Develop Reference

How to have ActionBar in PreferenceActivity?

I have an android app with a UserSettingsActivity derived from PreferenceActivity. When I open this activity, no menu bar is shown.
In order to have the 'bar' or 'action bar' on top of the settings screen, I searched for it in google on found this link and this link. Because the first answer seems outdated, I tried the suggestion in the second link which does not work. Therefore I am posting this question again.. Here are the pieces of code I am using:
preferences.xml ( I added just the android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar part):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<PreferenceScreen xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:navigationContentDescription="#string/abc_action_bar_up_description"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:navigationIcon="?attr/homeAsUpIndicator"
app:title="#string/action_settings"
/>
<ListPreference
android:title="#string/UpdateInterval"
android:summary="#string/UpdateIntervalText"
android:key="updateInterval"
android:defaultValue="24"
android:entries="#array/listArray"
android:entryValues="#array/listValues" />
<ListPreference
android:title="#string/LimitSetting"
android:summary="#string/LimitSettingText"
android:key="limitSetting"
android:entries="#array/limitArray"
android:entryValues="#array/limitValues" />
<Preference
android:key="reset"
android:title="Reset database"
android:summary="This will remove every entry in the database"
/>
</PreferenceScreen>
and UserSettingsActivity.java (I added the onPostCreate part):
public class UserSettingActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(android.R.id.content, new MyPreferenceFragment()).commit();
}
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
Toolbar bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.xml.preferences, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
public class MyPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(final Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences); // <<-- ERROR HERE
// doing something here
}
}
}
However, I get the following error:
Caused by: java.lang.ClassCastException: android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar cannot be cast to android.preference.Preference
on the marked line. Without the added pieces in those two files the app did work, without the (action)-bar, however...
What seems to be the problem here?

Try this.
Extend your activity with AppCompatActivity
Then add toolbar. Refer here: -http://coderzpassion.com/android-working-with-material-design/

PreferenceActivity is now deprecated. Use PreferenceFragment inside any other activity, which can be extended from any parent activity other than PreferenceActivity

Adding ActionBar with the arrow "GoBack" to PreferenceActivity?

I have a PreferenceActivity. I'm looking for a way to add ActionBar with the arrow "GoBack" to it. All the examples I found so far have been, to my mind, overcomplicated because if I had a simple Activity I could add ActionBar to it with one line of java code and that would be it.
I wonder, isn't there a simple way to add ActionBar with the arrow "GoBack" to PreferenceActivity?
UPDATE:
Here's my Preference activity:
public class PreferenceActivity123 extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(android.R.id.content, new MainPreferenceFragment()).commit();
}
public static class MainPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(final Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
}
}
}

// Add this in your androidmanifest.xml file
<activity
android:name=".SecondActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:parentActivityName=".MainActivity">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
android:value=".MainActivity" />
</activity>

You have to set DisplayHomeasUpEnabled in your actionbar activity like
getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);//Which will show back button
Define the parent activity in AndroidManifest.xml where the activity(PreferenceActivity) will be called once the back button in the action bar is pressed.
In your definition on the Manifest, add the line:
<activity
android:parentActivityName="com.example.activities.PreferenceActivity"
</activity>
or
Just listen the optionItemSelected method
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case android.R.id.home:
Intent intent = new Intent(this, PreferenceActivity.class);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
startActivity(intent);
return true;
default:
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}
Edit :
In order to achieve same in Preference activity You need to make custom action bar style with back button in styles.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="PrefTheme" parent="#android:style/Theme.Holo.Light">
<item name="android:actionBarStyle">#style/PrefActionBar</item>
</style>
<style name="PrefActionBar" parent="#android:style/Widget.Holo.ActionBar">
<item name="android:displayOptions">showHome|homeAsUp|showTitle</item>
</style>
</resources>
Call the style in manifest like :
<application android:theme="#style/PrefTheme">
Call the action bar in activity
getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);

Just use android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_settings);
Toolbar actionbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.actionbar);
actionbar.setTitle("Settings");
actionbar.setNavigationIcon(getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.ic_action_back));
actionbar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
YourActivity.this.finish();
}
});
}
}
and your activity_settings.xml file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
tools:context=".SettingsActivity"
tools:menu="settings"
tools:actionBarNavMode="standard"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/actionbar"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimaryDark"
/>
<FrameLayout
android:id="#id/content"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
</LinearLayout>

Android nested PreferenceScreen with ActionBar

I've got in my Android App a SettingsActivity. Originally there was no Actionbar, so I implemted this:
settings_toolbar.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="#+id/toolbar"
app:theme="#style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:navigationContentDescription="#string/abc_action_bar_up_description"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:navigationIcon="?attr/homeAsUpIndicator"
app:title="#string/action_settings"
/>
SettingsActivity.java
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
Toolbar bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
}
It works great but only for the first PreferenceScreen. If I've got a nested PreferenceScreen, then there is no ActionBar.
How can I achieve this, to have on the nested PreferenceScreen an ActionBar with back button too?
It should be compatible with API15+ and AppCombat
Original post: How to add Action Bar from support library into PreferenceActivity?

