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How to layout a custom listviewitem with variable textview and two buttons on one line

I've created a custom listview. All works fine though I struggle with the layout of the listitem.
The idea is to have a textview which can have a variable length (multilines is possible) and two buttons next to the textview all on one line.
This is what I have:
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center_vertical" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textSize="16sp"
android:layout_weight=".80" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="A"
android:layout_weight=".10"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/textView1" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="B"
android:layout_weight=".10"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/button1" />
This works fine though my problem is that the textview fills out the parent and pushes the buttons of the screen. (when I have a short text the buttons are vissible)
So basically, what I need is a 80% wide textview aligned to the left and two 10% wide buttons aligned to the right. Can anyone guide me in the right direction?
Thanks

You can't use layout_weight with RelativeLayout. Try this:
<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:id="#+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textSize="16sp"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="A" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="B" />
</LinearLayout>

Change to LinearLayout. You cannot use layout_weight with RelativeLayout.
Good Luck

Buttons not getting displayed

I have the following code defined in my xml file, but I don't see the buttons getting displayed. I have read way too many posts, and pretty much tried all possible combinations, but no luck :( I'd really appreciate if someone could help me here.
<?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" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="100dp"
android:gravity="center"
android:text="#string/hello_world"
android:textSize="32sp" />
<EditText
android:id="#+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:hint="#string/ad_desc"
android:inputType="text" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/phone" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/sms" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/maps" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/video" />
</LinearLayout>
I would like to see my App Name on top (Text view - #string/hello_world), right beneath it, a big box that allows me to EditText(#string/ad_desc), and beneath that, all my buttons. The button should be at the bottom, next to each other aligned in this manner - http://www.mkyong.com/android/android-linearlayout-example/ (Linear layout - Horizontal example), except I want my buttons to be at the bottom, and not at the top. Instead I see something else (Image attached)
Please feel free to ask me if you'd like me to attach anything else. I am new to Android programming, and this is totally beyond me on why it isn't working.

If you want to align your Buttons at the bottom then you are better off with a RelativeLayout as the root. Try changing it to the following and notice the properties
<?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="fill_parent" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="100dp"
android:text="#string/hello_world"
android:textSize="32sp" />
<EditText
android:id="#+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:hint="#string/ad_desc"
android:inputType="text"
androidi:layout_below="#id/textView2" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"/>
<Button
android:id="#+id/button4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/phone" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/sms" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/maps" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/video" />
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout >
You may have to add some margin to the TextView and EditText for appropriate spacing but this should give you your TextView with the EditText below it and your Buttons in a horizontal LinearLayout aligned at the bottom of the screen.
Edit
Notice this property
androidi:layout_below="#id/textView2"
of the EditText and this property
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
Of the LinearLayout that I added.

The easiest thing is to create a new relative layout, and place the item that you need from the palette.
Or start to try and learn to make matrioska layout via xml ;)
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/declaring-layout.html

Make an element fill all the free space in wrap_content-based layout

I have a vertical layout: 2 text field and a horizontal bar of buttons:
<?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="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#ff00ff00"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:padding="4dp" >
<EditText
android:id="#+id/et_email"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="2dp"
android:background="#ff00ffff"
android:inputType="textEmailAddress" >
</EditText>
<EditText
android:id="#+id/et_comment"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="2dp"
android:background="#ff00ffff"
android:inputType="textMultiLine"
android:maxLines="5"
android:minLines="5" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal" >
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_send"
android:layout_weight="0"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="OK" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Some very long text" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_cancel"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Cancel" />
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>
I want the button bar to have wrap_content size policy (can't even have them fixed size because this app has different localizations). I also want the text fields to have the same width as the button box. Here's how the above xml looks in designer (Eclipse + ADT) with platform 17 selected (and how I want it to look). Colors are just for easy debugging:
And here's how it looks on an Android 4.1 tablet:
This layout is used as a custom layout to a Dialog. No manipulations has been done to the Dialog apart from setting content and title.
Interesting fact: it looks exactly as I want it to (and same as ADT designer shows) on Android 3.1 tablet. But not on 4.1.
How can I achieve the desired layout?

You might want to use RelativeLayout to accomplish what you're looking for. Try changing your xml to the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#ff00ff00"
android:padding="4dp" >
<EditText
android:id="#+id/et_email"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="#+id/buttonbar"
android:layout_alignRight="#+id/buttonbar"
android:layout_marginTop="2dp"
android:background="#ff00ffff"
android:inputType="textEmailAddress" >
</EditText>
<EditText
android:id="#+id/et_comment"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="#+id/buttonbar"
android:layout_alignRight="#+id/buttonbar"
android:layout_below="#+id/et_email"
android:layout_marginTop="2dp"
android:background="#ff00ffff"
android:inputType="textMultiLine"
android:maxLines="5"
android:minLines="5" />
<RelativeLayout
android:id="#+id/buttonbar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="#+id/et_comment" >
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_send"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_alignTop="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_toLeftOf="#+id/btn_show"
android:text="OK" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:text="Some very long text" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn_cancel"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_alignTop="#+id/btn_show"
android:layout_toRightOf="#+id/btn_show"
android:text="Cancel" />
</RelativeLayout>
</RelativeLayout>

This seems silly but it seems to work. Try putting in a nested layout. Change your outer layout width/height to fill parent. Then, inside that make another linear layout with all of your views and such. Give the inner LinearLayout the wrap_content values and that should do it. There's got to be a better way to do it than this but I can't think of it at the moment.

