Reflect Settings change in View on update - android

In my Android app, I use SharedPreferences to let the user manage some settings. Now after a user changes any setting, and returning to the app from the settings page, I want my Views (Fragments) to use the latest values from SharedPreferences.
The changes could include reloading a Custom View to use a color scheme or remove filtering for a List View.
Currently only when the app is restarted, the required changes are applied. I am convinced that there is a way to solve my problem, but I am unable to figure it out.
Assume that I am supporting Android 2.2 and above, so that any newer APIs for this may not be used unless its present inside the Support Library.

Not exactly sure what your question is but it seems to me that when your user changes a setting and then hits the back button to return to the fragment you are not seeing the changes? if this is the case it is because when the user goes back android reinstates the version of the fragment that was on the stack (the one before any changes were made). My suggestion would be to try moving the loading of the new shared prefs to the onResume method for the fragment. This way they should be loaded when the user goes back.
Try this
#Override
public void onResume(){
super.onResume();
setContentView(R.layout.currentFrag);
}
this should reload the page with the correct changes.

You need to use the onWindowFocusChanged Method to check if the current activity has lost focus.
#Override
public void onWindowFocusChanged(boolean hasFocus) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onWindowFocusChanged(hasFocus);
// Add the code to perform on the fragments after the settings have changed.
}

Related

Android activity loses data when switching between apps

I'm writing my first Android app. Essentially it shows and controls the score of a straight pool match. I've read articles about the lifecycle of an activity but I still have a problem I don't understand:
When I switch back to my app with a running game (so a score different from the initial 0:0 is shown) the activity sometimes loses its state and shows 0:0 instead of the score when I left the app. I overloaded the methods onSaveInstanceState and onRestoreInstanceState. The former get's called when I press the home button of my device. The latter never gets called. I've read that the method only gets called when onCreate is called. The onCreate method doesn't get called although the app needs longer than usual to reload after switching to some other apps in between. So I think the activity does get rebuild but obviously not by onCreate and the saved score is not loaded by onRestoreInstanceState.
Can you explain me what's happening and how to achieve the desired behaviour? Thank you very much!
edit: I was asked to post my onCreate() and onSaveInstanceState() methods. I tried to shorten them in a useful way. Please tell me If there is anything unclear or missing.
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
final GameSetting gameSetting = getGameSettings();
final GameData gameData = new GameData(gameSetting.getLeague());
game = new GameLogic(gameData);
scoreViews.put(PlayerId.PLAYER_A, (TextView) findViewById(R.id.playerAScore));
}
#Override
protected void onSaveInstanceState(#NonNull final Bundle outState) {
GameDataInstanceSupplier.saveInstance(game.getGameData(), outState);
// inside the method the data gets saved like
// outState.putInt(STATE_SCORE_A, data.getScore(PlayerId.PLAYER_A));
super.onSaveInstanceState(outState);
}
#Override
protected void onRestoreInstanceState(#NonNull final Bundle inState) {
super.onRestoreInstanceState(inState);
GameDataInstanceSupplier.restoreInstance(game.getGameData(), inState);
// inside the method the data gets loaded like
// data.setScore(PlayerId.PLAYER_A, inState.getInt(STATE_SCORE_A));
}
I put a "debug output" inside the onCreate() method and it did not appear in the debug log. The same was true for onRestoreInstanceState(). A message was printed inside onSaveInstanceState() when I pushed the home button.
I think your app is not the problem, you see, I came to find this page because I have the same problem switching aplications in my android phone, it's specially noticiable when usig 2 factor authentication and have to switch to text message, mail or other app to get the sent code, when switch back to the code input screen on the browser or app (teams for example) it is no longer there anymore and it has return to the begining, the login screen for example. This is very annoying because I have disable every thing that has to do with energy savings but still have the issue. I discovered that if I open first the message app and then do the authentication while switching very quickly just to see the code in 1 or 2 seconds and then return sometimes it works. It could be memory issue, or may be an unfulfilled politic on the energy savings. I think is probably the last because other explicitly stated properties like setting the screen brightness automatic adjust off and set to maximun works for a while and then returns to a default. It may even be a planned obsolescence. My phone is a Huawei P smart 2019 (POT-LX3) with android 10. I'll may be try a factory reset. Any suggestions are welcome.

Handle back action for multiple view

I have an activity which have multiple piece of UI panel(you can think them as view in android), these panels will be invisible by default.
Now when user trigger action1, PanelA will display, when trigger action2, PanelB will display(at different location of the screen).
Both PanelA and PanelB is visible at the moment, now when user hit the back menu, the PanelB should disappear, and PanelA should disappear when hit the back menu again.
At first, I use View to hold different panels, however I found it is difficult to keep the state consist, for example, the activity will be a little different between PanelA and PanelB.
Then I found the fragment, however after I tried and tested, I found that the addTobackStack() can not apply to my us-case, since the PanelA and PanelB are at different location, android can not save their state by default.
So I wonder if there is any other solution for my requirement?
You need to manually handle this scenario inside onBackPressed() method of an Activity.
For instance -
#Override
public void onBackPressed() {
if (panelB.isOpened()) {
panelB.close()
} else if (panelA.isOpened()) {
panelA.close()
} else {
super.onBackPressed();
}
}
When panelB is opened, it will close only panelB and wont do anything else. Same goes for panelA, if its opened and when both the panel are closed then it will exit the app like normal.
I highly recommend to use DialogFragments here as you can call show() and dismiss() any point of time on that and they can handle custom views pretty well.
Hope it helps.