Instead of using the nested PreferenceScreen, we can use a simple clickable Preference and make it work as if it was a "nested Header"; this will show the usual ActionBar since it launches a PreferenceActivity instance and therefore will also maintain the single pane/dual pane navigation style.
Here's some simplified example code, which includes ActionBar's back navigation button setup:
main_preferences.xml
<PreferenceScreen
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orderingFromXml="true">
<Preference
android:key="a_preference" />
<!-- this is our "nested header", a simple Preference -->
<Preference
android:key="subscreen_preference" />
<Preference
android:key="another_ preference" />
</PreferenceSreen>
subscreen_preference.xml
<PreferenceScreen
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orderingFromXml="true">
<Preference
android:key="sub_preference" />
<!-- etc -->
</PreferenceSreen>
MyPreferenceActivity.class
public class MyPreferenceActivity extends AppCompatPreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
//display back button. Fragments will handle its behavior (see below)
getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
#Override
public void onBuildHeaders(List<Header> target) {
loadHeadersFromResource(R.xml.pref_headers, target);
}
#Override
protected boolean isValidFragment(String fragmentName) {
return MainPreferenceFragment.class.getName().equals(fragmentName) ||
SubscreenFragment.class.getName().equals(fragmentName);
}
public static class MainPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
//let the fragment intercept the ActionBar buttons:
setHasOptionsMenu(true);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.main_preferences);
findPreference("subscreen_preference").setOnPreferenceClickListener(new Preference.OnPreferenceClickListener() {
#Override
public boolean onPreferenceClick(Preference preference) {
//we create a Header manually:
Header header = new Header();
//mandatory fragment name:
header.fragment = "com.foo.MyPreferenceActivity$SubscreenFragment";
//subscreen title to be shown in the ActionBar
header.titleRes = R.string.settings_fragment_title;
//this will do the trick, no further action required:
//we can ignore the second parameter
((MyPreferenceActivity)getActivity()).onHeaderClick(header, 0);
return true;
}
});
}
//this will make the ActionBar back navigation button
// behave like the system back button
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
int id = item.getItemId();
if (id == android.R.id.home) {
if (!super.onOptionsItemSelected(item)) {
getActivity().onBackPressed();
}
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}
public static class SubscreenFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
//usual implementation
}
}
Important: if you use Proguard, remember to add the following rule, otherwise isInvalidFragment() will return false:
-keepnames class com.foo.MyPreferenceActivity$SubscreenFragment

Action bar not showing :Theme.Appcompat.Light.DarkActionBar in preference activity

I want to use this theme in my preference activity because of the nice checkbox but my action bar isn't showing.

If you don't want to use PreferenceFragment inside an ActionBarActivity and still want to use your existing PreferenceActivity with AppCompat Support Library v7, you can use to use Toolbar and override PreferenceActvity.setContentView() with a customized layout
You can use Toolbar support while maintaining the current PreferenceActivity and it works well for 2.3.4 and above
private Toolbar mActionBar;
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
setTheme(R.style.Theme_MyApp_Settings);
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings);
mActionBar.setTitle(getTitle());
//other things to create/init
}
public void setContentView(int layoutResID) {
ViewGroup contentView = (ViewGroup) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(
R.layout.settings_activity, new LinearLayout(this), false);
mActionBar = (Toolbar) contentView.findViewById(R.id.action_bar);
mActionBar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
ViewGroup contentWrapper = (ViewGroup) contentView.findViewById(R.id.content_wrapper);
LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(layoutResID, contentWrapper, true);
getWindow().setContentView(contentView);
}
settings_activity.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
android:id="#+id/action_bar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize" />
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/content_wrapper"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1" />
</LinearLayout>
styles.xml
<style name="Theme.MyApp.Settings" parent="#style/Theme.AppCompat">
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="toolbarStyle">#style/Widget.Toolbar</item>
</style>
<style name="Widget.Toolbar" parent="#style/Widget.AppCompat.Toolbar">
<item name="android:background">?attr/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="navigationIcon">?attr/homeAsUpIndicator</item>
</style>

PreferenceActivity does not extend ActionBarActivity, which is required for action bar to be available.
If you need a preferences screen with action bar, try to use PreferenceFragment inside an ActionBarActivity instead.
public class SettingsActivity extends ActionBarActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Display the fragment as the main content.
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.replace(android.R.id.content, new SettingsFragment())
.commit();
}
}
public static class SettingsFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Load the preferences from an XML resource
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
}
...
}
Reference: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/settings.html#Fragment

PreferenceActivity: set icon in action bar

I use a PreferenceActivity with encapsulated preference screens.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<PreferenceScreen xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:key="prefs" >
<PreferenceScreen android:title="#string/pref_user_1" >
some text preference
</PreferenceScreen>
<PreferenceScreen android:title="#string/pref_user_2" >
some prefs
<PreferenceScreen android:title="#string/pref_user_2_1" >
some prefs
</PreferenceScreen>
</PreferenceScreen>
</PreferenceScreen>
my inherited preferenceActivity class has the folowing onCreate method
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Display the fragment as the main content.
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.replace(android.R.id.content, new PrefsFragment()).commit();
}
and has an inner class
public static class PrefsFragment extends PreferenceFragment implements OnSharedPreferenceChangeListener {
public PrefsFragment() {
super();
}
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Load the preferences from an XML resource
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.myprefs);
...
}
in the first screen I get the correct icon in the action bar (I call it Action Bar even if I haven't the <) but I would like to change the icon in the following screen.
I have tried getActivity().getActionBar().setIcon(R.drawable.ic_act); in the inner class and also in the preferenceActivity, but it doesn't change anything.
Does someone know how to do it, if possible?