen.getTitle());
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
dialog.dismiss();
}
});
}
The reason that PreferenceScreen's are such a pain is because they are based as a wrapper dialog, so we need to capture the dialog layout to add the toolbar to it.
Toolbar Shadow
By design importing the Toolbar does not allow for elevation and shadowing in pre-v21 devices, so if you would like to have elevation on your Toolbar you need to wrap it in a AppBarLayout:
settings_toolbar.xml :
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
.../>
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>
Not forgetting to add the add the Design Support library as a dependency in build.gradle file:
compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:22.2.0'
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:22.2.0'
compile 'com.android.support:design:22.2.0'
Android 6.0
I have investigated the reported overlapping issue and I cannot reproduce the issue.
The full code in use as above produces the following:
If I am missing something please let me know via this repo and I will investigate.

You can use a PreferenceFragment, as an alternative to PreferenceActivity. So, here is the wrapping Activity example:
public class MyPreferenceActivity extends ActionBarActivity {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.pref_with_actionbar);
android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar toolbar = (android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar) findViewById(uk.japplications.jcommon.R.id.toolbar);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.content_frame, new MyPreferenceFragment()).commit();
}
}
And here is the layout file (pref_with_actionbar):
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_height="#dimen/action_bar_height"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:theme="#style/ToolbarTheme.Base"
app:popupTheme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light"/>
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/content_frame"
android:layout_below="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</RelativeLayout>
And finally the PreferenceFragment:
public static class MyPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment{
#Override
public void onCreate(final Bundle savedInstanceState){
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings);
}
}

Completely new update.
With some experimentation, I seem to have found the working AppCompat 22.1+ solution for nested preference screens.
First, as it's mentioned in many answers (including one here), you'll need to use the new AppCompatDelegate. Either
use the AppCompatPreferenceActivity.java file from the support demos
(https://android.googlesource.com/platform/development/+/58bf5b99e6132332afb8b44b4c8cedf5756ad464/samples/Support7Demos/src/com/example/android/supportv7/app/AppCompatPreferenceActivity.java) and simply extend from it, or copy the relevant functions into your own PreferenceActivity. I'll show the first approach here:
public class SettingsActivity extends AppCompatPreferenceActivity {
#Override
public void onBuildHeaders(List<Header> target) {
loadHeadersFromResource(R.xml.settings, target);
setContentView(R.layout.settings_page);
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
ActionBar bar = getSupportActionBar();
bar.setHomeButtonEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayShowTitleEnabled(true);
bar.setHomeAsUpIndicator(R.drawable.abc_ic_ab_back_mtrl_am_alpha);
bar.setTitle(...);
}
#Override
protected boolean isValidFragment(String fragmentName) {
return SettingsFragment.class.getName().equals(fragmentName);
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case android.R.id.home:
onBackPressed();
break;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}
The accompanying layout is rather simple and usual (layout/settings_page.xml):
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_margin="0dp"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:padding="0dp">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
android:elevation="4dp"
android:theme="#style/..."/>
<ListView
android:id="#id/android:list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
</LinearLayout>
The preferences themselves are defined as usual (xml/settings.xml):
<preference-headers xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<header
android:fragment="com.example.SettingsFragment"
android:summary="#string/..."
android:title="#string/...">
<extra
android:name="page"
android:value="page1"/>
</header>
<header
android:fragment="com.example.SettingsFragment"
android:summary="#string/..."
android:title="#string/...">
<extra
android:name="page"
android:value="page2"/>
</header>
...
</preference-headers>
No real difference to solutions on the net until this point. Actually, you can use this even if you don't have nested screens, no headers, just a single screen.
We use a common PreferenceFragment for all deeper pages, differentiated by the extra parameters in the headers. Each page will have a separate XML with a common PreferenceScreen inside (xml/settings_page1.xml et al.). The fragment uses the same layout as the activity, including the toolbar.
public class SettingsFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
getActivity().setTheme(R.style...);
if (getArguments() != null) {
String page = getArguments().getString("page");
if (page != null)
switch (page) {
case "page1":
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings_page1);
break;
case "page2":
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings_page2);
break;
...
}
}
}
#Override
public View onCreateView(#NonNull LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
View layout = inflater.inflate(R.layout.settings_page, container, false);
if (layout != null) {
AppCompatPreferenceActivity activity = (AppCompatPreferenceActivity) getActivity();
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) layout.findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
activity.setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
ActionBar bar = activity.getSupportActionBar();
bar.setHomeButtonEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayShowTitleEnabled(true);
bar.setHomeAsUpIndicator(R.drawable.abc_ic_ab_back_mtrl_am_alpha);
bar.setTitle(getPreferenceScreen().getTitle());
}
return layout;
}
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
if (getView() != null) {
View frame = (View) getView().getParent();
if (frame != null)
frame.setPadding(0, 0, 0, 0);
}
}
}
Finally, a quick summary of how this actually works. The new AppCompatDelegate allows us to use any activity with AppCompat features, not only those extending from the activities actually in AppCompat. This means that we can turn the good old PreferenceActivity into a new one and add the toolbar as usual. From that point on, we can stick to the old solutions regarding preference screens and headers, without any deviation from the existing documentation. There is just one important point: don't use onCreate() in the activity because it will lead to errors. Use onBuildHeaders() for all operations like adding the toolbar.
The only real difference is, and that's what makes it work with nested screens is that you can use the same approach with the fragments. You can use their onCreateView() the same way, inflating your own layout instead of the system one, adding the toolbar the same way as in the activity.

