Develop Reference

add specific named SharedPreferences from resource in PreferenceActivity or PreferenceFragment

If I have a Preference-Activity or -Fragment I can provide a preference.xml file to build my PreferenceScreen and show it via addPreferenceFromResource(R.xml.preference)
Changed values can then be retrieved by PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(Context)
I'm just wondering if it is possible to take other than the default Preferences for my Fragment.
I want to have a PreferenceFragment that is able to store its Preferences (provided via xml) in Preferences I can retrieve via context.getSharedPreferences("customPrefName", Context.MODE_PRIVATE)
but I couldn't find something in the xml like
<PreferenceScreen android:prefName="customPrefName">...

If you want to have a custom preference xml file, you need to set preference name before adding it to screen from xml in your PreferenceFragment class.
public class CustomNamePreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
private static final String PREF_FILE_NAME = "custom_name_xml";
#Override
public void onCreate(#Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
PreferenceManager preferenceManager = getPreferenceManager();
preferenceManager.setSharedPreferencesName(PREF_FILE_NAME);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.prefs);
... //rest of the code
}
}
Note : You need to set shared preference name just after the super call of onCreate() and before calling addPreferencesFromResource() method.

Confused on Reading SharedPreferences Without a PreferenceActivity

Because I want an AppCompat Action Bar on all of my settings submenus, I had to implement a workaround and my Settings Activity extends AppCompatActivity, not PreferenceActivity. I'm using a PreferenceFragment in the activity to handle the preferences, and each PreferenceScreen has its own xml file, which the PreferenceFragment switches out for each submenu in the settings. All of this was necessary to get the Action Bar to stay put through all of my submenus.
I'm trying to read a string value from the shared preferences file from within my MainActivity, and I've tried three different methods for getting that information, none of which have worked:
SharedPreferences sharedPref = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
String btSelectPref = sharedPref.getString(getString(R.string.bt_select_key), "");
,
SharedPreferences sharedPref = getSharedPreferences(name, MODE_PRIVATE);
String btSelectPref = sharedPref.getString(getString(R.string.bt_select_key), "");
and
SharedPreferences sharedPref = getPreferences(MODE_PRIVATE);
String btSelectPref = sharedPref.getString(getString(R.string.bt_select_key), "");
Here is the relevant section of my preferences.xml:
<PreferenceCategory
android:title="Bluetooth"
android:key="pref_bt">
<Preference
android:title="Select Bluetooth Device"
android:key="#string/bt_select_key"
android:defaultValue="0">
</Preference>
</PreferenceCategory>
This should fill the btSelectPref string with a "0", but it's always empty when I test it. I have included PreferenceManager.setDefaultValues(this, R.xml.preferences, false); in onCreate in my MainActivity, so the default values should be set.
I'm not sure which of these methods I should be using since I have multiple resource files for my settings, but none of them seem to be working for me. In the case of getSharedPreferences(name, MODE_PRIVATE), I have no idea what the name parameter should be referencing, since I've never named my shared preferences file.
EDIT: It turns out my issue was not related to getting values from the shared preferences file. I just had the wrong xml tag on the preference I was trying to check the value of. I changed it from a generic <Preference> tag to a <ListPreference> and my code started working with PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences().

What you want to do and what you are doing differs. If you just want to put default shared preference for a key then consider this example. If your whole activity has just one shared pref file then you need not specify any name. It will automatically get it.
public MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
SharedPreferences mPrefs;
int test;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_counter);
mPrefs = this.getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
test = mPrefs.getInt("pref_bt_select", 0);}
}
For the above example you can define the key and default value in your strings.xml and then you can refer to it while looking for the prefs you want.

Hey I have used AppCompat for my preference screen too.I did this because I wanted to use Vintage Chroma and this was the only way. But I am able to use PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreference() without any errors.
Also if you want to use default shared preferences in the Fragment you can use :
SharedPreferences preferences = this.getActivity().getSharedPreferences("pref", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
Here is my full code :
public class PreferencesActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
getFragmentManager()
.beginTransaction()
.replace(android.R.id.content, new PreferencesScreen())
.commit();
ActionBar toolbar = getSupportActionBar();
if (toolbar != null) {
toolbar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
if (item.getItemId() == android.R.id.home) {
onBackPressed();
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
public static class PreferencesScreen extends PreferenceFragment {
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings_xml);
}
}
}
Here is my code snippet for MAinActivity
Just the initial part where I set the default text theme.
`public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity
implements NavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener {
AutoCompleteTextView mytextview;
public static String[] list;
ArrayList<String> recent = new ArrayList<String>();
public int recent_index = 0;
Menu mMenu;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
/*Setting default theme.*/
SharedPreferences Sp= PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(getApplicationContext());
int firstRun=Sp.getInt("firstRun",0);
if(firstRun==0)
{
SharedPreferences.Editor editor=Sp.edit();
editor.putInt("paragraphFontColor", Color.parseColor("#ffffff"));
editor.putInt("headingFontColor",Color.parseColor("#DE5246"));
editor.putInt("subheadingFontColor",Color.parseColor("#597d5e"));
editor.putInt("hyperlinksFontColor",Color.parseColor("#A5D8F5"));
editor.putInt("bodyColor",Color.parseColor("#2b2b2b"));
editor.putString("paragraphFont","PrintClearly.otf");
editor.putString("headingFont","PrintBold.otf");
editor.putString("subheadingFont","PrintBold.otf");
editor.putString("hyperlinkFont","PrintBold.otf");
editor.putString("paragraphFontStyle","normal");
editor.putString("headingFontStyle","normal");
editor.putString("subheadingFontStyle","normal");
editor.putString("hyperlinkFontStyle","normal");
editor.putString("actionBarColor","#597d5e");
editor.putString("paragraphFontSize","20px");
editor.putString("headingFontSize","30px");
editor.putString("subheadingFontSize","20px");
editor.putString("hyperlinkFontSize","20px");
editor.putString("firstRun",0);
editor.commit();
}
`

