Setting sharedPreferences default values - android

I have an application where I'm setting roughly around 200 shared preferences when the application is run for the first time. I was initially loading all the preferences by calling it from my onCreate method
SharedPreferences pref = getSharedPreferences(CALC_PREFS, MODE_PRIVATE);
settingsEditor = prefs.edit();
settingsEditor.putString("Something", "");
....
settingsEditor.commit();
and it would work well and rather quickly. I then redesigned my application to have an abstract activity class to handle all the work with the shared preferences becacuse I have 4 different activities accessing these preferences.
public abstract class AnActivity extends Activity{
// Shared Preference string
private static final String CALC_PREFS = "CalculatorPrefs";
// Editor to customize preferences
private Editor settingsEditor;
// Shared preference
private SharedPreferences prefs;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
prefs = getSharedPreferences(CALC_PREFS, MODE_PRIVATE);
settingsEditor = prefs.edit();
}
protected void addPref(String key, String value){
settingsEditor.putString(key, value).commit();
}
protected void addPref(String key, int value){
settingsEditor.putInt(key, value).commit();
}
//other methods were not posted
}
My main activity not extends the "AnActivity" class. However, when I run my application on a fresh install or attemp to access any shared preference, it takes upwards of 10 seconds to instantiate everything.
How can I set the default values in a clean and efficient manner? Does creating an Abstract class to handle the preferences create more overhead than just calling getSharedPreferences manually?

Are you commiting each time you add a preference? This is probably your issue, commiting for each entry could be quite expensive, batch together your put's and commit once.
If you don't need to specify the default value, you could always use clear() instead
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/SharedPreferences.Editor.html#clear%28%29

Related

Access text of EditTextPreference from Fragment

I've got a Preferenceactivity with a EditTextPreference.
What I'm looking for is the command to access the inserted text of the EditTextPreference from a fragment.
What I have so far:
SharedPreferences preferences = this.getActivity().getSharedPreferences("pref", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
String name = preferences.getString("edit_text_preference_name", "Default");
I allways get "Default" instead of my actual inserted text from the EditTextPreference.
Thanks in Advance.
Edit:
from SettingsActivity.java
#TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public static class BarcodePreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_barcode);
setHasOptionsMenu(true);
bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("edit_text_preference_barcode"));
bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("edit_text_preference_name"));
}
}
pref.xml
<EditTextPreference
android:capitalize="words"
android:defaultValue="#string/pref_default_display_name"
android:key="edit_text_preference_name"
android:maxLines="1"
android:selectAllOnFocus="true"
android:singleLine="true"
android:title="#string/pref_default_display_name" />
From the documentation of PreferenceFragment:
To retrieve an instance of SharedPreferences that the preference hierarchy in this fragment will use, call getDefaultSharedPreferences(android.content.Context) with a context in the same package as this fragment.
This means that the PreferenceFragment saves the values to the default shared preferences which leaves you two options:
Option 1 - Use the default SharedPreferences to retrieve the saved value
It's pretty simple, you need to call the PreferenceManager's getDefaultSharedPreferences(...) static method to access the default shared prefs. So instead of
SharedPreferences preferences = this.getActivity().getSharedPreferences("pref", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
String name = preferences.getString("edit_text_preference_name", "Default");
do
// use getActivity() instead of getContext() if you're using the framework Fragment API and min SDK is lower than 23
SharedPreferences preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(getContext());
String name = preferences.getString("edit_text_preference_name", "Default");
Option 2 - Set your PreferenceFragment to use named shared prefs
You can set the name of the used shared prefs in your BarcodePreferenceFragment's onCreate(...) method by calling setSharedPreferencesName(...) on the belonging PreferenceManager:
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
getPreferenceManager().setSharedPreferencesName("pref");
// the rest of your code
}

Checking if Shared Preferences Exist

Trying to check if if Shared Preferences exist or not. What I need is to allow the user to arrive on a page if they have been here before (i.e. shared preferences exist and are not equal to "") or put them to the welcome page if it is their first time on the app (i.e. shared preferences are blank as user hasn't entered any data).
public class PersonalDetails extends Activity {
private SharedPreferences sharedPreferences;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_personal_details);
if (sharedPreferences.contains("")) {
Intent intent = new Intent(PersonalDetails.this, Welcome.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
I think getPreferences needs two inputs as below.
public abstract SharedPreferences getSharedPreferences(String name,
int mode);
// Example
getSharedPreferences("your_app_name", MODE_PRIVATE);

How do I set up a global variable to share among views in Android?

