Develop Reference

Android - dynamically update layout contents (for a "submenu" effect)

An activity in our Android application features a spinner, the selected value of which affects which other views are to be displayed in the activity (these views are inputs for sub-parameters of the spinner parameter, and so are spinner value specific).
The contents of the activity (below the top-most spinner) should change dynamically upon spinner selection and is visualized with this very quick mockup:
Initially, we had the sub-parameters in their own linear layouts in the activity xml, and upon spinner selection change, hid all the irrelevant sub-parameter layouts, but this seems a fairly rotten approach, and also severely undermines the extensibility of the activity (in terms of adding new top spinner box options and sub-parameters).
We've also considered generating the layout completely in code with declarations of the types of inputs needed (with some encapsulated layout generator based on these declarations) for each parameter, but this seemed a bit of an over-complication, and we'd really prefer to define the sub-parameter layouts in xml.
How should we approach this?
Would this be an appropriate scenario for using fragments? (would using fragments involve hiding and showing them just as awfully as using the sub-parameter linear layouts?
Thanks!

For anyone out there seeking a solution:
We ended up having an empty 'container' view (a linear layout) within our activity's xml, which will store the sub-menus...
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/algorithm_layout_container"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" >
</LinearLayout>
and seperate xml layout files for each of the sub-menus (eg; the empty negative sub-menu...)
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
tools:context="PACKAGE.ACTIVITY"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
</LinearLayout>
installing an onItemSelectedListener (well actually, having our activity implement it) and upon the selected spinner item changing, adjust the displayed sub-menu by clearing the container, and adding the sub-menus corresponding layout (inflated to a view) to the container...
public void onItemSelected(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int pos, long id) {
// get the current spinner value
String choice = parent.getSelectedItem().toString();
// get and clear our sub-menu container
LinearLayout container = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.algorithm_layout_container);
container.removeAllViews();
// determine which sub-menu layout to set by the spinner option
// (we're exploiting the strings.xml string identifier for our own identification)
int layout;
if (choice.equals(getString(R.string.halftone_algorithm_choice))) {
layout = R.layout.algorithm_halftone;;
}
else if (choice.equals(getString(R.string.negative_algorithm_choice))) {
layout = R.layout.algorithm_negative;
}
else if (choice.equals(getString(R.string.gaussian_algorithm_choice))) {
layout = R.layout.algorithm_gaussian;
}
else if (choice.equals(getString(R.string.dithering_algorithm_choice))) {
layout = R.layout.algorithm_dithering;
} else {
// only reached via a dev bug: you've got an unexpected spinner value selected
// we handle this with an alert, then switch to another (default) spinner value
}
// inflate the determined layout to a view, and add it to our container
container.addView(LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(layout, null, false));
}

display view on top of action bar

Is there a way to render a view on top of the action bar? I want to create a small tip box that will point the user to an item in the action bar. I know that a Toast with a set view will be rendered above the action bar. Does anyone know how to do this with a view?
I have attempted using FrameLayout with layout_gravity="top" and inflating a view and then adding it to the running activity's layout.
I appreciate you in advance.
Edit:
Here is an image of what I was thinking:
Edit:
Perhaps some more detail is needed. I am looking for a way, or to find out if it is even possible to add a view to the view hierarchy of the activity so that it is rendered last.
Similar to CSS, I want a higher z-index order for this particular view ( the blue floating box in the image), such that it would be rendered on top of the Action Bar region in the activity. The view is in no way associated with Action Bar, it is simply drawn on top of it.

I was trying to achieve something else but I needed a solution similar to this. I needed to draw an opaque layer covering the whole screen, even the action bar--sort of like a dialog. I did so this way:
ViewGroup vg = (ViewGroup)(getWindow().getDecorView().getRootView());
vg.addView(myNewView, params);
this can be used to draw anything anywhere on the screen.
UPDATE: You really shouldn't be using ActionBar anymore, you wouldn't have this issue in the first place if you were using Toolbar like Android recommends. Toolbar would go inside your activity xml like a regular view and you can can do whatever you want to it. And its fully backwards compatible.
https://developer.android.com/training/appbar/setting-up