If you want to use PreferenceHeaders you can use the following approach:
import android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar;
public class MyPreferenceActivity extends PreferenceActivity
Toolbar mToolbar;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) findViewById(android.R.id.content);
LinearLayout content = (LinearLayout) root.getChildAt(0);
LinearLayout toolbarContainer = (LinearLayout) View.inflate(this, R.layout.activity_settings, null);
root.removeAllViews();
toolbarContainer.addView(content);
root.addView(toolbarContainer);
mToolbar = (Toolbar) toolbarContainer.findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
}
#Override
public void onBuildHeaders(List<Header> target) {
loadHeadersFromResource(R.xml.pref_headers, target);
}
// Other methods
}
layout/activity_settings.xml
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:theme="#style/AppTheme"
app:popupTheme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light"/>
</LinearLayout>
You can use whatever layout you prefer here, just make sure you adjust it in the Java code as well.
And finally, your file with headers (xml/pref_headers.xml)
<preference-headers xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<header
android:fragment="com.example.FirstFragment"
android:title="#string/pref_header_first" />
<header
android:fragment="com.example.SecondFragment"
android:title="#string/pref_header_second" />
</preference-headers>

With the release of the Android Support Library 22.1.0 and the new AppCompatDelegate, here you can find a nice sample of an implementation of the PreferenceActivity with material support with backwards compatibility.
Update
It works on nested screens too.
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/development/+/marshmallow-mr3-release/samples/Support7Demos/src/com/example/android/supportv7/app/AppCompatPreferenceActivity.java

While the above answers seem elaborate, if you want a quick fix solution to use Toolbar with support API 7 and up all the while extending PreferenceActivity, I got help from this project below.
https://github.com/AndroidDeveloperLB/ActionBarPreferenceActivity
activity_settings.xml
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
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="wrap_content"
android:background="#color/app_theme_light"
app:popupTheme="#style/Theme.AppCompat.Light"
app:theme="#style/Theme.AppCompat" />
<FrameLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:padding="#dimen/padding_medium" >
<ListView
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
</FrameLayout>
SettingsActivity.java
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_settings);
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
toolbar.setClickable(true);
toolbar.setNavigationIcon(getResIdFromAttribute(this, R.attr.homeAsUpIndicator));
toolbar.setTitle(R.string.menu_settings);
toolbar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
private static int getResIdFromAttribute(final Activity activity, final int attr) {
if (attr == 0) {
return 0;
}
final TypedValue typedvalueattr = new TypedValue();
activity.getTheme().resolveAttribute(attr, typedvalueattr, true);
return typedvalueattr.resourceId;
}
}