How to optimise this layout XML file to match my idea?

I've created this fragment named searchfragment. Below there is the layout XML file of the searchfragment. Unfortunatelly the design isn't that smooth as I want it to be.
Here's what I wanted it to look like:
First row: Welcoming text (that works)
Second row: Search input field (that works, too)
Thirt row (and here it gets complicated): There should be a text named "Search for" and then a Spinner with the item you can search for (e.g. name, year, price). Then there's the Search button. Next thing is that you can sort the output. Therefore there's a text with "Sort for", a Spinner with the critirion and a Sort button. Best case the search section should be align to the left and the sort for to the right, but still centered.
Forth row: Output field.
Now as the elements are all present on my device, they are not in the graphical layout of Eclipse. I've tried for hours now to get it working but it's kind of hard if you're not sseing your objects.
Long text - short task: Please help me optimise my design.
searchfragment.xml:
<?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:layout_gravity="center"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:text="#string/welcome" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal" >
<EditText
android:id="#+id/edit_message"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginLeft="20dp"
android:layout_marginRight="20dp"
android:hint="#string/edit_message" />
</LinearLayout>
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center|center_horizontal"
android:layout_marginTop="8dp" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/search_for" />
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/criterion"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:entries="#array/searcharray"
android:prompt="#string/prompt" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btnSubmit"
android:layout_width="136dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:background="#drawable/android"
android:onClick="sendMessage"
android:text="#string/button_send" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="#string/sort_for"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/sort"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="0dip"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:entries="#array/sortarray"
android:prompt="#string/prompt" />
</LinearLayout>
<Button
android:id="#+id/sort_button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:background="#drawable/android"
android:onClick="sortAgain"
android:text="#string/button_send" />
</LinearLayout>
<ScrollView
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/showResults"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
</ScrollView>
</LinearLayout>
I've added a photo of the current design. The space with the red frame around it is the third "row" and should be changed. The second spinner is (I don't know why) much too wide. It should be that wide as the first one. Then all the elements should be about the same heigth and the elements should be centered.

You're on the right track with your layout, but the reason your second Spinner is taking up so much room is that you've set it's layout_weight to 1, and as it's the only one with a layout_weight, it's taking up the rest of the space that's free.
If you want the items to take up a relative amount of space on the screen, then you could stick with using layout_weight and give all of your items that property.
For example, just for your third row you would get rid of the LinearLayout around your Spinner, change some of the layout_width properties and give all of your items a layout_weight.
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center|center_horizontal"
android:layout_marginTop="8dp" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:text="#string/search_for" />
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/criterion"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:entries="#array/searcharray"
android:prompt="#string/prompt" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/btnSubmit"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:background="#drawable/android"
android:onClick="sendMessage"
android:text="#string/button_send" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:text="#string/sort_for"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<Spinner
android:id="#+id/sort"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:entries="#array/sortarray"
android:prompt="#string/prompt" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/sort_button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:background="#drawable/android"
android:onClick="sortAgain"
android:text="#string/button_send" />
</LinearLayout>
This is going to give all of your items an equal weighting, so the TextViews will be the same size as the Spinners which will be the same size as the Buttons. Play around with the layout_weight attribute to make them more relative, for example if you want the Buttons to be twice the size as the Spinners, set their layout_weight to 2.

Which layout should I select?

I am coming back to Android after a really long absence and it turns out, I've pretty much forgotten everything.
I want to a build a UI like this:
The buttons Item1 and Item2 trigger a move to another page, while the Perform Action button does an action in place. And the ad should be docked to the bottom of the screen.
What layout should I pick to achieve this UI?
I am targeting Android 2.2 (if that matters).

I believe going for a Relative Layout helps. May be this can help, although you might want to reshuffle things a bit.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/relativeLayout1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent" >
<Button
android:id="#+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="42dp"
android:text="#string/item1" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="#+id/button1"
android:layout_below="#+id/button1"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
android:text="#string/item2" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button4"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:text="#string/ad_goes_here" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="#+id/button2"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="62dp"
android:text="#string/perform_action" />
</RelativeLayout>

I think using Linear Layout is best
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn1"
android:text="Item1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn2"
android:text="Item2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn3"
android:text="Perform Action"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
<Button
android:id="#+id/btn4"
android:text="Ad Goes here"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
</LinearLayout>

You can use a LinearLayout with android:orientation="vertical". However there are many other layouts which are able to achieve your desired UI. I prefer to just stick to LinearLayout because I could just set it to either vertical or horizontal.

You can continue with relative layout in this layout you need to use list-view(simple) and drag button at below of listview. and at the bottom place your advertice sdk area will be stay
For more detail....