After struggling with it myself quite some time, here's the solution (tested it - working good):
The general steps are:
Create a wrapper view
Detach the screen view children, place the wrapper, and attach the children
Inflate the content to the children
Controling the wrapper will help you control exactly the action bar and the content below it all together.
Now, using the wrapper, you can add "brothers" to the actionbar/main area. That brother is exactly what you described in your image.
Let's see some code.
First, create a method to help create a wrapper view. the wrapper will be placed between the entire screen and the content of your app. being a ViewGroup you can later on fully control it's content.
private ViewGroup setContentViewWithWrapper(int resContent) {
ViewGroup decorView = (ViewGroup) this.getWindow().getDecorView();
ViewGroup decorChild = (ViewGroup) decorView.getChildAt(0);
// Removing decorChild, we'll add it back soon
decorView.removeAllViews();
ViewGroup wrapperView = new FrameLayout(this);
// You should set some ID, if you'll want to reference this wrapper in that manner later
//
// The ID, such as "R.id.ACTIVITY_LAYOUT_WRAPPER" can be set at a resource file, such as:
// <resources xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
// <item type="id" name="ACTIVITY_LAYOUT_WRAPPER"/>
// </resources>
//
wrapperView.setId(R.id.ACTIVITY_LAYOUT_WRAPPER);
// Now we are rebuilding the DecorView, but this time we
// have our wrapper view to stand between the real content and the decor
decorView.addView(wrapperView, LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT);
wrapperView.addView(decorChild, decorChild.getLayoutParams());
LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(getActivityLayout(),
(ViewGroup)((LinearLayout)wrapperView.getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(1), true);
return wrapperView;
}
Now, interfere with the regular Activity creation, and instead of using setContentView, use the method we've created.
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// DON'T CALL `setContentView`,
// we are replacing that line with this code:
ViewGroup wrapperView = setContentViewWithWrapper(R.layout.activity_layout);
// Now, because the wrapper view contains the entire screen (including the notification bar
// which is above the ActionBar) I think you'll find it useful to know the exact Y where the
// action bar is located.
// You can use something like that:
ViewGroup actionBar = (ViewGroup)((LinearLayout)wrapperView.getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(0);
int topOffset = actionBar.getTop();
// Now, if you'll want to add a view:
// 1. Create new view
// 2. Set padding top - use "topOffset"
// 3. Add the view to "wrapperView"
// 4. The view should be set at front. if not - try calling to "bringToFront()"
}
That's about it.
Notes
I've used Android's hierarchy-viewer to understand what's the right hierarchy. (didn't guess those 0 and 1 indexes)
If you are using some kind of a menu drawer in your activity, you might have to configure it a little bit different since drawers are already creating that wrapper for you
I've learned a lot by looking at this great library
EDIT: Refer to #CristopherOyarzúnAltamirano Answer for further support on newer Android versions
Good luck!

There is a much simpler way to achieve this. ActionBar holds its layout in the class ActionBarContainer which simply inherits from FrameLayout. So in order to display something over the ActionBar you need to grab a reference to the ActionBarContainer and add your own custom View into it. Here is the code
int abContainerViewID = getResources().getIdentifier("action_bar_container", "id", "android");
FrameLayout actionBarContainer = (FrameLayout)findViewById(abContainerViewID);
LayoutInflater myinflater = getLayoutInflater();
View customView = myinflater.inflate(R.layout.yourCustomeViewLayout, null);
actionBarContainer.addView(customView);

I found this workaround based on #Sean answer:
//This is for Jelly, ICS, Honeycomb
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB && Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN_MR2){
LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(resContent, (ViewGroup)((LinearLayout)wrapperView.getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(1), true);}
//This is for KitKat and Jelly 4.3
else if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN_MR2){
LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(resContent, (ViewGroup) (((ViewGroup) wrapperView.getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(0)), true);}
//This is for Ginger
else{
LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(resContent, (ViewGroup) ((LinearLayout)((FrameLayout) wrapperView.getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(0)).getChildAt(1), true);}

I found a much simpler way to do this.
I just applied android:translationZ="10dp" to the view which I need to be covering the action bar.
I chose 10dp but it can actually be anything you want as long as it is superior to the actionbar's elevation
<ImageView
android:layout_width="100dp"
android:layout_height="100dp"
android:translationZ="10dp"
android:src="#drawable/potatoe" />
Also, don't worry about Android studio's following warning :
"translationZ can't be used with API<21".
It will be ignored, but you don't really care because the toolbar shouldn't cover your view with APIs inferior to 21.

Try using ActionBar.setCustomView(). That's the only way to change the appearance of that area of the screen. You can't stick a View into the area "above" the ActionBar, because that area is basically controlled by the system. On the other hand, you can provide your own layout for it.
If you explain in more detail what you're trying to do, respondents might have some better design ideas.

https://github.com/michaelye/EasyDialogDemo
see the demo above,it may help you
dialog.setLocation(new location[])//point in screen
you could set the location[] yourself.

