Develop Reference

Fragment backstack and toggle

I'm having an special use case where I need to switch between two fragments. The issue I'm having is that for the second fragment I need to persist it's state, and the only thing that seems to be working for that is to add it to the BackStack.
I rely on the support fragment manager to replace the fragments:
public void toggle() {
Fragment fragment = getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.fragment_container);
if (fragment instanceof FragmentB && null != fragmentA) {
// fragment B is visible - we should show fragment A
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.setCustomAnimations(R.anim.frag_fade_in, R.anim.frag_fade_out,
R.anim.frag_fade_in, R.anim.frag_fade_out)
.replace(R.id.fragment_container, fragmentA)
.commit();
} else if (fragment instanceof FragmentA && null != fragmentB) {
// fragment A is visible - we should show fragment B
boolean isRestored = false;
fragment = getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(TAG_FRAG_B);
if (null != fragment) {
// Restore fragment state from the BackStack
fragmentB = (FragmentB) fragment;
isRestored = true;
}
FragmentTransaction transaction = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.setCustomAnimations(R.anim.frag_fade_in,
R.anim.frag_fade_out,
R.anim.frag_fade_in,
R.anim.frag_fade_out);
transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, fragmentB, TAG_FRAG_B);
if(!isRestored){
transaction.addToBackStack(TAG_FRAG_B)
}
transaction.commit();
} else {
// Just pop any fragments that were added - usually we won't get in here
getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStack();
}
}
This in combination with the onBackPressed() override:
#Override
public void onBackPressed() {
if (isCurrentFragmentB()) {
toggle();
} else {
// Back key was pressed and we are on fragment A - at this state we simply want to go back to the
// previous section
super.onBackPressed();
}
}
Using this implementation I make sure I reuse fragment B and keep it's state so that it doesn't look like it is created from scratch each time. I also make sure that when I go back, I can go only from fragment B to A and not from fragment A to B.
The issue I encountered is that when super.onBackPressed(); is called and more than one fragment was added(replaced actually, as I want only one active fragment at a time) through the fragment manager, it will throw an exception:
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Fragment already added: FragmentA{af9c26b #0 id=0x7f0e00d3}
This is happening only when the active fragment is FragmentA. I have a suspicion that this is because of the BackStack implementation, but as I've said, I only want the second one to be persisted.
How can I fix this? I am missing something?

I have managed to implement an work-around for this, although it is a little hacky.
Because I need to keep the state of FragmentB, I am forced to add it to the BackStack, but this will actually affect what transition is reversed when onBackPressed() is called.
To avoid this, I had to update the logic for the back press and manually handle that case
#Override
public void onBackPressed() {
if (isCurrentFragmentB()) {
toggle();
} else if (isCurrentFragmentA()) {
getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStackImmediate(TAG_FRAG_A, FragmentManager.POP_BACK_STACK_INCLUSIVE);
// Special case - because we added the fragment B to the BackStack in order to easily resume it's state,
// this will fail as it will actually try to add fragment A again to the fragment manager (it
// will try to reverse the last transaction)
super.finish();
} else {
// Usual flow - let the OS decide what to do
super.onBackPressed();
}
}
Also, I've optimized the toggle method a little bit:
public void toggle() {
Fragment fragment = getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.fragment_container);
#SuppressLint("CommitTransaction") FragmentTransaction transaction =
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.setCustomAnimations(R.anim.frag_fade_in, R.anim.frag_fade_out,
R.anim.frag_fade_in, R.anim.frag_fade_out);
if (fragment instanceof FragmentB && null != fragmentA) {
// fragment B is visible - we should show fragment A
fragment = getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(TAG_FRAG_A);
if (null != fragment) {
// Restore fragment state from the BackStack
fragmentA = (FragmentA) fragment;
}
// Replace current fragment with fragment A and commit the transaction
transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, fragmentA, TAG_FRAG_A).commit();
} else if (fragment instanceof FragmentA && null != fragmentB) {
// fragment A is visible - we should show fragment B
fragment = getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(TAG_FRAG_B);
if (null != fragment) {
// Restore fragment state from the BackStack
fragmentB = (FragmentB) fragment;
}
// Replace current fragment with fragment B
transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, fragmentB, TAG_FRAG_B);
if (null == fragment) {
// No entry of the fragment B in the BackStack, we want to add it for future uses
transaction.addToBackStack(TAG_FRAG_B);
}
// Commit the transaction
transaction.commit();
} else {
// Just pop any fragments that were added - usually we won't get in here
getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStack();
}
}
I hope this can help others which need an similar flow.
PS: The fragment I want to persist is SupportMapFragment, so that my map isn't always redrawn, re-centered and populated with data every time I want to show it.