I too have been looking for a solution to adding the v7 support toolbar (API 25) to the AppCompatPreferenceActivity (that is automatically created by AndroidStudio when adding a SettingsActivity). After reading several solutions and trying each of them out I struggled to get the generated PreferenceFragment examples to display with a toolbar as well.
A modified solution that sort of worked was from "Gabor".
One of the caveats I faced was 'onBuildHeaders' only fires once. If you turn a device (like a phone) sideways, the view recreates and the PreferenceActivity is left without a toolbar again, however the PreferenceFragments would retain theirs.
I tried using 'onPostCreate' to call 'setContentView', while this worked to recreate the toolbar when the orientation changed, PreferenceFragments would then be rendered blank.
What I have come up with leverages just about every tip and answer I could read about this subject. I hope others find it useful as well.
We'll start with the Java
First in (the generated) AppCompatPreferenceActivity.java I modified 'setSupportActionBar' like so:
public void setSupportActionBar(#Nullable Toolbar toolbar) {
getDelegate().setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
ActionBar bar = getDelegate().getSupportActionBar();
bar.setHomeButtonEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
Second, I created a new class named AppCompatPreferenceFragment.java (it is current an unused name, although it may not stay that way!):
abstract class AppCompatPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.activity_settings, container, false);
if (view != null) {
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) view.findViewById(R.id.toolbar_settings);
((AppCompatPreferenceActivity) getActivity()).setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
}
return view;
}
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
View frame = (View) getView().getParent();
if (frame != null) frame.setPadding(0, 0, 0, 0);
}
}
This is the portion of Gabor's answer that worked.
Last, To get consistency we need to make some changes to SettingsActivity.java:
public class SettingsActivity extends AppCompatPreferenceActivity {
boolean mAttachedFragment;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
mAttachedFragment = false;
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}
#Override
#TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public void onBuildHeaders(List<Header> target) {
loadHeadersFromResource(R.xml.pref_headers, target);
}
#Override
public void onAttachFragment(Fragment fragment) {
mAttachedFragment = true;
super.onAttachFragment(fragment);
}
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
//if we didn't attach a fragment, go ahead and apply the layout
if (!mAttachedFragment) {
setContentView(R.layout.activity_settings);
setSupportActionBar((Toolbar)findViewById(R.id.toolbar_settings));
}
}
/**
* This fragment shows general preferences only. It is used when the
* activity is showing a two-pane settings UI.
*/
#TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public static class GeneralPreferenceFragment extends AppCompatPreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_general);
setHasOptionsMenu(true);
bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_text"));
bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_list"));
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
int id = item.getItemId();
if (id == android.R.id.home) {
startActivity(new Intent(getActivity(), SettingsActivity.class));
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}
}
Some code has been left out of the activity for brevity. The key components here are 'onAttachedFragment', 'onPostCreate', and that the 'GeneralPreferenceFragment' now extends the custom 'AppCompatPreferenceFragment' instead of PreferenceFragment.
Code Summary: If a fragment is present, the fragment injects the new layout and calls the modified 'setSupportActionBar' function. If the fragment is not present, SettingsActivity injects the new layout on 'onPostCreate'
Now on to the XML (very simple):
activity_settings.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<include
layout="#layout/app_bar_settings"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
</LinearLayout>
app_bar_settings.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:id="#+id/content_frame"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:fitsSystemWindows="true"
tools:context=".SettingsActivity">
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.NoActionBar.AppBarOverlay">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/toolbar_settings"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:popupTheme="#style/AppTheme.NoActionBar.PopupOverlay" />
</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>
<include layout="#layout/content_settings" />
</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
content_settings.xml:
<?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"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="#+id/content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="#dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="#dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="#dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="#dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
app:layout_behavior="#string/appbar_scrolling_view_behavior"
tools:context=".SettingsActivity"
tools:showIn="#layout/app_bar_settings">
<ListView
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</RelativeLayout>
End Result:

I have a new (possibly neater) solution, that uses the AppCompatPreferenceActivity from the Support v7 samples. With this code in hand I created my own layout that includes a toolbar:
<?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" tools:context="edu.adelphi.Adelphi.ui.activity.MainActivity">
<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout android:id="#+id/appbar"
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>
<FrameLayout android:id="#+id/content"
android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
</android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>
Then, in my AppCompatPreferenceActivity, I altered setContentView to create a my new layout, and place the provided layout inside my FrameLayout:
#Override
public void setContentView(#LayoutRes int layoutResID) {
View view = getLayoutInflater().inflate(R.layout.toolbar, null);
FrameLayout content = (FrameLayout) view.findViewById(R.id.content);
getLayoutInflater().inflate(layoutResID, content, true);
setContentView(view);
}
Then I just extend AppCompatPreferenceActivity, allowing me to call setSupportActionBar((Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.toolbar)), and inflate menu items in the toolbar as well. All while keeping the benefits of a PreferenceActivity.

