Develop Reference

How to handle fragment backstack

I'm having problem with fragment. Lets try to understand my issue, I have two fragment A and B. When app start with main activity,i start fragment A as you can see :
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.fragment_container,new MusicFragment())
.commit();
When i click on a button, it starts fragment B
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.fragment_container,new BarFragment())
.addToBackStack(null)
.commit();
Main problem is after starting fragment B,when i pressed back to go back to fragment A , Fragment A Recreated with new state.
I don' want to recreate fragment A. I only want to start fragment from old state where i left. How to fix it ?

Instead of calling the replace method you should be calling the add method with a subsequent call to addToBackStack with an argument of null. The add method adds the fragement to the stack with a null tag and calling the addToBackStack with an argument of null then the current fragment is stopped upon commit. If the method is not called then the current fragment is destroyed and recreated when coming back.
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.add(R.id.fragment_container,new BarFragment())
.addToBackStack(null)
.commit();
You can clearly find it in the documentation quote saying this:
If you don't call addToBackStack() when you perform a transaction that
removes a fragment, then that fragment is destroyed when the
transaction is committed and the user cannot navigate back to it.
Whereas, if you do call addToBackStack() when removing a fragment,
then the fragment is stopped and is later resumed if the user
navigates back.

Here are some points that need to be taken care while creating fragments.
Check the backstack if the fragment is already created.
If it was created previously pop it from the backstack and put it on top so that it is visible to the user.
If fragment is not present in backstack crate it and store it in backstack.
Create a method like below which will handle such situation.
private void openFragment(Fragment fragment_to_be_opened){
String fragment_to_be_opened_name = fragment_to_be_opened.getClass().getName();
FragmentManager manager = getSupportFragmentManager();
// fetching the fragment if it is present in backstack
boolean fragment_allready_present = manager.popBackStackImmediate (fragment_to_be_opened_name, 0);
if (!fragment_allready_present){ //fragment is not present in backstack so create it and save the name in //backstack
FragmentTransaction fragment_trasition = manager.beginTransaction();
fragment_trasition.replace(R.id.fragment_container, fragment_to_be_opened);
fragment_trasition.addToBackStack(fragment_to_be_opened_name);
fragment_trasition.commit();
}
}
Now call this method from the activity to open a new fragment like
// create instance of fragment and pass it to the open fragment method
Fragment myFragment = new myFragment();
openFragment(myFragment);

Preloading a fragment when popBackStack

I have a problem with the backstack behaviour. That is what I am doing:
add(fragment1) + addToBackStack(null)
replace(fragment2) + addToBackStack(null)
What is happening:
Fragment 1 is added and in the backstack
Then the second fragment replaces the first one and it is added to the backstack.
Now I want to change my last backstacked fragment with a new transaction which put a new backstack fragment so:
[frag1, frag2] becomes [frag1, frag3]
but this transaction made by a popBackStack + replace is making the frag1 to load by calling its onCreateView and onActivityCreated. I know this is the expected behaviour since this is how backstack works, but I am trying to find a way to avoid this preload.
Edit
In this question I am using the concept of backstack fragment for the transaction to be more clear. Every transaction here is an add+remove (which is a replace).
The code for replace I am using is:
public int replaceFragment(BaseFragment newFragment, boolean addToBackStack, boolean animated, PopStackMode popMode) {
if (popMode != null) {
getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStack(newFragment.getFragmentTag(), popMode == PopStackMode.POP_INCLUSIVE ? FragmentManager
.POP_BACK_STACK_INCLUSIVE : 0);
}
FragmentTransaction ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
if (animated) {
ft.setCustomAnimations(R.anim.slide_in_left, 0, R.anim.slide_out_right, 0);
}
ft.replace(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment, newFragment.getFragmentTag());
if (addToBackStack) {
ft.addToBackStack(newFragment.getFragmentTag());
}
return ft.commit();
}
You can see I am creating a navigation history based on the fragment backstack, as it was kind of a browser. When a "page" is added there is a fragment and a backstack transaction. In this context, I trying to:
Remove the current fragment.
Remove the transaction from the backstack.
Add a new fragment without poping and loading the previous backstack fragment.
I hope it is more clear.
Edit 2
I have filled a request feature for a flag that supports this behavior. Find it here.

