Develop Reference

Android dialog title box how can i make it smaller

I have an android dialog box and I want to make the Title box smaller preferably to single line because right now it is too large. I been searching around for a fix and can not find it, this is how my dialog title box looks, as you can see I only have 1 line and a lot of padding on top and bottom, how can I fix this?
I have been able to programmatically fix some things by using this
TextView Dialog_Title = (TextView)dialog.findViewById(android.R.id.title);
Dialog_Title.setPadding(2,2,2,2);
Dialog_Title.setMaxHeight(1);
Dialog_Title.setTextSize(18);
Dialog_Title.setTextColor(Color.BLACK);
Any suggestions on this

I think you can use the custom layout for the dialog.
If you want a custom layout in a dialog, create a layout and add it to an AlertDialog by calling setView() on your AlertDialog.Builder object.
By default, the custom layout fills the dialog window, but you can still use AlertDialog.Builder methods to add buttons and a title.
For example, here's the layout file for a dialog.
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<ImageView
android:src="#drawable/header_logo"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="64dp"
android:scaleType="center"
android:background="#FFFFBB33"
android:contentDescription="#string/app_name" />
</LinearLayout>
To inflate the layout in your DialogFragment, get a LayoutInflater with getLayoutInflater() and call inflate(), where the first parameter is the layout resource ID and the second parameter is a parent view for the layout. You can then call setView() to place the layout in the dialog.
#Override
public Dialog onCreateDialog(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(getActivity());
// Get the layout inflater
LayoutInflater inflater = getActivity().getLayoutInflater();
// Inflate and set the layout for the dialog`enter code here`
// Pass null as the parent view because its going in the dialog layout
builder.setView(inflater.inflate(R.layout.dialog_signin, null))
for further guide on this refer to 'Dialog' description at developer.android.com
link is provided below
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/dialogs.html#CustomLayout

How to overlay a small view on a Main view without fully covering main view?

So I need the view of my settings to display over my main page.where there is a "setting"button in Main page which opens this settings view. But I want My main page to be visible beneath my settings view which only covers a half or less of the main view.
I tried adding
<org.example.myCustomView
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.Dialog" />
Which I found from stackoverflaw itself. But I cannot do it instead the application corrupts at button click.
I am not sure I got this too correct, Or is there any other clear way to do it?
I replaced myCustomView with my relevent class and created the manifest also but it did not work.
If there is any other alternative way to do this mention to me.
I am not talking about how to place a TextView, Button, EditText on a view
I am talking about completely two layouts.
Below image is only an example to express my question.

I think you need to utilize layoutinflater. Here is a simple example how to use it
setContentView(R.layout.yourMainView);
LayoutInflater mInflater = LayoutInflater.from(getApplicationContext());
View overView = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.yourSmallView, null);
addContentView(overView, new LayoutParams(LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT));

Use FrameLayout.FrameLayout is like container.In it place first your bluelayout and then your settings layout.It will show as if settings layout is placed on top of your blue layout.
and then hide and show your settings layout on the onclick when required.
eg:

You could use a Dialog Fragment which would be much more simpler and show more complicated stuff on UI with better responsiveness. Have a look at Dialog fragment:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/DialogFragment.html

How to put overlay View over action bar Sherlock

I want to set some view over action bar that will display Tutorial text (Like click here and send email...). Is this possible? I ask because i know that action bar uses the top space on layout, and a fragment or activity uses remaining space.
My second question is how to display all action items on action bar. I use ActionBarSherlock library and i see that i have room for one more action item, but it's not displaying on action bar. I set in xml ifRoom option on item...
Thanks!!!