Use the android:actionLayout in your menu.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:id="#+id/menu_id"
android:title="#string/menu_string_to_show"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_icon_name"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:actionLayout="#layout/action_button_foo" /></menu>
Then create your action_button_foo.xml layout:
<?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="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center"
android:text="#string/menu_string_to_show"
android:drawableLeft="#drawable/ic_menu_icon_name"
android:background="#drawable/bg_btn_action_bar"
android:clickable="true" />
To handle click do the following:
#Overridepublic boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.my_menu, menu);
final MenuItem item = menu.findItem(R.id.menu_id);
item.getActionView().setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
});
return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);}
That's if :)

(Reference: http://www.vogella.com/articles/AndroidActionBar/article.html)Custom Views in the ActionBar
You can also add a custom View to the ActionBar. For this you use the setCustomView method for the ActionView class. You also have to enable the display of custom views via the setDisplayOptions() method by passing in the ActionBar.DISPLAY_SHOW_CUSTOM flag.
For example you can define a layout file which contains a EditText element.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<EditText xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/searchfield"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:inputType="textFilter" >
This layout can be assigned to the ActionBar via the following code. The example code allow attaches a listener to the custom view.
package com.vogella.android.actionbar.customviews;
import android.app.ActionBar;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.TextView.OnEditorActionListener;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
ActionBar actionBar = getActionBar();
// add the custom view to the action bar
actionBar.setCustomView(R.layout.actionbar_view);
EditText search = (EditText) actionBar.getCustomView().findViewById(R.id.searchfield);
search.setOnEditorActionListener(new OnEditorActionListener() {
#Override
public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId,
KeyEvent event) {
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Search triggered",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
return false;
}
});
actionBar.setDisplayOptions(ActionBar.DISPLAY_SHOW_CUSTOM
| ActionBar.DISPLAY_SHOW_HOME);
}
}

The explanations here are all too long:
Wrap your main layout file into a top level ViewGroup (e.g. wrap a CoordinatorLayout into a FrameLayout), then inject or declare the view in the new top level layout out. The view will appear above the action bar.

Adding action bar in ListActivity

I'm very newbie in Android. I need some help and your suggestion here.
I'm work in Android starting last january, I have a some trouble here. I'm still working on app for Android 2.3. Very very simple app.
I've read about the action bar, and I've suggest to the library such as greendroid, sherlock actionbar and the last Johan Nilson actionbar. I'm still have difficulties to integrate it into my app. So I try to create my own action bar and the trouble came one by one. One of: it's hard to combine the action bar with my ListView to still stay on the top of screen even the list view scroll down. At last the layout of action bar generate into header of ListView:
View header = getLayoutInflater().inflate(R.layout.header, null);
ListView listView = getListView();
listView.addHeaderView(header);
and the button & imagebutton not working for click event..
//try action button in actionbar
Menu1 = (Button) this.findViewById(id.button1);
Menu1.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener(){
#Override
public void onClick(View v)
{
Toast.makeText(List_direktoriJson.this, "action bar..", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
});
How the way, if I want the action bar still on top in list view layout? And why the button and imagebutton not working when clicking?

If you can manage to include one of the Action Bar libraries such as Sherlock, it will be much simpler :
private class YourListActivity extends SherlockListActivity {
}

Why are you adding action bar to the ListView header? If you do this, action bar will always scroll with the ListView. Add action bar to the layout of your ListActivity. Something like:
<merge xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<include
android:id="#+id/action_bar"
layout="#layout/header" />
<ListView
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
<!-- May be some other views -->
</merge>
Then in onCreate() set content view of the activity:
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.layout_of_the_activity);
setListAdapter(...);
// get action bar view
View header = findViewById(R.id.action_bar);
// and then set click listeners. Note that findViewById called on header, not on this
Menu1 = (Button) header.findViewById(R.id.button1);
Menu1.setOnClickListener(...);
}
Article about <merge> and <include> tags.

ProgressBar in an ActionBar, like GMail app with Refresh

I would like to do the same thing than the GMail application on Honeycomb tablets.
When you click on the Refresh button, the icon is replaced by a ProgressBar.
How can I do this?
Thanks

Ok, I tried what Cailean suggested but it didn't work for me. Every time I want to revert indeterminate progress to the original button it becomes unclickable, I used this layout for the progress
(actionbar_refresh_progress.xml)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ProgressBar xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="32dp"
android:layout_height="32dp"
android:layout_gravity="center"/>
and this one to revert to the button
(actionbar_refresh_button.xml)
<ImageView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:src="#drawable/ic_menu_refresh_holo_light"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"/>
my code was:
private void setRefreshing(boolean refreshing) {
this.refreshing = refreshing;
if(refreshMenuItem == null) return;
View refreshView;
LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater)getActionBar().getThemedContext().getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
if(refreshing)
refreshView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.actionbar_refresh_progress, null);
else
refreshView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.actionbar_refresh_button, null);
refreshMenuItem.setActionView(refreshView);
}
After browsing the source of the Google IO app, especially this file: http://code.google.com/p/iosched/source/browse/android/src/com/google/android/apps/iosched/ui/HomeActivity.java i found another easier way.
Now I need only the first layout with progress and the working method looks like this:
private void setRefreshing(boolean refreshing) {
this.refreshing = refreshing;
if(refreshMenuItem == null) return;
if(refreshing)
refreshMenuItem.setActionView(R.layout.actionbar_refresh_progress);
else
refreshMenuItem.setActionView(null);
}
Menu item definition:
<item android:id="#+id/mail_refresh"
android:title="Refresh"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_menu_refresh_holo_light"
android:showAsAction="always"/>
I hope someone finds this useful.