Let's keep it simple & clean here, without breaking any in-built layout
import android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout;
import android.support.v4.app.NavUtils;
import android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar;
private void setupActionBar() {
Toolbar toolbar = new Toolbar(this);
AppBarLayout appBarLayout = new AppBarLayout(this);
appBarLayout.addView(toolbar);
final ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) findViewById(android.R.id.content);
final ViewGroup window = (ViewGroup) root.getChildAt(0);
window.addView(appBarLayout, 0);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
// Show the Up button in the action bar.
getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
toolbar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
onBackPressed();
}
});
}

I found this simple solution while working on this.
First we need to create a layout for settings activity.
activity_settings.xml
<RelativeLayout 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"
tools:context="com.my.package">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/tool_bar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
android:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
app:elevation="#dimen/appbar_elevation"
app:navigationIcon="?attr/homeAsUpIndicator"
app:navigationContentDescription="#string/abc_action_bar_up_description"
app:popupTheme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light" />
<ListView
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="#+id/tool_bar" />
</RelativeLayout>
Make sure you add a list view with android:id="#android:id/list", otherwise it will throw NullPointerException
Next step is to add (Override) onCreate method in your settings activity
Settings.java
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_settings);
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.tool_bar);
toolbar.setTitle(R.string.action_settings);
toolbar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
Make sure you import android.suppoer.v7.widget.Toolbar. This should work pretty much on all APIs above 16 (Jelly Bean and up)

I would like to continue the marked solution of James Cross, since after that there's a problem of closing only the active nested screen (PreferenceFragment) in the way to not close the SettingsActivity as well.
Actually it does work on all nested screens (so I don't understand the solution of Gábor that I tried without success, well it works until a certain point but it's a mess of multiple toolbars), because when the user click a sub preference screen, only the fragment is changed (see <FrameLayout android:id="#+id/content_frame" .../>) not the Toolbar that remains always active and visible, but a custom behavior should be implemented to close each fragment accordingly.
In the main class SettingsActivity that extends ActionBarActivity the following methods should be implemented. Note that private setupActionBar() is called from onCreate()
private void setupActionBar() {
Toolbar toolbar = (Toolbar)findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
//Toolbar will now take on default Action Bar characteristics
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
getSupportActionBar().setHomeButtonEnabled(true);
getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case android.R.id.home:
onBackPressed();
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
#Override
public void onBackPressed() {
if (getFragmentManager().getBackStackEntryCount() > 0) {
getFragmentManager().popBackStackImmediate();
//If the last fragment was removed then reset the title of main
// fragment (if so the previous popBackStack made entries = 0).
if (getFragmentManager().getBackStackEntryCount() == 0) {
getSupportActionBar()
.setTitle(R.string.action_settings_title);
}
} else {
super.onBackPressed();
}
}
For the title of the chosen nested screen you should get the reference of your Toolbar and set the appropriate title with toolbar.setTitle(R.string.pref_title_general); (for instance).
There's no need to implement the getSupportActionBar() in all PreferenceFragment since only the view of the fragment is changed at every commit, not the Toolbar;
There's no need to create a fake ToolbarPreference class to add in each preference.xml (see Gábor's answer).

Here's a library I've made that is based on AOSP code, which adds tinting to both the preferences and the dialogs, adds an action bar, and supports all versions from API 7 :
https://github.com/AndroidDeveloperLB/MaterialPreferenceLibrary

Well, this is still an issue for me today (18 Nov 2015). I have tried all the solutions from this thread but there were two main things I couldn't solve:
Nested preference screens appeared without toolbar
Preferences didn't have the Material look on pre-Lollipop devices
So I ended up creating a library with a more complicated solution. Basically, I had to internally apply styles to the preferences if we are using a pre-Lollipop device and I also handled the nested screens using a custom fragment (restoring all the nested hierarchy taking advantage of the PreferenceScreen key).
The library is this one: https://github.com/ferrannp/material-preferences
And if you are interested in the source code (too long to post it here), this is basically the core of it: https://github.com/ferrannp/material-preferences/blob/master/library/src/main/java/com/fnp/materialpreferences/PreferenceFragment.java