Develop Reference

Android ListView width keeps changing

Firstly, I am new to android so if I have missed something basic I apologise.
I have a page which has two ListViews side by side, both with varying amounts of content. I also have a TextView above the ListViews and another TextView below the listviews. These text view boxes change based on items selected in either of the two ListViews.
These two ListViews sit side by side, taking up half of the screen each, while a Textview sits directly above and directly below, both centred to the page. An image is shown below.
This is the page looking normal on load.
The problem is when I select an item from either list. I have a feeling I am missing some XML properties, but I am not sure which properties or if this is even the case. When an item is selected, let's say from the ListView on the right, the TextView at the bottom is updated with text taken from an array. The ListView also decides to change the width and I am not sure why this is.... I don't want the ListView to change width. I want it to remain taking up half of the page and half of the page only.
This is the page after an item from the right ListView has been selected.
I would also like to keep things in RelativeLayout. I also believe it is only an XML issue and not to do with the adapter or any other code so I will not include that for now. I can include it if required.
Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.
content_titles.xml my activity xml file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context=".TitlesActivity">
<ListView
android:id="#+id/unlocked_titles_list"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:longClickable="true"
android:layout_below="#+id/current_title"
android:layout_alignEnd="#+id/requirements"
android:layout_marginEnd="26dp"
android:layout_above="#+id/requirements">
</ListView>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/current_title"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="65dp"
android:text="Current Title: Novice"
android:textSize="24sp"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"/>
<ListView
android:id="#+id/locked_titles_list"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_alignStart="#+id/requirements"
android:layout_marginStart="28dp"
android:layout_above="#+id/requirements"
android:layout_below="#+id/current_title"/>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/requirements"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginBottom="34dp"
android:text="temp"
android:textAlignment="center"
android:textSize="24sp"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"/>
</RelativeLayout>
activity_listview.xml used as the individual rows of the ListViews
<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/label"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:padding="10dip"
android:textSize="16dip"
android:textStyle="bold" >
</TextView>

The problems with layout could be caused by ScrollView to be the wrapper
I stumbled upon some note in http://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/ExpandableListView.html
"...Note: You cannot use the value wrap_content for the android:layout_height attribute of a ExpandableListView in XML if the parent's size is also not strictly specified (for example, if the parent were ScrollView you could not specify wrap_content since it also can be any length. However, you can use wrap_content if the ExpandableListView parent has a specific size, such as 100 pixels."
I removed wrapping ScrollView and linear layout started working properly. Now its only to understand how to wrap the stuff to ScrollView. God help me
But anyway this is really weird behavior. I think that fill_parent is not really correct wording. When using heirarchyviewer tool I always see WRAP_CONTENT and MATCH_PARENT values for layout_width and leayout_height. So probably fill_parent is actually means match_parent which puts me in cognitive dissonance.

You have your layout_width properties set to wrap_content. This means that they could change as the data changes. I would recommend putting your ListViews in a LinearLayout with orientation:horizontal and set the amount of space that each element takes up with layout_weight. Here is a relevant SO question What does android:layout_weight mean?

How to absolute position a text on a button programatically in Android

How can I absolute position a text on a button in android programatically(Defining Dynamically in Activity)
For Ex :
When I reduce the size of a button the text gets shrink ed which results in an additional height , so whether can I make the text (button text) to overflow so that 90% come in a single line even if the 90% comes out of the button it is fine but should get the value or can I add a textView and absolute position it with respect to button how can I achieve either of these dynamically whether is it possible?
Some Sample Code how I got the result
<LinearLayout
android:weightSum="1.0"
android:layout_weight=".75"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_width="0dip"
android:background="#ffef1128"
>
<Button
android:id="#+id/textbox12"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="0.01"
android:layout_width="0dip"
android:textSize="14sp"
android:text="1%"
android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
android:background="#color/fund_background_blue"
android:textColor="#color/gen_text_color"
/>
</LinearLayout>
So the buttons width is 1% and the text I'm trying to display is getting inside the width of the button which makes it invisible as that is the normal behavior of wrapping the content but I want the text to be displayed horizontally even if the text overflows after the button it is ok want to know the best possible solution.

