Develop Reference

Android: Custom border for FrameLayout

I am trying to add a custom border to a framelayout. The framelayout is used as container for the fragment. Thus I want to display fragment with a border. The border should be external to framelayout and should not consume the space inside of framelayout. And it should adjust with change in screen size.
What i can think right now is some sort of custom ViewGroup, add ImageView for border. Use image processing to get the inside area of imageview and in that area inflate a frame layout.
I am looking for some easy way out.

The easiest solution for this would be to create a 9-patch drawable and set it as the background for your FrameLayout. I have created the below 9-patch drawable that you can use. Hope this suffice your requirement.

You can obtain the effect via layout XML using for example LinearLayouts with proper layout_weight, so your centre-most FrameLayout will expand to take up available space.
There are 4 drawables used: for top, bottom, left and right part of frame.
Check out this code:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="horizontal">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:scaleType="fitXY"
android:src="#drawable/border_left" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:scaleType="fitXY"
android:src="#drawable/border_top" />
<FrameLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1">
<!-- FrameLayout content goes here -->
</FrameLayout>
<ImageView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:scaleType="fitXY"
android:src="#drawable/border_top" />
</LinearLayout>
<ImageView
android:layout_width="wrap_conttXY"
android:layout_height="match_parght"
android:scaleType="fient"
android:src="#drwable/border_right" />
</LinearLayout>

how to put an image half over an android background?

i want to create something like that:
removed image
i have tried using relative layout, when I align the image and the background view to the top
and applying margin to the bg view:
<RelativeLayout
android:id="#+id/fieldLinearLayout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="80dp" >
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/mood"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="#+id/fieldLinearLayout1"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:src="#drawable/signup_illu_verificationcode" />
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/fieldLinearLayout1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="60dp"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="25dp"
android:background="#f9ffff"
android:orientation="vertical" >
but it didn't work, the bg covers the image.
how can I fix that?

Have you tried using a FrameLayout? With a FrameLayout, you can decide the z-index by the order of which you add the items. The first items will sit on the bottom and the last items will sit on the top.

You can try using negative margins to move the ImageView up.

Overlay over an ImageView on Android

So I have a list of images that come from the web, I don't know which color are they and I want to place a text over the ImageView.
My idea is to place the ImageView, an image overlay with transparency gradient over that ImageView and the text above it. I want to mimic this behaviour:
Is there anyway to do this via XML?

When you write the XML for your list items which get inflated in the getView(...) of whatever ListAdapter you've written you can surely do this.
Something like this for the list item:
<?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">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="320dp"
android:layout_height="240dp"
android:background="#ACACAC"/>
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="320dp"
android:layout_height="240dp"
android:background="#drawable/gradient">
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Here is your text"
android:textColor="#000000"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"/>
</RelativeLayout>
</RelativeLayout>
Then you create that drawable/gradient. For that you can recycle the answer from here.

Thanks to adityajones I managed to get there :)
So although this is my right answer, I'll mark his as the correct one!
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ImageView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="200dp"
android:scaleType="centerCrop"
android:src="#drawable/image" />
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="200dp"
android:background="#drawable/gradient_image" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/text"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_margin="6dp"
android:layout_marginBottom="18dp"
android:shadowColor="#000"
android:shadowRadius="7.0"
android:text="This is some random text"
android:textColor="#color/white"
android:textSize="22sp" />
</RelativeLayout>

I'd use a FrameLayout or RelativeLayout. The first View you add to either should be the background ImageView, then obviously you'll need some TextViews and Other ImageViews [or Buttons, or ImageButtons, etc]
Seems like a reasonable layout: a background image, and then one additional view in each corner.
For the gradient, you'll probably want a separate Layout/View at the bottom with a gradient drawable as the background, although I can imagine you might be able to get away with setting the background of one of your TextViews as the gradient.

You do not have to use a gradient drawable file or set it in your xml..
you can do this pragmatically using GradientDrawable Class as explained in this related Question (Create a radial gradient programmatically) then set it as a background for a layout that covers your ImageView, this gives you ability to use different colors and orientations

TextView above ImageView with dynamic height

I have a ScrollView with some elements.
My problem is that i can't set textview's above ImageView's with dynamical height.
I have 3 ImageView with different height, they can be visible or gone.
Above them i need to put text with background color, this text need to be at the bottom part of the ImageView
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/pic"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
</ImageView>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/third_text"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_margin="16dp"
android:padding="8dp"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_above="#id/third_picture"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:background="#android:color/white"
android:text="example text">
</TextView>
I tried a lot, but my View was always broken.
Please help, i need some proffesional advise.

You can do this in textview:
android:layout_alignBaseline="#id/pic"
This will align the baseline of textview with basline of imageview

You can set your picture as a background for a layout (e.g linear layout ) rather than using an ImageView and then put the textview inside it and place it where ever you want.
<LinearLayout
android:background="your picture" >
<!-- align it to the bottom -->
<TextView
/>
</LinearLayout>

How to lay image over another image where the middle of the image should align with the bottom of the image underneath

I have a banner that I am displaying on an Android Layout. On this banner, I have two avatars that I would like to display next to each other, and most importantly, I would like to have them displayed where the midway point of these two avatars on the y-axis is aligned with the bottom of the banner that these avatars sit on top of.
How would you do this?
Edit:
In other words, I'm asking how you could use an parameter like android:layout_below, but instead of it aligning the top of the imageview with the botton of the specified layout, to align the center.

Unfortunately, there is no direct layout parameter to align a center point with another edge. If the height of your avatars is fixed, you could add some padding that is half the height so they all line up; i.e.
<?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="wrap_content">
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/banner"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:paddingBottom="25dp"
android:src="#drawable/banner" />
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/avatar1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_alignBottom="#id/banner"
android:src="#drawable/horse" />
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/avatar2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_alignBottom="#id/banner"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/avatar1"
android:src="#drawable/horse" />
</RelativeLayout>
If the heights of those items, however, is dynamic, then you will need to create a custom ViewGroup container so you can measure the avatar heights (in onMeasure()) and apply the padding (or other offset value) at runtime.

Put them in a linear layout, and then give them a width to fill the parent. Then you can use the weight property to disperse the widths equally.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="horizontal" >
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:src="#drawable/clock" />
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/imageView2"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:src="#drawable/clock" />
</LinearLayout>