Develop Reference

Android: ListView pushes out everything else below it

In my app, there is a tabbed activity with three fragments. The first fragment has a form to create a new task, the second fragment has the list of all the saved tasks, and the third fragment will show the comments on a task when selected from the list in the second fragment. The third fragment is also supposed to act like a chat activity which posts comments when you type them in and tap the send button. The XML layout of this third fragment is as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="#android:color/darker_gray"
android:orientation="vertical"
tools:context="com.example.ishita.assigntasks.CommentsFragment">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/frag_task_details"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#dd55ff"
android:padding="10dp" />
<ListView
android:id="#+id/frag_comment_list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:transcriptMode="normal" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:background="#android:color/white">
<EditText
android:id="#+id/frag_msg_edit"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="textMultiLine"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<ImageButton
android:id="#+id/frag_send_btn"
style="?android:attr/buttonStyleSmall"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="0"
android:background="#android:color/background_light"
android:contentDescription="#string/send_btn"
android:src="#android:drawable/ic_menu_send" />
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>
As you can see, there is a TextView and a ListView and below that is another LinearLayout. Here is how it should look (the purple bar is the TextView):
And here is how it actually looks:
The TextView shows up above the ListView, but the LinearLayout does not. It is there, though. If I do android:layout_marginBottom="20dp" on the outermost LinearLayout, it does show up, but the ActionBar scrolls up and overlaps with the notification bar so that the title on the ActionBar and the notifications on the notification bar are both visible simultaneously and neither is legible.
I searched a lot and this seemed a common issue, but none of the solutions helped me. Believe me, I tried everything I could find. I tried wrapping the whole thing in a FrameLayout, using a RelativeLayout in place of the outermost LinearLayout, using two LinearLayouts--one to wrap the TextView and the ListView and the other to wrap the EditText and the ImageButton, etc., but nothing was able to show the bottom LinearLayout below the ListView. I even tried to set focus on the EditText when the fragment launches so that the keyboard would show and I can type, but even that doesn't help.
Note: On the other hand, if I use the exact same layout on an activity, the bottom LinearLayout displays exactly as it should.
I am unable to find the bug. Please help!

It looks like your toolbar pushes fragment layout down without decreasing its height. I have no idea why this happens (there are no root layout code here).
As a workaround you can set fragments layout bottom margin to ?attr/actionBarSize

As you have given layout_weight 1 in listview layout, so it occupies the whole space available. In order to get rid of you have to give some static height or use layout_weight in right manner
<ListView
android:id="#+id/frag_comment_list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="500dp"
android:transcriptMode="normal" />
or try like this
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="#android:color/darker_gray"
android:orientation="vertical"
tools:context="com.example.ishita.assigntasks.CommentsFragment">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/frag_task_details"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#dd55ff"
android:padding="10dp" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:background="#android:color/white">
<ListView
android:id="#+id/frag_comment_list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:transcriptMode="normal" />
</LinearLayout>
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:background="#android:color/white">
<EditText
android:id="#+id/frag_msg_edit"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="textMultiLine"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<ImageButton
android:id="#+id/frag_send_btn"
style="?android:attr/buttonStyleSmall"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="0"
android:background="#android:color/background_light"
android:contentDescription="#string/send_btn"
android:src="#android:drawable/ic_menu_send" />
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>

All,
Thank you for all your responses. I found a workaround by trial and error now and thought I should post the answer for others who face the same issue. I set android:layout_marginBottom="50dp" on the inner LinearLayout (the one wrapping the comments bar--EditText and ImageButton). Somehow, this sets the layout correctly and the fragment functions properly in both Lollipop and Jellybean OS's. I haven't tested on other OS versions.

First of all you should read this, what is layout_weight and how it works.
You assigned layout_weight to ListView as 1, it means it covers whole height. just change it to 0.7 or any proportion you want (less than 1) will solve the problem.
<ListView
android:id="#+id/frag_comment_list"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="0.7"
android:transcriptMode="normal" />

Android Layout: cannot see the children over the parent

I have the Layouts as you can see in the picture (sorry I cannot post them normally yet):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28640502/Unbenannt.bmp
However, when I execute the app I can only see the camera preview and not the text nor the SeekBar. I know they work, because when I reduce the size of the camera I can see them and interact, but if I want the camera to be like background and then the children over it, it doesn't work.
I have been checking a lot of threads with similar problems but I don't find the solution:
1, 2, 3... Any idea? Thanks a lot!
Here is my xml code just in case:
<?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:layout_weight="0.55"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<FrameLayout
android:id="#+id/camera_preview"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="fill">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/show_height"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_margin="5sp"
android:layout_marginRight="10sp"
android:layout_weight="0.12"
android:text="H" />
<SeekBar
android:id="#+id/select_height"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="bottom"
android:layout_margin="5sp"
android:layout_weight="0.91" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/show_distance"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="0.06"
android:text="Dist" />
</LinearLayout>
</FrameLayout>
</LinearLayout>

try to input both of your layouts in relative layout for example
<LL>
<RL>
<FL>
</FL>
<LL>
</LL>
</RL>
</LL>
this is hapenning because of overlaiyng of LL by FL

You could use the bringToFront() method of the View class.
SeekBar seeker = (SeekBar)findViewById(R.id.select_height);
seeker.bringToFront();
Alernatively you could use the sendToBack() function to put a view behind other views.
Also remember that a view's z-index is determined by the order in which the view is declared in the xml layout file.
I'd also suggest changing the camera preview layout and it's first child layout to be siblings. The one added last in the xml file will be on top.

