Develop Reference

Custom PopupMenu styles are being ignored

I've been struggling with PopupMenu styling, and after a lot of research, the process of creating a custom PopupMenu style for my theme seemed to be fairly straightfoward. For example the answer on this question seems like an easy way to change the background color of a PopupMenu. However, none of these solutions have worked for my project. So I started digging into the style sources to find out what I should actually be inheriting to style the PopupMenu in my own project.
I'm running my tests on a handset running API 19, and my base theme looks like this:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- ... -->
<item name="android:popupMenuStyle">#style/CustomPopupMenu</item>
</style>
<style name="CustomPopupMenu" parent="#style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.PopupMenu">
<item name="android:popupBackground">#color/retina_burning_hot_pink</item>
</style>
This is the solution that most of the accepted answers here show. But this does not style my PopupMenu. So I dug into the sources to find the geneology of my theme and see what default settings where being used. This is what I found:
<style name="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar" parent="Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar"/>
<style name="Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar" parent="Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light">
<style name="Base.Theme.AppCompat.Light" parent="Base.V7.Theme.AppCompat.Light"/>
And then in Base.V7.Theme.AppCompat.Light I found these default settings:
<!-- Popup Menu styles -->
<item name="popupMenuStyle">#style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.PopupMenu</item>
<item name="textAppearanceLargePopupMenu">#style/TextAppearance.AppCompat.Light.Widget.PopupMenu.Large</item>
<item name="textAppearanceSmallPopupMenu">#style/TextAppearance.AppCompat.Light.Widget.PopupMenu.Small</item>
<item name="listPopupWindowStyle">#style/Widget.AppCompat.ListPopupWindow</item>
<item name="dropDownListViewStyle">?android:attr/dropDownListViewStyle</item>
So as far as I can tell, my theme inherits from Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar which uses a default PopupMenu style of #style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.PopupMenu. I then inherit that style to set my own PopupMenu settings. I made sure my Activity and my Application are all using the correct Theme. I'm not sure why else this just won't work. I've also tried these settings:
<item name="android:textAppearanceLargePopupMenu">#style/CustomPopupMenuLarge</item>
<item name="android:textAppearanceSmallPopupMenu">#style/CustomPopupMenuSmall</item>
<item name="android:popupWindowStyle">#style/CustomPopupMenuListWindow</item>
I provided custom styles for each one, and none of them worked. What could be overriding all my custom styles? Any help would be appreciated, because I'm stumped.
EDITS
Here's my manifest...
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.blah.blah">
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme">
<activity
android:name=".Activities.MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Here is AppTheme.NoActionBar
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>

Do not specify android: in
<item name="android:popupMenuStyle">#style/CustomPopupMenu</item>.
Instend:
<item name="popupMenuStyle">#style/CustomPopupMenu</item>

I think you need to define a parent for AppCompat.NoActionBar. Try parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar" and also add in <item name="android:popupMenuStyle">#style/CustomPopupMenu</item> to it.

Unable to give style to action bar in android studio 1.0.1

I am trying to give colour/image as background to the action bar in android studio (), max sdk ver 21, but with no success. What is wrong with the below code and or else how to do it:
<resources>
<style name="CustomActionBarTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light">
<item name="android:actionBarStyle">#style/MyActionBar</item>
</style>
<!-- ActionBar styles -->
<style name="MyActionBar" parent="Widget.AppCompat.Light.ActionBar">
<item name="android:background">#drawable/back</item>
</style>
</resources>

If you are facing problem in android lollipop actionbar, then first of all you have to different style.xml file in your res folder named as values-v21.
in this create style.xml as in values folder.
you did not added parent theme correctly. you should create style1 whose parent is style2. In style2 parent add desired theme like parent="#android:style/ThemeOverlay.Material.Light".
In menifest add style1 as your application theme.
Take a look on example.
Here colorPrimary for your action bar,
colorPrimaryDark for your notification bar outside application,
colorAccent for native dialogs like progressbar, tabs etc.
<resources>
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="#android:style/ThemeOverlay.Material.Light">
<item name="android:colorPrimary">#color/material_blue_500</item>
<!-- darker variant for the status bar and contextual app bars -->
<item name="android:colorPrimaryDark">#color/material_blue_700</item>
<!-- theme UI controls like checkboxes and text fields -->
<item name="android:colorAccent">#color/material_green_A200</item>
</style>
<!-- Application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="AppBaseTheme">
<!-- All customizations that are NOT specific to a particular API-level can go here. -->
</style>
</resources>
your xml file should be like this
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="info.androidhive.slidingmenu"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="14"
android:targetSdkVersion="21" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="info.androidhive.slidingmenu.MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

If you haven't already, remember to reference your theme in AndroidManifest.xml:
android:theme="#style/CustomActionBarTheme"
Also, make sure that in your Java code, you activity extends ActionBarActivity instead of just Activity as you are using the AppCompat Support Library.
If none of this works, go to your build.gradle and check that in the dependencies section, you have:
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:21.0.3'

Styling Android Action Bar

I've a newly created project and the first thing I want to do is add and style an action bar. I made it the way they tell in their official tutorials and even tried some other ways but I just can't make it work.
After many tries, I decided to do something really basic but even like that I can't make it work.
This is what I have:
styles.xml
<resources>
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="#style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<item name="android:actionBarStyle">#style/ActionBar</item>
</style>
<style name="ActionBar" parent="#style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.ActionBar.Solid.Inverse">
<item name="android:background">#color/blue</item>
</style>
manifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
Another question is what is the difference between the #android:style/Theme.Holo, #style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar or simply Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar?
Thanks.