This could help?
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<ImageButton android:id="#+id/btnFindMe"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center_vertical|center_horizontal"
android:background="#drawable/findme"></ImageButton>

A View's minimum height and minimum with depends on its childView's height and width. thats why when you reduce the size of a button the text gets shrink which results in an additional height. If you want to to shrink it then you have to add a HorizontalScrollView and add TextView inside HorizontalScrollView.
Or you can try-
android:singleLine="true"
and to set absolute position of x you can try to set text view left align to Superview and set left margin of textView. at runtime -
so to set leftalign-
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
and to set left margin-
RelativeLayout.LayoutParams rlp = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams) textView.getLayoutParams();
// work as x absolute position
rlp.leftMargin = x;

Why does edittext with empty text still have some height?

I researched the attribute value wrap_content on another thread and found its function to be to " force [the view] to expand only far enough to contain the values (or child controls) it contains. For controls -- like text boxes (TextView) or images (ImageView) -- this will wrap the text or image being shown."(What's the difference between fill_parent and wrap_content?)
Heres my code(for empty edittext
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Email"
android:padding="5dp"/>
<EditText
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
/>
</LinearLayout>
And the resulting layout(selected one is the edit text) http://imgur.com/6H8caKT
My question is that because the edit text contains nothing(empty text), shouldnt wrap_ content force it to have no height?

wrap_content should be different ,once you make widgets by default wrap_content ,it will adjust the widget size automatically for all the screen such as small,medium and big screens.
But you have mention dp wise, all screen follows dp values only but it will not adjust automatically.
fill_parent and match_parent will stretch with their parent layout

I believe this is another Android sdk "Feature Bug". There is android:minLines=".." and it works but setting 0 is ignored for unknown reasons to me so it always stay as 1.

Spinner height doesnot change

I have declared a spinner in my layout file. I have set a custom ArrayAdapter for this. My problem is the spinner height gets unexpectedly larger than defined when the view is rendered.
For example if I declare the spinner like this:
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/categorySpinner"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="45dip"
android:layout_above="#+id/rewardListView"
android:layout_below="#+id/customerRewardPointsTextView"
android:background="#drawable/btn_dropdown"
android:spinnerMode="dropdown" />
Then its rendered like this:
On the other hand if I declare the spinner like this:
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/categorySpinner"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="0dip"
android:layout_above="#+id/rewardListView"
android:layout_below="#+id/customerRewardPointsTextView"
android:background="#drawable/btn_dropdown"
android:spinnerMode="dropdown" />
Then its rendered like this:
So the problem is whether I set the android:layout_height="45dip" or android:layout_height="0dip" the height of the spinner remains the same. How to resolve this issue ?

Although you are defining android:layout_height but it's not actually working because of the restriction you have in your view :
android:layout_above="#+id/rewardListView"
android:layout_below="#+id/customerRewardPointsTextView"
As you can see you placed the view between your two view "rewardListView" and "customerRewardPointsTextView". And those view actually adjusting the height of your "categorySpinner" view, so it doesn't matter whether you give 45dip or 0dip.
Try placing "categorySpinner" in your relatvielayout in a way so other view does not mess up with categorySpinner's height.

Android horizontal LinearLayout with wrapped text in TextView

I've observed a behavior with layout_weight that I can't explain. The following is a trivial example:
<?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="horizontal"
>
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"
android:text="This is a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long string."
android:layout_weight="1"
/>
<View
android:layout_width="32dp"
android:layout_height="32dp"
android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"
android:background="#ffffffff"
/>
</LinearLayout>
In a QVGA display, the TextView wraps the text. The white square is displayed to the right of the text.
However, if I remove android:layout_weight="1" from the TextView, the TextView now takes up the entire display width. The white square is no longer displayed.
Why would layout_weight in the TextView affect whether or not the white square is displayed? Shouldn't the View with the white background always be assigned 32dpx32dp first? (It makes no difference if the view were any other types - ImageView or TextView).
The problem I was working on is that I want the white square to always be displayed to the right of the TextView (whether or not the text is wrapped), but I don't want any empty space between the TextView and the white square. (If I add android:layout_weight="1" to the TextView, then there is a gap if the text is not wrapped.)
Any help would be appreciated!