Properly replacing Fragments

I'm wondering which is the proper way to change Fragments, add them to backstack, and restore the visibile Fragment after a screen rotation.
Currently, I use this method to initialize the first Fragment:
private void inflateInitialFragment() {
FragmentManager manager = getFragmentManager();
Fragment mainFragment = manager.findFragmentByTag(MainMenuFragment.class.getSimpleName());
FragmentTransaction ft = manager.beginTransaction();
if (mainFragment == null) {
ft.replace(R.id.mainContainer, new MainMenuFragment(), MainMenuFragment.class.getSimpleName());
} else if (!(mainFragment.isAdded() && !mainFragment.isDetached() && !mainFragment.isRemoving())) {
ft.replace(R.id.mainContainer, mainFragment, MainMenuFragment.class.getSimpleName());
}
ft.commit();
manager.executePendingTransactions();
}
And then to display new Fragments I have methods like this one:
public void openAwards() {
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.mainContainer,
new AwardsFragment(), AwardsFragment.class.getSimpleName()).addToBackStack(null).commit();
}
And to go back to the main screen:
#Override
public void onBackPressed() {
if (getFragmentManager().getBackStackEntryCount() == 0) {
super.onBackPressed();
} else {
getFragmentManager().popBackStack();
}
}
After a few screen rotations, I've got crashes like this one:
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Fragment already added: MainMenuFragment{42c64d90 #0 id=0x7f0b003f MainMenuFragment}
How should I change the visible Fragments and restore them after a screen rotation?
I don't think that saving some string or Fragment each time is a good solution to restore them.

If your Activity extends android.app.Activity you don't need to override onBackPressed(). It will pop your fragments from back stack automatically.

How can I switch between two fragments, without recreating the fragments each time?

I'm working on an android application, that uses a navigation drawer to switch between two fragments. However, each time I switch, the fragment is completely recreated.
Here is the code from my main activity.
/* The click listener for ListView in the navigation drawer */
private class DrawerItemClickListener implements ListView.OnItemClickListener {
#Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
selectItem(position);
}
}
private void selectItem(int position) {
android.support.v4.app.Fragment fragment;
String tag;
android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager; fragmentManager = getSupportFragmentManager();
switch(position) {
case 0:
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one") != null) {
fragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one");
} else {
fragment = new OneFragment();
}
tag = "one";
break;
case 1:
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two") != null) {
fragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two");
} else {
fragment = new TwoFragment();
}
tag = "two";
break;
}
fragment.setRetainInstance(true);
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().replace(R.id.container, fragment, tag).commit();
// update selected item and title, then close the drawer
mDrawerList.setItemChecked(position, true);
setTitle(mNavTitles[position]);
mDrawerLayout.closeDrawer(mDrawerList);
}
I've set up some debug logging, and every time selectItem is called, one fragment is destroyed, while the other is created.
Is there any way to prevent the fragments from being recreated, and just reuse them instead?

After #meredrica pointed out that replace() destroys the fragments, I went back through the FragmentManager documentation. This is the solution I've come up with, that seems to be working.
/* The click listener for ListView in the navigation drawer */
private class DrawerItemClickListener implements ListView.OnItemClickListener {
#Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
selectItem(position);
}
}
private void selectItem(int position) {
android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager; fragmentManager = getSupportFragmentManager();
switch(position) {
case 0:
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one") != null) {
//if the fragment exists, show it.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().show(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one")).commit();
} else {
//if the fragment does not exist, add it to fragment manager.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().add(R.id.container, new OneFragment(), "one").commit();
}
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two") != null){
//if the other fragment is visible, hide it.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().hide(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two")).commit();
}
break;
case 1:
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two") != null) {
//if the fragment exists, show it.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().show(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two")).commit();
} else {
//if the fragment does not exist, add it to fragment manager.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().add(R.id.container, new TwoFragment(), "two").commit();
}
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one") != null){
//if the other fragment is visible, hide it.
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().hide(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one")).commit();
}
break;
}
// update selected item and title, then close the drawer
mDrawerList.setItemChecked(position, true);
setTitle(mNavTitles[position]);
mDrawerLayout.closeDrawer(mDrawerList);
}
I also added this bit, but I'm not sure if it's necessary or not.
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
FragmentManager fragmentManager = getSupportFragmentManager();
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one") != null){
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().remove(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("one")).commit();
}
if(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two") != null){
fragmentManager.beginTransaction().remove(fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag("two")).commit();
}
}