In one of my views the user makes a selection. I want to store that selection in a variable I can use across all views so it can be used for further database queries such as "bookId".
How can I make "bookId" a global variable that is set on one view and can be accessed across the other views when needed?
----- Edit: What I'm attempting to do based on comments and answers -----
On my main activity where the SharedPreference is stored I have this before the onCreate:
public static final String PREFS_NAME = "myPrefs";
SharedPreferences settings;
Integer bookId;
In my onCreate I've done this:
settings = getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, 0);
bookId = settings.getInt("bookId", 0);
After the button press I'm storing a custom attribute and attempting to set bookId in the SharedPreference:
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = settings.edit();
editor.putInt("bookId",bookKey);
editor.commit();
In another view I'm attempting to get the bookId from the SharedPreference and, for testing purposes, I'm trying to set the stored value to a textView just to make sure it stored and carried over correctly.
Before the onCreate on the second view:
public static final String PREFS_NAME = "myPrefs";
SharedPreferences settings;
Inside the onCreate:
settings = getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, 0);
Integer bookId = settings.getInt("bookId", (Integer) null);
tempBookTextView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.tempBookTextView);
tempBookTextView.setText(bookId);
I have a two questions, how does this look so far? Any ideas why the app crashes when I use
Integer bookId = settings.getInt("bookId", (Integer) null);
Instead of using global variable to access variable value through out the app try using SharedPreferences.
sample activity:
public class Book extends Activity {
public static final String PREFS_NAME = "MyPrefsFile";
String mBookId = null;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle state){
super.onCreate(state);
. . .
// Restore preferences
SharedPreferences settings = getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, 0);
mBookId = settings.getString("book_id", null);
// use book_id;
}
#Override
protected void onStop(){
super.onStop();
// We need an Editor object to make preference changes.
// All objects are from android.context.Context
SharedPreferences settings = getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, 0);
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = settings.edit();
editor.putString("book_id", mBookId);
// Commit the edits!
editor.commit();
}
}
Preferences are typically created private and can be accessed via all over the application components. Sharing data with other application with world readable or writable preference file is rarely used, as the external component would need to know the exact filename and location of the file.
To kill the spirit of encapsulation,
public class Globals {
public static int x;
public static int y;
}
and later
if (Globals.x == 0) { ... }
But please don't do exactly that, any class can contain static variables, find a class responsible for the value you want to store.
OTOH, android processes may be restarted when you don't expect it, in which case all the variables will be reset. So it's better to use shared preferences and if they don't work as expected (which I have seen in at least one release of Android), store the instance of shared preferences in a static variable.
You can use Shared Preferences
Saved at once !
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(ProjectAct.this).edit();
editor.putInteger(StaticVariable.BOOKID, "1");
p.get("contract_no"));
editor.commit();
Then call from anywhere like that
SharedPreferences prefs = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(context);
int book_id = prefs.getInteger(StaticVariable.BOOKID,null);
See more at How to use SharedPreferences in Android to store, fetch and edit values

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, "");

Sharedpreferences - crashes on startup

I'm trying to write an activity that would be able to both write and read sharedpreferences data.
I initiate SharedPreferences at the beginning
SharedPreferences preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
Then this function writes an int to SP and call another function.
public void SetHue(int i)
{
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = preferences.edit();
editor.putInt("storedInt", i); // value to store
editor.commit();
ApplyHue();
}
this other function should read that int from SP...
public void ApplyHue()
{
int hueInt = preferences.getInt("storedInt", 0);
/// adjust background image hue according to hueInt.
}
I can't simply pass this int from one function to another, because I need other activities to be able to run ApplyHue() function, which should use hueInt from memory.
What do you think might be causing it to crash?
Thanks!
I think you wrote this line in the class before your onCreate method.
SharedPreferences preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
Decalare SharedPreferences preferences; in the class and then in onCreate
preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
Hopefully your problem will be solved

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