Android application not working after resuming activity

I have an application where whenever I exit the application via the home hardware button, it should return to the last state the application is in. However, when I launch the application again, the application shows a white screen with only my header bar. And when I click on the header bar's button, the application crashes with the IllegalStateException where the application cannot find the method for the button clicked.
I am currently implementing with Sherlocks Fragment, where the header bar is an action bar. I'm also using HTC Rhyme, Version 2.3 (Gingerbread). The following is the codes for the addition of fragments into my main app.
Codes to add the fragments within the onCreate method in the activity:
FragmentTransaction trans = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
Bundle bMain = getIntent().getExtras();
String statusCheck = "";
if (bMain != null) {
statusCheck = bMain.getString("statusCheck");
}
if (statusCheck.equals("web")) {
MyWebViewFragment webfrag = new MyWebViewFragment();
trans.add(R.id.container,webfrag, "WebViewFragment");
} else if(statusCheck.equals("traveloguelist")) {
MyTravelogueListFragment travelfrag = new MyTravelogueListFragment();
trans.add(R.id.container,travelfrag, "TravelogueListFragment");
}
trans.commit();
This is the codes when I change a fragment:
MyTravelogueListFragment travelfrag = new MyTravelogueListFragment();
getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction().replace(R.id.container, travelfrag).addToBackStack(null).commit();
[Edit]
I realized after much reading and running that the main issuei have is that upon resuming the application, the activity is actually created again. Thus, some of the parameters i passed in does not get registered, resulting in the wrong display. I THINK this is the error that is causing that to happen:
Previously focused view reported id "myresID" during save, but can't be found during restore.
However, I don't know how you force the application to remember the previous state of the fragment? Or is there any other way around this problem?
I'm still very stuck with this problem. Will really appreciate it if someone can help me!
After much trial and error and many readings, I finally found a way to sort of solve my problem.
From what I understand, this problem will occur due to the Activity's life cycle. The comment by Tseng in this forum was quite comprehensive:
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/127794-Android-Apps-crashing-on-resume
It seems that during the time when other applications are invoked when a certain activity is onPause/onStop, Android might free up some of its memory the activity is currently holding on to if there is insufficient memory required. In this case, all the current objects or variable the paused activity is having will be destroyed. Thus, when the activity is back on focus, the onCreate is actually invoked again. Thus, the activity will have no idea which fragment I am currently require.
However, I realized that it will always call the saveInstanceState which is essentially a bundle object. So I did the following:
onSaveInstanceState method
#Override
public void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle bundle) {
//activityFrag is a string object that tells me which fragment i am in currently
bundle.putString("statusCheck", activityFrag);
}
onCreate method
if (savedInstanceState != null) {
getSupportFragmentManager().popBackStack(null, getSupportFragmentManager().POP_BACK_STACK_INCLUSIVE);
//return;
statusCheck = savedInstanceState.getString("statusCheck");
} else {
statusCheck = b.getString("statusCheck");
}
What I have done is to remove all the fragments I have stacked thus far to remove any issues where there is missing information needed. So this is like starting anew again. The status check just determine which fragment the user has last visited.
After much testing, it seems like it does solve my problem. though I wouldn't say it is perfect. One of the main downfall I have is that whenever I change my fragment, I have to update and change my statusCheck to make sure the correct fragment will be called. However, I have to admit this way is a little unorthodox and might not be very correct.
If any of you have any better ideas, please feel free to share!
You can try to implement following:
Use putFragment to save all fragments, currently located in FragmentManager, into bundle in onSaveInstanceState;
And then you can use getFragment to get all previously stored fragments back from bundle in onRestoreInstanceState.
Also... you'll probably need some HashMap that will help to determine the hierarchy of the fragments (in case you have containers and contained fragments) to be saved into bundle as well.
Also... when restoring from bundle you'll need to know keys for all fragment you've put there earlier. Probably, the easiest way is simply to organize an array of keys and put them into bundle when saving the fragment into instance.
This way your saving and restoring will be complete and centralized.

Run some code when user closes a particular preference screen?