Use the attach/detach method with tags:
Detach will destroy the view hirachy but keeps the state, like if on the backstack; this will let the "not-visible" fragment have a smaller memory footprint. But mind you that you need to correctly implement the fragment lifecycle (which you should do in the first place)
Detach the given fragment from the UI. This is the same state as when it is put on the back stack: the fragment is removed from the UI, however its state is still being actively managed by the fragment manager. When going into this state its view hierarchy is destroyed.
The first time you add the fragment
FragmentTransaction t = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
t.add(android.R.id.content, new MyFragment(),MyFragment.class.getSimpleName());
t.commit();
then you detach it
FragmentTransaction t = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
t.detach(MyFragment.class.getSimpleName());
t.commit();
and attach it again if switched back, state will be kept
FragmentTransaction t = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
t.attach(getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(MyFragment.class.getSimpleName()));
t.commit();
But you always have to check if the fragment was added yet, if not then add it, else just attach it:
if (getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(MyFragment.class.getSimpleName()) == null) {
FragmentTransaction t = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
t.add(android.R.id.content, new MyFragment(), MyFragment.class.getSimpleName());
t.commit();
} else {
FragmentTransaction t = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
t.attach(getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentByTag(MyFragment.class.getSimpleName()));
t.commit();
}

The replace method destroys your fragments. One workaround is to set them to Visibility.GONE, another (less easy) method is to hold them in a variable. If you do that, make sure you don't leak memory left and right.

I did this before like this:
if (mPrevFrag != fragment) {
// Change
FragmentTransaction ft = fragmentManager.beginTransaction();
if (mPrevFrag != null){
ft.hide(mPrevFrag);
}
ft.show(fragment);
ft.commit();
mPrevFrag = fragment;
}
(you will need to track your pervious fragment in this solution)

I guess you can not directly manipulate the lifecycle mechanisms of your Fragments. The very fact that you can findFragmentByTag is not very bad. It means that the Fragment object is not recreated fully, if it is already commited. The existing Fragment just passes all the lifecycle steps each Fragment has - that means that only UI is "recreated".
It is a very convenient and useful memory management strategy - and appropriate, in most cases. Fragment which is gone, has the resources which have to be utilized in order to de-allocate memory.
If you just cease using this strategy, the memory usage of your application could increase badly.
Nonetheless, there are retained fragments, which lifecycle is a bit different and do not correspond to the Activity they are attached to. Typically, they are used to retain some things you want to save, for example, to manage configuration changes
However, the fragment [re]creation strategy depends on the context - that is, what you would like to solve, and what are the trade-offs that you are willing to accept.

Just find the current fragment calling getFragmentById("id of your container") and then hide it and show needed fragment.
private void openFragment(Fragment fragment, String tag) {
FragmentManager fragmentManager = getSupportFragmentManager();
FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction = fragmentManager.beginTransaction();
Fragment existingFragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag(tag);
if (existingFragment != null) {
Fragment currentFragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentById(R.id.container);
fragmentTransaction.hide(currentFragment);
fragmentTransaction.show(existingFragment);
}
else {
fragmentTransaction.add(R.id.container, fragment, tag);
}
fragmentTransaction.commit();
}

Same idea as Tester101 but this is what I ended up using.
FragmentManager fragmentManager = getSupportFragmentManager();
FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction = fragmentManager.beginTransaction();
Fragment oldFragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag( "" + m_lastDrawerSelectPosition );
if ( oldFragment != null )
fragmentTransaction.hide( oldFragment );
Fragment newFragment = fragmentManager.findFragmentByTag( "" + position );
if ( newFragment == null )
{
newFragment = getFragment( position );
fragmentTransaction.add( R.id.home_content_frame, newFragment, "" + position );
}
fragmentTransaction.show( newFragment );
fragmentTransaction.commit();