There are multiple ways to achieve a tutorial-like overlay. Probably the easiest one is to use specially prepared Dialog window with transparent background and without dim behind.
Using custom Dialog for tutorial overlay
First of all we have to prepare content for the Dialog. In this example there will be one TextView inside RelativeLayout which is the most useful layout here.
Content of info_overlay.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:background="#android:color/darker_gray"
android:padding="3dp"
android:text="TextView"
android:textColor="#android:color/white" />
</RelativeLayout>
Now, we can use this layout to create our Dialog:
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
Dialog overlayInfo = new Dialog(MainActivity.this);
// Making sure there's no title.
overlayInfo.requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
// Making dialog content transparent.
overlayInfo.getWindow().setBackgroundDrawable(
new ColorDrawable(Color.TRANSPARENT));
// Removing window dim normally visible when dialog are shown.
overlayInfo.getWindow().clearFlags(
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_DIM_BEHIND);
// Setting position of content, relative to window.
WindowManager.LayoutParams params = overlayInfo.getWindow().getAttributes();
params.gravity = Gravity.TOP | Gravity.LEFT;
params.x = 100;
params.y = 20;
// If user taps anywhere on the screen, dialog will be cancelled.
overlayInfo.setCancelable(true);
// Setting the content using prepared XML layout file.
overlayInfo.setContentView(R.layout.info_overlay);
overlayInfo.show();
}
Result
Below is the screenshot of the above solution working. Note the TextView over ActionBar.
A few notes about solution
If you'll have a dedicated button to dismiss tutorial you can probably use setCancelable(false) to avoid accidental closing of tutorial.
This solution works with any theme with any action bar solution (either OS-provided, Android Support Library or ActionBar Sherlock)
Other solutions/helpers
Take a look at Showcase View library as it focuses on creating tutorial-like screens in easy way. I'm not sure however that it can easily overlay actionbars.

Android: Adding button to custom title bar

I have created a custom title bar as shown in this example
http://staticallytyped.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/android-dynamic-and-custom-title-bars/
"A custom title bar" - half way down.
On some activities I would like to place a button on the right hand side of the titlebar (same as facebook app). I have attempted to add a button to the view as follows, but it doesn't appear.
Custom title bar is displayed as follows
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE);
setContentView(R.layout.maintabhost);
getWindow().setFeatureInt(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE, R.layout.headerbar_include);
Attempting to add button as follows. The button will eventually be an ImageButton and aligned to right of custom titlebar-if I get it working. (just realised I've too many layoutparams now, but this isnt affecting the button display)
LinearLayout layout = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.headerbar);
Button searchButton = new Button(this);
searchButton.setText("info");
LayoutParams layoutParams = new LinearLayout.LayoutParams
(LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT, LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT);
searchButton.setLayoutParams(new LayoutParams(
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT));
layout.addView(searchButton, layoutParams);
layout.invalidate();
I could just create another custom titlebar with the button already embedded, but a dynamic solution would be better.
Cheers

First of all, thanks for the link to my blog. Second, let me see if I can't answer that for you. One of the reasons you're having trouble adding another button when you want to add a button is that in that example I left you with no way of retrieving the Title Bar View through the usual channels. Hence, let's fix it (and potentially let me write another blog post this coming weekend.)
Starting with the xml file, add an id attribute:
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:id="#+id/title_complex">
<!-- Stuff -->
</LinearLayout>
and here's code to show you how to get that button in there within your Activity (you'll have to add all the flair later):
LinearLayout layout = (LinearLayout) getWindow().findViewById(R.id.title_complex);
layout.addView(new Button(this));
and if you take a look, there's a non-descript button in the Title Bar (like I said, you'll have to add your own flair):
Due note, however, that I can't guarantee that the button will remain or won't remain on subsequent Activities. I haven't investigated it yet but this should get you started. And if you have any more questions, feel free to ask them here (more eyeballs) or on my blog.

Here's one approach to make sure the button(s) remain in the title bar:
How to Create Custom Window Title in Android
Essentially, wrap the android Activity class, and then extend from that new class.

Displaying popup images on button click

Please refer the image given in the url
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQhgDtGvE2HgZGZ6cmtua185M2RneG5nYmNm&hl=en
My query is, How can I display the messages corresponding to the rounded buttons and the table row , when I click on the rounded button with question mark.
I know, I have to use listener for the ? button , but what should I do in listener exactly, such that when I click, it shows those alerts(images) and when I click again, it disappears.
For this UI, I have used Relative layout as was suggested here -- Aligning components at desired positions -- and it worked perfect for me.
So, do I need to change my base layout altogether for accomplishing this?

You can use a FrameLayout as the base for your ui layout and then add an ImageView overlay. For example:
<FrameLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/MainFrame"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<!-- Put your normal layout stuff here -->
</FrameLayout>
Then in your code you can create the ImageView and add it to the MainFrame and it will overlay your UI, like this:
FrameLayout mainFrame = (FrameLayout)findViewById(R.id.MainFrame);
ImageView overlay = new ImageView(this);
overlay.setImageBitmap(BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), R.drawable.overlay));
mainFrame.addView(overlay);
Then later you can call:
mainFrame.removeView(overlay);
to have it go away.