Android Settings : How to use SharedPreferences in a SettingsFragment?

I am using my own SharedPreferences in a normal Activity with a custom layout with two checkboxes and seekbars. Now I want to make a proper SettingsActivity/SettingsFragment with these settings.
Is there a way to use my custom SharedPreference instead of the PreferenceManager and the default preference file?
My own preferecne:
sharedPreferences = getSharedPreferences(getResources().getString(R.string.settingTimetable), MODE_PRIVATE);

Quoted from this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/17995236/3691378
You have to manipulate the PreferenceManager of the SettingsFragment.
This is what it looks like
// Constants
//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
private final static String TAG = SettingsFragment.class.getName();
public final static String SETTINGS_SHARED_PREFERENCES_FILE_NAME = TAG + ".SETTINGS_SHARED_PREFERENCES_FILE_NAME";
// Life-cycle
//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Log.d(TAG, "onCreate()");
// Define the settings file to use by this settings fragment
getPreferenceManager().setSharedPreferencesName(SETTINGS_SHARED_PREFERENCES_FILE_NAME);
// Load the preferences from an XML resource
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
}
Then you can access this settings file outside of the fragment like this:
SharedPreferences preferences = getActivity().getSharedPreferences(
SettingsFragment.SETTINGS_SHARED_PREFERENCES_FILE_NAME,
Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

Retrieving the preferences from the xml file in Android

I am new to Android and I am trying to handle the settings according to the instructions in
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/settings.html
I used the fragment based solution as the one directly in the activity was deprecated:
public class SettingFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Load the preferences from an XML resource
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
}
}
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Display the fragment as the main content.
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
.replace(android.R.id.content, new SettingFragment())
.commit();
}
}
The settings are correctly displayed in the app, yet when I try to retrieve their values with:
sharedPref= PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(Dashboard.dashboard);
startDayTime=sharedPref.getString(SettingsActivity.day_switch_start, "");
startNightTime=sharedPref.getString(SettingsActivity.night_switch_start, "");
it complaints that values day_switch_start and night_switch_start might not be resolved. In fact, when I explode the values recognized by SettingActivity, I get a long list of capitalized strings part of the standard settings, but not my own strings.
Those were in fact just entered in the xml file and linked from the SettingFragment, so I doubt context Dashboard.dashboard I passed has any reference to it. Yet there are no instructions on how to pass the settings references to a specific context and moreover they say that the settings should be available from anywhere. I am stuck, any solution?
Thanks,

Please check the reference you linked again, especially the Reading Preferences section. When you set the preference key to, e.g., day_switch_start then you must use the same String when reading the preference, e.g.,
startDayTime=sharedPref.getString("day_switch_start", "");
You can also store the preference key to a constant like in the linked example:
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {
public static final String KEY_PREF_DAY_SWITCH_START = "day_switch_start";
// ...
and then access it when reading the preference:
startDayTime=sharedPref.getString(SettingsActivity.KEY_PREF_DAY_SWITCH_START, "");
Edit: I'm not sure what Dashboard.dashboard should represent but this should work:
sharedPref= PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);

How can I call the Preferences with the new values?

I use some CheckBoxPreferences, but they are not indepentent. That means, wenn I change one CheckBoxPreference, others are fixed. I use the following code:
public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity implements OnSharedPreferenceChangeListener {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.settings);
Context context = getApplicationContext();
SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(context);
prefs.registerOnSharedPreferenceChangeListener(this);
}
#Override
public void onSharedPreferenceChanged(SharedPreferences sharedPrefs, String key) {
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = sharedPrefs.edit();
if ((key.equals("A")) & (key.equals("B"))) {
editor.putBoolean("C", true);
editor.commit();
}
}
}
After this the CheckBoxPreference "C" has a new value, but I can't see it. How can I update the screen with the new values?

By using a subclass of PreferenceActivity you do not have to handle the updating of the preferences UI. You define the preferences in the resource file loaded by addPreferencesFromResource() and the Activity will be rendered accordingly. Changes will be persisted automatically and should be visible immediately. You do not have to register your preferences Activity as a SharedPreferences.OnSharedPreferenceChangeListener.
When onSharedPreferenceChanged() is called the new value is already saved to the preferences.
This notification is for other Activities than the subclasses of PreferenceActivity. To know how to access the saved preferences you need to look at the file in res/xml/settings.xml it should contain android:key attributes. The attribute values give you the key to the preference.
You can retrieve the value via the following:
PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(aContext).getString(key, "");