Hide easily in kotlin using extensions:
fun FragmentManager.present(newFragment: Fragment, lastFragment: Fragment? = null, containerId: Int) {
if (lastFragment == newFragment) return
val transaction = beginTransaction()
if (lastFragment != null && findFragmentByTag(lastFragment.getTagg()) != null) {
transaction.hide(lastFragment)
}
val existingFragment = findFragmentByTag(newFragment.getTagg())
if (existingFragment != null) {
transaction.show(existingFragment).commit()
} else {
transaction.add(containerId, newFragment, newFragment.getTagg()).commit()
}
}
fun Fragment.getTagg(): String = this::class.java.simpleName
Usage
supportFragmentManager.present(fragment, lastFragment, R.id.fragmentPlaceHolder)
lastFragment = fragment

Here's what I'm using for a simple 2 fragment case in Kotlin:
private val advancedHome = HomeAdvancedFragment()
private val basicHome = HomeBasicFragment()
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
...
// Attach both fragments and hide one so we can swap out easily later
supportFragmentManager.commit {
setReorderingAllowed(true)
add(R.id.fragment_container_view, basicHome)
add(R.id.fragment_container_view, advancedHome)
hide(basicHome)
}
binding.displayModeToggle.onStateChanged {
when (it) {
0 -> swapFragments(advancedHome, basicHome)
1 -> swapFragments(basicHome, advancedHome)
}
}
...
}
With this FragmentActivity extension:
fun FragmentActivity.swapFragments(show: Fragment, hide: Fragment) {
supportFragmentManager.commit {
show(show)
hide(hide)
}
}

How about playing with the Visible attribute?

this is a little late response.
if you're using view pager for fragments, set the off screen page limit of the fragment to the number of fragments created.
mViewPager.setOffscreenPageLimit(3); // number of fragments here is 3

Fragment issue (Multiple instances)

I have this annoying problem which I don't know how to solve. The problem is very straightforward:
I have FragmentA which pushes FragmentB (a ListView) on a button click.
In FragmentB I can push FragmentA with a OnItemClick. So you see, the depth is infinite.
The problem is when I pushed FragmentB the second time, and then go back (2 times) to first instance of FragmentB I have the items from the first and second instance in the ListView. If I were about to make 10 instances, then I would have the items of all 10 instances in my first instance.
Can anyone explain the problem and please provide me a solution?
EDIT (code snippet):
FollowersFragment frag = new FollowersFragment();
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
bundle.putString(Constants.USER_ID, userId);
frag.setArguments(bundle);
((MainActivity) getActivity()).pushFragment(frag);
public void pushFragment(TrigdFragment fragment) {
pushFragment(fragment, new AnimationObject());
}
public void pushFragment(TrigdFragment fragment, AnimationObject animate) {
switchContent(fragment, animate, false);
}
public void switchContent(TrigdFragment fragment, AnimationObject anim,
boolean clearBackStack) {
ActionBarHelper mActionBarHelper = ActionBarHelper.getInstance();
supportInvalidateOptionsMenu();
FragmentManager mgr = getSupportFragmentManager();
if (clearBackStack) {
mActionBarHelper.setDisplayHomeAsDrawerEnabled(true);
mgr.popBackStack(null, FragmentManager.POP_BACK_STACK_INCLUSIVE);
} else {
mActionBarHelper.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
fragment.setupActionBar(getResources());
FragmentTransaction ft = mgr.beginTransaction();
boolean doingAnimation = false;
if (Util.hasIcecreamSandwich()) {
doingAnimation = anim != null;
if (doingAnimation) {
ft.setCustomAnimations(anim.enterResource, anim.exitResource,
anim.popEnterResource, anim.popExitResource);
}
}
ft.replace(R.id.content_frame, fragment, "current");
if (!clearBackStack) {
ft.addToBackStack(null);
}
ft.commitAllowingStateLoss();
if (Util.hasIcecreamSandwich()) {
if (doingAnimation) {
// This can't be done immediately because the transaction may
// not
// yet be committed. Commits are are posted to the main
// thread's message loop.
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#SuppressLint("NewApi")
#Override
public void run() {
invalidateOptionsMenu();
}
});
}
}
}

Instead of creating new instance of the Fragments you can use replace function of FragmentTransaction
transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment);
Replacing one fragment with another in Android dynamically
http://notionink.wikidot.com/rajeshbabu
http://www.vogella.com/articles/AndroidFragments/article.html

This issue had nothing to do with multiple instances. It was a Listener which provided the problem, my mistake. Thanks for your effort though.