Per the Using the Material Theme training, the Material theme (and AppCompat theme's which backport / use Material theming) use colorPrimary to color the action bar. Therefore your theme can be:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="#style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/blue</item>
</style>
You'll find more details on how to theme using AppCompat / Material in the AppCompat v21 blog post and in this pro-tip

I recommend you use this tools to generate ActionBar styles:
http://jgilfelt.github.io/android-actionbarstylegenerator/
Good Luck!

App is not using custom theme

i want to disable the ActionBar in my application, I have been looking for a solution on stackoverflow for quiet a while but nothing helped. My problem is that my custom-theme "NoActionBar" is not used, instead it keeps using "AppBaseTheme" although I changed it in the manifest:
android:theme="#style/NoActionBar"
values-v14 styles:
<resources>
<!--
Base application theme for API 14+. This theme completely replaces
AppBaseTheme from BOTH res/values/styles.xml and
res/values-v11/styles.xml on API 14+ devices.
-->
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- API 14 theme customizations can go here. -->
</style>
<style name="NoActionBar" parent="AppBaseTheme">
<item name="android:windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
same with values-v11. In values i added this line but I think its not neccessary:
<style name="NoActionBar" parent="AppBaseTheme">
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
I tried to change the parent of NoActionBar, didn't work. I tried to create an extra .xml for "NoActionBar" but that didn't work either because the manifest didn't find it. I tried other tipps from stackoverflow questions but they're pretty outdated.
I know when i put the two "items" within the "AppBaseTheme"-style it works, but I'm pretty sure that is not the proper way to use it?
In a nutshell:
Can somebody please explain to me why its not using my theme? What theme needs which parent? (How would I define multiple themes?)
I hope I explained it properly, I assume the answer is rather simple, sorry in advance for my language mistakes, I'm not native. Thanks!
Edit Manifest:
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="21" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/NoActionBar" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

You are using your theme but your parent can't be AppBaseTheme, you have to use as parent for example Theme.Holo.NoActionBar or at least a style without action bar.

Remove app title bar android

I know this question has been asked million times but whichever method I use is not good for me.
If I use
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar"
in the manifest file, the whole theme of the app changes. If I put
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
in the onCreate activities, it shows up shortly when starting an app.
Btw I don't have any theme selected, just using standard android.

It is unclear what you mean by "whole theme of app changes". For API Level 11+ devices, you probably should be using #android:style/Theme.Holo.NoActionBar.

If you add the theme to the application, it applies to the whole app.
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar"
You have to add it to the activity declaration.
<activity
android:name=".YourActivity"
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar"/>

To remove the title bar from your app in android studio
Open res > values > styles.xml file
Replace your code with:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">

Open your style.xml file, create a new style just like below.
You choose your own name and set the parent as below
<style name="your_own_name" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
</style>
In your AndroidManifest.xml file, set the theme name for the specific activity you dont want the bar to show and you are done
<activity android:theme ="#style/your_own_name" >
</activity>

This is what worked for me
android:theme="#style/Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar">

when you create a new project in android then you will get default theme applied on your project, that has title bar. but if you want to remove or apply some other theme for your whole App then you can define like below at application level:
<application
android:name="com.mycomp.myproj.MainApplication"
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/Theme.Sherlock" >
but if you want to apply some theme only at some specific screens then you can define like below at activity level:
<activity
android:name="com.mycomp.myproj.MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme">

For android 8 and above support. Use this in your app theme file. I've modified my default in res/styles.xml :
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
<item name="colorPrimary">#color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">#color/colorPrimaryDark</item>
<item name="colorAccent">#color/colorAccent</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="android:background">#color/white</item>
</style>

Inside AndroidManifest
<activity
android:name=".activity.HomeMenu"
android:screenOrientation="nosensor"
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.Light.NoTitleBar">
<intent-filter>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
and make sure your Class extends to Activity

If you have made a custom theme in styles.xml you can do this:
<style name="AppTheme" parent="android:Theme.Material.Light">
<!-- Override the android colour scheme etc. -->
<item name="android:colorPrimary">#color/color_primary</item>
</style>
To remove the Action bar and title add to styles.xml:
<style name="AppTheme.NoActionBar">
<item name="android:windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
Then in your AndroidManifest.xml you can use your custom theme with or without the action bar
<application
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme"> <---- With action bar
<activity
android:theme="#style/AppTheme.NoActionBar"> <---- No action bar
<intent-filter>
etc...