Is there a way to find out when the user closes a particular preference screen? I need to do some updating when the user has changed the preferences in one of my preference screens. Not when the user clicks an actual checkbox, but rather when they press the back button and are done editing the preferences.
So far, all I've been able to find is that I can override my PreferenceActivity's onPause() event, which seems to happen when the user closes the preferences. It works, but I'm not sure this is the best way of going about it. Any suggestions?
EDIT
I couldn't figure out how to actually call a method of my main activity from within the PreferenceActivity. Tried playing around with putExtra() and all sorts of stuff. Eventually i figured - why not do the completely opposite? So instead I implemented the onResume() method in my main activity. Works great for doing stuff when the user closes the preferences, and I can live with the fact that my update method runs every time I resume my app as well.
Well I have been searching for a solution of this issue for weeks up to 2 min ago...
i think i found the way.
Preference myPrefScreen = findPreference("myPrefScreen");
myPrefScreen
.setOnPreferenceClickListener(new OnPreferenceClickListener() {
#Override
public boolean onPreferenceClick(Preference prefScreen) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
Dialog prefScreenDialog = ((PreferenceScreen) prefScreen)
.getDialog();
prefScreenDialog
.setOnDismissListener(new OnDismissListener() {
#Override
public void onDismiss(DialogInterface arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
///HERE YOU CAN EXECUTE WHATEVER YOU WANT...
}
});
return false;
}
});
You need OnPreferenceClickListener to correctly instantiate the PreferenceScreen Dialog generated only once the PreferenceScreen entry has been tapped on the screen and the new window with the preference children are shown. Otherwise you always getDialog() returns null and there's no way to attach the OnDismissListener to it.
Once you set the OnDismissListener the trick is done!!
I hope this could help.
Happy coding to all!!
That's the best way to go about it: overriding the onPause() method. It's called right before your activity leaves the foreground.
onPause is the right place to handle and update.

Android : Save application state on screen orientation change

I have seen the following links before posting this question
http://www.devx.com/wireless/Article/40792/1954
Saving Android Activity state using Save Instance State
http://www.gitshah.com/2011/03/how-to-handle-screen-orientation_28.html
How to save state during orientation change in Android if the state is made of my classes?
I am not getting how should i override the following function :
#Override
public Object onRetainNonConfigurationInstance() {
return someExpensiveObject;
}
In my application i have layout with one editext visible and other editext get visible when the data of first editext validates to true.I have set the visbility of all other editextes and textviews to false and make them visible after validating.
So in my activity if the screen orientation is changed then all the items having android:visibility="false" get invisible.
I have also came to know that when our activities screen orientation changes it calls onStop() followed by onDestroy() and then again starts a fresh activity by calling onCreate()
This is the cause .. But i am not getting how to resolve it ..
Here You can see the screenshots of my application :
in this image all fields are loaded
and in another image when the screen orientation is changed to landscape they are all gone
Any link to tutorial or piece of code will be highly appreciable.
And also my application crashes when a progress dialog is shown up and i try to change screen orientation.How to handle this ??
Thanks
Well if you have the same layout for both screens then there is no need to do so just add below line in your manifest in Activity node
android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation"
for Android 3.2 (API level 13) and newer:
android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize"
because the "screen size" also changes when the device switches between portrait and landscape orientation.
From documentation here: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html
There is another possibility using which you can keep the state as it is even on Orientation change using the onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig).
Called by the system when the device configuration changes while your activity is running. Note that this will only be called if you have selected configurations you would like to handle with the configChanges attribute in your manifest. If any configuration change occurs that is not selected to be reported by that attribute, then instead of reporting it the system will stop and restart the activity (to have it launched with the new configuration).
At the time that this function has been called, your Resources object will have been updated to return resource values matching the new configuration.
There are 2 ways of doing this, the first one is in the AndroidManifest.xml file. You can add this to your activity's tag. This documentation will give you an in depth explanation, but put simply it uses these values and tells the activity not to restart when one of these values changes.
android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize|screenLayout"
And the second one is: overriding onSaveInstanceState and onRestoreInstanceState. This method requires some more effort, but arguably is better. onSaveInstanceState saves the values set (manually by the developer) from the activity before it's killed, and onRestoreInstanceState restores that information after onStart() Refer to the official documentation for a more in depth look. You don't have to implement onRestoreInstanceState, but that would involve sticking that code in onCreate().
In my sample code below, I am saving 2 int values, the current position of the spinner as well as a radio button.
#Override
public void onSaveInstanceState(#NonNull Bundle savedInstanceState) {
spinPosition = options.getSelectedItemPosition();
savedInstanceState.putInt(Constants.KEY, spinPosition);
savedInstanceState.putInt(Constants.KEY_RADIO, radioPosition);
super.onSaveInstanceState(savedInstanceState);
}
// And we restore those values with `getInt`, then we can pass those stored values into the spinner and radio button group, for example, to select the same values that we saved earlier.
#Override
public void onRestoreInstanceState(#NotNull Bundle savedInstanceState) {
spinPosition = savedInstanceState.getInt(Constants.KEY);
radioPosition = savedInstanceState.getInt(Constants.KEY_RADIO);
options.setSelection(spinPosition, true);
type.check(radioPosition);
super.onRestoreInstanceState(savedInstanceState);
}

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