Get data result from second Fragment

In my MainActivity extends FragmentActivity, I have a FragmentA, When I press a Button in FragmentA, I call to FragmentB.
FragmentB f = FragmentB.newInstance(1);
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.llMain, f).addToBackStack(null).commit();
In FragmentB, I create a Object People p1(with Name and age) . And When I press a Button B in FragmentB, I call
getFragmentManager().popBackStack();
It will return FragmentA,
So, I want to pass data Object People p1 from FragmentB to FragmentA. What do i have to do?
I try to search but can't find a solution.

create CallBack in your Fragment and handle it in FragmentActivity,
google example has this realization
declaring OnHeadlineSelectedListener callback
public class HeadlinesFragment extends ListFragment {
OnHeadlineSelectedListener mCallback;
// The container Activity must implement this interface so the frag can deliver messages
public interface OnHeadlineSelectedListener {
/** Called by HeadlinesFragment when a list item is selected */
public void onArticleSelected(int position);
}
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// We need to use a different list item layout for devices older than Honeycomb
int layout = Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB ?
android.R.layout.simple_list_item_activated_1 : android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1;
// Create an array adapter for the list view, using the Ipsum headlines array
setListAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(getActivity(), layout, Ipsum.Headlines));
}
#Override
public void onAttach(Activity activity) {
super.onAttach(activity);
// This makes sure that the container activity has implemented
// the callback interface. If not, it throws an exception.
try {
mCallback = (OnHeadlineSelectedListener) activity;
} catch (ClassCastException e) {
throw new ClassCastException(activity.toString()
+ " must implement OnHeadlineSelectedListener");
}
}
#Override
public void onListItemClick(ListView l, View v, int position, long id) {
// Notify the parent activity of selected item
mCallback.onArticleSelected(position);
// Set the item as checked to be highlighted when in two-pane layout
getListView().setItemChecked(position, true);
}
Realize callback method in FragmentActivity and send (by .setArguments()) data from HeadLinesFragment to ArticleFragment, if ArticleFragment is available
public class MainActivity extends FragmentActivity
implements HeadlinesFragment.OnHeadlineSelectedListener {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.news_articles);
// Check whether the activity is using the layout version with
// the fragment_container FrameLayout. If so, we must add the first fragment
if (findViewById(R.id.fragment_container) != null) {
// However, if we're being restored from a previous state,
// then we don't need to do anything and should return or else
// we could end up with overlapping fragments.
if (savedInstanceState != null) {
return;
}
// Create an instance of ExampleFragment
HeadlinesFragment firstFragment = new HeadlinesFragment();
// In case this activity was started with special instructions from an Intent,
// pass the Intent's extras to the fragment as arguments
firstFragment.setArguments(getIntent().getExtras());
// Add the fragment to the 'fragment_container' FrameLayout
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.add(R.id.fragment_container, firstFragment).commit();
}
}
public void onArticleSelected(int position) {
// The user selected the headline of an article from the HeadlinesFragment
// Capture the article fragment from the activity layout
ArticleFragment articleFrag = (ArticleFragment)
getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.article_fragment);
if (articleFrag != null) {
// If article frag is available, we're in two-pane layout...
// Call a method in the ArticleFragment to update its content
articleFrag.updateArticleView(position);
} else {
// If the frag is not available, we're in the one-pane layout and must swap frags...
// Create fragment and give it an argument for the selected article
ArticleFragment newFragment = new ArticleFragment();
Bundle args = new Bundle();
args.putInt(ArticleFragment.ARG_POSITION, position);
newFragment.setArguments(args);
FragmentTransaction transaction = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
// Replace whatever is in the fragment_container view with this fragment,
// and add the transaction to the back stack so the user can navigate back
transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment);
transaction.addToBackStack(null);
// Commit the transaction
transaction.commit();
}
}

You should use an interface within Activity for communication between fragments. Check this android training lesson.
All Fragment-to-Fragment communication is done through the associated
Activity. Two Fragments should never communicate directly.
You can pass arguments to a Fragment with Bundle. Change your code to:
FragmentB f = FragmentB.newInstance(1);
Bundle args = new Bundle();
args.putString("NAME", name);
args.putInt("AGE", age);
f.setArguments(args);
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.llMain, f).addToBackStack(null).commit();
and then retrieve the arguments for example in FragmentA's onCreateView with:
int age = getArguments().getInt("AGE");
//or with a second parameter as the default value
int age = getArguments().getInt("AGE", 0);
If you want to pass the whole People object to the Bundle, you need to make the class serializable. I think it's easier to pass the variables and then recreate the object.