To answer my question #1: One thing I learned by looking at the source for LinearLayout: Not only does layout_weight assign unused space to a child, it also shrinks a child with layout_weight if the child extends beyond the bounds of the LinearLayout. That explains why a TextView with wrapped text is shrunk in my layout.
As for the answer to my question #2, I think you meant android:toRigthOf instead of android:layout_alignRight. Using a RelativeLayout instead of a LinearLayout doesn't change the layout behavior. The tricky part is placing a view immediately to the right of a TextView, without gaps, whether or not the text is wrapped. Setting a maxWidth would limit the TextView's width, but that solution doesn't scale across portrait/landscape and different display dimensions.
Solution - Looks like Dyarish's solution is the best available. My layout problem exists regardless of the layout you use. The key is to set a maxWidth for the TextView so that it doesn't take up the all of the horizontal space in the layout. Because hardcoding a android:maxWidth value in the TextView doesn't scale across different displays, setting the maxWidth at runtime, as Dyarish suggested, is a good solution.

Hopefully this is what you are looking for.
First off, here is a great resource I found for Creating UI's.
layout_weight - Specifies how much of the extra space in the layout to be allocated to the View.
If you want to ensure that the white square is always to the right of the textview, you can use a Relative View, and add the parameter to the view. android:layout_alignRight="+id#yourTextViewID". This should always make the box appear right beside the textView area. You should probably also add something like android:maxWidth="250px" This will ensure that you don't push the white box completely out of the screen.
Here is a code sample:
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal"
>
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:maxWidth="250px"
android:id="#+id/TextForWhiteBox"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center|left"
android:text="This is a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long string."
/>
<View android:background="#ffffffff" android:layout_width="32dp" android:layout_height="32dp" android:id="#+id/view1" android:layout_toRightOf="#+id/TextForWhiteBox"></View>
</RelativeLayout>
You could also add to the View:
android:layout_alignTop="#+id/TextForWhiteBox" android:layout_alignBottom="#+id/TextForWhiteBox"
to make the white box the same size as the TextView.

Firstly I've tested the code from my other answer and it does exactly what you've described you've wanted. (unless I'm misunderstanding what you are asking for). You definitely do not want to use the android:layout_alignRight which is not what is in the code sample. That would simply keep the box on the right hand of the screen and not be affected by the textview at all. This sample uses android:layout_toRightOf="#+id/TextForWhiteBox" which is possible due to it being a relative layout. Since the Relative Layout allows you to place objects in relation to others. That line will always place the box just to the right of the textview with no gaps.
As for the screen orientation changes:
When the orientation changes it creates a new instance of the view.
Here is a simple solution.
//Add to oncreate in your Activity
private TextView textStatus;
textStatus = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.TextForWhiteBox);
// This get's the width of your display.
DisplayMetrics displaymetrics = new DisplayMetrics();
getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getMetrics(displaymetrics);
int width = displaymetrics.widthPixels;
// Now you know the screen orientation, and it's width. So just set the maxwidth of the text view to match the display width - the pixels of your white box.
textStatus.setMaxWidth(width - 32); // 32 is here because you already know the size of the white box. More logic is needed to dynamically get this value, because you would need to wait for the activity to be fully created.
}
Here is the main.xml I used:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal"
>
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/TextForWhiteBox"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center|left"
android:text="This is a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long string."
/>
<View android:background="#ffffffff" android:layout_width="32px" android:layout_height="32px" android:id="#+id/view1" android:layout_toRightOf="#+id/TextForWhiteBox"></View>
</RelativeLayout>
You might need some additional logic to keep screen values.
This code has been tested, you should be able to literally copy and paste this to work as you asked.
Also depending on your logic you could use something like this to return the screen orientation.
int orient = getResources().getConfiguration().orientation;
Hope this helps!
If this helped you, please click the accepted button. =) Cheers!