Change background color dynamically and use a border

I have the following template
<?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="wrap_content"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:background="#drawable/borders" >
<RelativeLayout
android:id="#+id/layout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:padding="5dp">
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/category_starred_icon"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#drawable/rating_not_important"
android:contentDescription="#string/app_name" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/category_name"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/category_starred_icon"
android:textIsSelectable="false"
android:textSize="18sp"
android:paddingLeft="5dp"
android:paddingTop="5dp"
android:paddingRight="5dp"
android:textColor="#android:color/white"
android:hint="#string/category" />
</RelativeLayout>
</LinearLayout>
i get a warning This RelativeLayout layout or its LinearLayout parent is possibly useless; transfer the background
attribute to the other view, i want solve it, but i have the follow problem i have a border in the LinearLayout is like a drop shadow but when i change the background color in my code
mLayout.setBackgroundColor(Color.paseColor(mColorString));
i lost the border, how i can solve the warning witout lose the border, the main problem is the background colors are dynamically

Have a look at this: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html#LayerList
This is an drawable that organizes other drawables in a layer list (one on top of the other). With it, you can use other drawables, like shape, to define the borders and the background the way you want.
I can't make a complete answer now, but if you search for this, I'm sure you can do it. When I have more time, I may come back to help you, if you haven't found out how to solve this yet.

TouchListview with fixed footer

My question should be answered here: Fixed footer not displaying the bottom-most list item
But it does not work for me.
I want a listview with a fixed footer at the bottom. At the moment, the listview is as large as the window, which makes the footer overlap. XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/root"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<!-- <ImageView
android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:src="#drawable/baby_blue_solid" android:scaleType="centerCrop" />-->
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/footer_cloud"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
>
<ImageView android:id="#+id/add_icon"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#drawable/ic_menu_add"
/>
<ImageView android:id="#+id/cloudBG"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:layout_width="230dp"
android:layout_height="60dp"
android:background="#drawable/cl"
/>
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/footer_divider"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="2dp"
android:background="#android:drawable/divider_horizontal_bright"
android:layout_above="#id/cloudBG"
/>
</RelativeLayout>
<com.commonsware.cwac.tlv.TouchListView
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tlv="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.commonsware.cwac.tlv.demo"
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="#id/root"
android_layout_above="#id/footer_cloud"
android:drawSelectorOnTop="false"
android:listSelector="#android:color/transparent"
tlv:normal_height="64dip"
tlv:grabber="#+id/icon"
tlv:remove_mode="slideLeft"
/>
</RelativeLayout>
Although Im using a touchlistview by Commonsware, that shouldn't be a reason why it wouldn't work, I think. Can anyone spot the mistake?
Also, I can't see the divider I implemented. Both when I use the background or src attribute, no effect is visible.

First, fall back to a simpler widget when diagnosing problems whenever possible. If you are seeing oddities with TouchListView, try a regular ListView.
Second, your layout rules for the TouchListView are strange. You are trying to make the widget below its own container. And, you should be using 0dp for the height.
Try those things. If the problem is still occurring and is unique to TouchListView, I will need a sample project the reproduces the error to investigate further. If the problem occurs with regular ListView, and what I have written here has not helped, your next step is to use Hierarchy View to try to diagnose what is wrong with your layout.

Crashes whenever I try to use a custom view object in XML layout

I have made myself a custom LinearLayout by the name of com.theflyingnerd.DroidMe.DiscreteNumericalRangeSelectorWidget that hosts a couple of spinner widgets. This custom LinearLayout inflates the following XML layout (You might not need to look at this too carefully but it's here for completeness):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<!-- Min value Spinner -->
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/discrete_numerical_range_selector_min_value_spinner"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="left"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/to_text"
android:text="to"
android:textSize="14sp"
android:paddingLeft="10sp"
android:paddingRight="10sp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:layout_weight="0">
</TextView>
<!-- Max value Spinner -->
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/discrete_numerical_range_selector_max_value_spinner"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="right"
android:layout_weight="1" />
I have placed one such object in the layout for one of my activities like so:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<include layout="#layout/search_form_section_generic_top"/>
<include layout="#layout/search_form_section_car_specific"/>
<com.theflyingnerd.DroidMe.DiscreteNumericalRangeSelectorWidget/>
<include layout="#layout/search_form_section_advanced_options" />
</LinearLayout>
The problem is that my app force closes immediately upon startup. I've checked by putting breakpoints in my custom LinearLayout that none of my custom code is even being run yet. Furthermore, if I copy-paste the layout code for my compound widget in place everything works, which indicates to me that I probably haven't left any important XML attributes out. What could be going wrong?

I fixed it by making the LinearLayout XML element in the widget layout into a merge instead, and moved all of the layout parameters out of the widget XML file and into the activity XML itself, thus replacing
<com.theflyingnerd.DroidMe.DiscreteNumericalRangeSelectorWidget/>
with
<com.theflyingnerd.DroidMe.DiscreteNumericalRangeSelectorWidget
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
If someone could tell me why this worked, it might help me and others doing it again, and you can take credit.

because you must specify the width and height of every view you use in you xml?