First, you should understand that the backstack doesn't save fragments, but it saves transactions instead. When you call popBackStack what it actually does is revert the previous transaction. More on this here.
I think that you can do this:
Name your transactions by providing a unique name to your addToBackStack instead of null. i.e. addToBackStack("frag1").
Don't call popBackStack + replace, but instead just call replace.
Then, in your activity, override your onBackPressed and if the current fragment being displayed is Frag3 (you can check this using findFragmentByTag if you provided a tag in the replace method) you can call getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStackImmediate("frag1", FragmentManager.POP_BACK_STACK_INCLUSIVE); (otherwise call the super.onBackPressed)

Replacing a Fragment with itself does not show anything

I'm trying to decide and show a fragment in activity's onResume method, but in case a previously added fragment is chosen again, then the activity goes blank.
Sample code (with one fragment):
#Override
protected void onResume(){
FragmentTransaction trans = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
trans.replace(R.id.myLayout, fragA);
trans.commit();
getSupportFragmentManager().executePendingTransactions();
}
With above code, when the activity is created for the first time, it shows fragA correctly, but in case I press Home Key and then switch back to my activity (in order to provoke onResume again), it all goes blank (seems like fragA is removed).
Is replacing a previously added fragment removes itself? or how not to loose a fragment if it is replaced by itself?

You can't replace a fragment with itself. The first half of a replace is a removal of the previous fragment at that id. Once a fragment is removed it can no longer be added or used by the fragment manager (so the add portion of the replace will not work properly).
Depending on your use case, you have two options:
Create a new fragment instead of reusing the existing instance
Use some other method to see if its necessary to replace your fragment
Finally, you probably don't need to call executePendingTransactions.

You can try:
if( !(getSupportFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.myLayout) instanceof FragmentA) ) {
FragmentTransaction trans = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
trans.replace(R.id.myLayout, fragA);
trans.commit();
}
And I assume that fragA is FragmentA class object.

Finally, I had to put a check before replacing fragments. In case, an (already added) fragment is requested for replace again, I had to check if its already added then ignore the replacement, else proceed. For example:
#Override
protected void onResume() {
if (!fragA.isAdded()) {
FragmentTransaction trans = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
trans.replace(R.id.myLayout, fragA);
trans.commit();
//getSupportFragmentManager().executePendingTransactions(); //unnecessary
}
}

When referencing back to a created Fragment please do make sure to try adding the
fragmentTransaction.addToBackStack(null);
method right before committing so that your Fragment is resumed instead of destroyed as mentioned in the developer guides.
If you don't call addToBackStack() when you perform a transaction that removes a fragment, then that fragment is destroyed when the transaction is committed and the user cannot navigate back to it. Whereas, if you do call addToBackStack() when removing a fragment, then the fragment is stopped and is later resumed if the user navigates back.
You can find this at the end of this page.

Android fragment unexpectedly close

I use a holder activity with FrameLayout.
There I put a fragment with a listview. It works fine.
ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.add(R.id.fragments, feedFragment);
ft.commit();
Then I add another fragment.
android.support.v4.app.Fragment targetFragment = new MainPhotoFragment();
ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.add(R.id.fragments, targetFragment);
ft.addToBackStack(null);
ft.commit();
Here I use add() instead of replace() to return to previous position of the listview when hitting back key. It works fine.
But it is possible to navigate to the third fragment from the second fragment.
android.support.v4.app.Fragment targetFragment = new FullPhotoFragment();
ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.replace(R.id.fragments, targetFragment);
ft.addToBackStack(null);
ft.commit();
Here I use replace to force the 2nd fragment to reload when hitting back key.
Sometimes back key from the third fragment works fine, it displays the second fragment that is reloading on appearing.
But sometimes (as I can see it happens first time when I try this steps) hitting back key from the third fragment leads me to the first fragment, closing the second fragment against my expectations. And the first fragment is reloading.
How to prevent this strange behavious?

add() method will add Fragments to Container and any other fragments added to the Container will be queued back of the first fragment. They will be not visible until and unless first fragment made Invisible. I hope this is the problem you are facing. It would be good if you use replace() for the first-->second fragment navigation also.

Manually adding Fragment to BackStack

I'm currently using a ViewGroup (SwipeyTab implementation) to switch between Fragments. However, some Fragment "pages" get replaced by other Fragments on the same Tab, so I initially tried:
FragmentTransaction ft = fragment.getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.remove(currentFragment);
ft.add(newFragment,"");
ft.commit();
That code would remove the current fragment but not add newFragment (from Logcat, it would get instantiated but not appear).
I ended up adding it in the FragmentPagerAdapter.getItem(int position) call based on current state (based on this: Replace Fragment inside a ViewPager). However, I'd like to be able to add each newly replaced fragment to be part of the back stack.
I tried adding to backstack before removing the fragment:
currentFragment.getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).commit();
FragmentTransaction ft = fragment.getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.remove(currentFragment);
ft.commit();
and that didn't work - it added the last fragment to the backstack, so when I pressed back, it would just reload the current fragment.
Is there anyway I can add a fragment to the backstack that has been replaced in the "non traditional" way?