Gmail does this using an action view for its "refresh in progress" state. Invoking a refresh is done using the standard action button/onMenuItemSelected path.
When you enter your refreshing state, set the action view of the refresh MenuItem to a ProgressBar. (Create it programmatically, inflate it from a layout, use actionLayout in the menu xml as CommonsWare suggests, whatever you prefer.) When you exit your refreshing state, set the action view back to null while keeping a reference to it so you can set it back again the next time you refresh. You can hang onto a reference to the MenuItem after you inflate the menu and changes to it later will be reflected in the action bar.
This approach has some advantages over using a full-time action view and managing other details of the state change yourself. An action view completely replaces the generated action button for a menu item, effectively blocking the user from being able to send the usual onMenuItemSelected events for refresh while a refresh is already in progress. One less thing to handle and the action view can stay completely non-interactive.
You could probably do something clever with an ActionProvider in API 14+ to encapsulate the whole process a bit more but the above ends up being pretty simple.

Assuming that you already have your menu item setup, you'll need to start by creating two new layouts. One that contains the layout for the normal refresh button, and another that contains the progressbar.
Once you have them, call the following piece of code to switch between the two layouts. It'll be up to you to decide exactly when it needs to be called a second time in order to switch it back to the refresh icon.
private void doRefresh(Boolean refreshing, MenuItem menuItem)
{
View refreshView;
LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater) getActionBar().getThemedContext().getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
if(refreshing)
refreshView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.actionbar_indeterminate_progress, null);
else
refreshView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.refresh_icon, null);
menuItem.setActionView(refreshView);
}

Use the following layout as the action view for the action bar menu item.
actionbar_refresh_progress.xml
<FrameLayout
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="#dimen/abc_action_button_min_width"
android:minWidth="#dimen/abc_action_button_min_width">
<ProgressBar
android:layout_width="32dp"
android:layout_height="32dp"
android:layout_gravity="center"
style="?indeterminateProgressStyle" />
</FrameLayout>
Then
menuItem.setActionView(R.layout.actionbar_refresh_progress);
Works across Gingerbread and the rest like a charm. Note that I have used dimension from support action bar for compatibility. You can use #dimen/action_button_min_width instead for ICS and up.
Source: https://code.google.com/p/iosched/source/browse/android/res/layout/actionbar_indeterminate_progress.xml?r=f4fd7504d43b25a75cc23b58d6f844f3553b48c3

tab bar hiding issue android

I'm new to android,I'm using tabHost adding some tabs to it,its working quite fine but when i rotate my device in landscape mode it also work there fine but i don't need tab bar there because it covers much space and i also have google ads so both of them cover half of the screen and leave a little space for user to interact.All i need is a solution to somehow hide tab bar just like we can do it in iphone to make a bit room for user to interact.I need some solution urgent.Thanks

I think you should wrap your tab widget in any ViewGroup such as LinearLayout or RelativeLayout, and create a static function in your tabActivity to show/hide this wrapper, Here's a little code might be helpful for you.
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/popupTabs"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:visibility="gone">
<TabWidget android:id="#android:id/tabs"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"></TabWidget>
</LinearLayout>
Now your tab activity should do something like this.
public class TabsView extends TabActivity {
public static LinearLayout popupTabs ;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
popupTabs = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.popupTabs);
// Your other code
//............
//............
}
// Show Tabs method
public static void showTabs(){
popupTabs.setVisibility(ViewGroup.VISIBLE);
}
// Hide Tabs method
public static void hideTabs(){
popupTabs.setVisibility(ViewGroup.GONE);
}
}
Now you can call this method statically from any location in your code like this
// hide tab from any activity
TabsView.showTabs();
// hide tab from any activity
TabsView.hideTabs()

For Hide
mTabHost.getTabWidget().setVisibility(View.GONE);
For Visible
mTabHost.getTabWidget().setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

The simplest way would be to create a second version of your layout.xml file which doesn't include the TabHost and put it in a resource folder named 'layout-land' (the 'land' suffix is short for 'landscape'). Please see this SDK article for more information.

Apart from doing what Reuben is telling you would be to animate the transition between both so that the change would be a bit smoother.