Develop Reference

How to get two fields, side by side in relative layout (android)?

I know that you can use weight parameters for linear layout in order to make two fields align nicely. What I want to do is I want to make sure that left half of the screen is used by one text field and other half is used by other text field (I am talking about width).
How to do so?

Use a "hidden view", with no height or width, in the center and put the text views on either side. Use parent align to set left and right.
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<View android:id="#+id/dummy"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"/>
<TextView
android:layout_alignRight="#id/dummy"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"/>
<TextView
android:layout_alignLeft="#id/dummy"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"/>
</RelativeLayout>

Can you calculate width dynamically? Maybe you could use 2 RelativeLayouts in a horizontal LinearLayout?

This is not possible with RelativeLayour as a parent. You need to wrap these TextViews inside a LinearLayout and set the widths with layout weight.

correct way to display EditText

I'm confused and frustrated that I can't get my EditText field to take up a rational amount of space in the layout without explicitly telling it how many pixels to be.
I'm *sure I'm missing something obvious, but my experience is that EditText totally ignores layout_weight and either grows/shrinks dynamically with the text that is entered into it if I give it a layout_weight of "wrap_content" or takes up most of the space in its parent layout if I give it a weight of fill_parent.
So... what is the correct path to having an EditText field that occupies some portion of its parent layout (in my case Linear, but I'm flexible) so that it can have a label next to it and look like:
Name: [ EDIT TEXT HERE ]
Phone:[ EDIT TEXT HERE ]
etc.
TIA

You can do a couple different things. As mentioned, you should be using dp instead of pixels for layout. Using dp allows your views to scale by the screen's physical size rather than resolution.
Here's an example of specifying the edit boxes to appear to the right of each label and take up the remainder of a the screen:
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/name_label"
android:layout_width="100dp"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:text="Name:" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/phone_label"
android:layout_width="100dp"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_below="#id/name_label"
android:text="Phone:" />
<EditText
android:id="#+id/name_text"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/name_label" />
<EditText
android:id="#+id/phone_text"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/phone_label"
android:layout_below="#id/name_text" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here's an example of a LinearLayout where weight is used:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:orientation="horizontal">
<TextView
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="Name:"
android:layout_weight="1"/>
<EditText
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_weight="5"/>
</LinearLayout>
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:orientation="horizontal">
<TextView
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="Phone:"
android:layout_weight="1"/>
<EditText
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_weight="5"/>
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>
Note that the LinearLayout has 7 views while the RelativeLayout accomplishes something similar with 5 views. LinearLayouts hare handy, but they're more complex. As your layouts get more complicated, they will perform worse than RelativeLayouts, especially when you nest them.

For each line use a horizontal LinearLayout.
Inside that, add a horizontal LinearLayout to 'wrap' the TextView. Give that LinearLayout a layout_weight of 20 (for example).
Use another horizontal LinearLayout to 'wrap' the EditText and set the EditText to fill_parent but give its outer LinearLayout a layout_weight of 80 (or whatever value based on 20+80 = 100% if you see what I mean).
EDIT: Also if you need to have multiple lines then to simplify the overall layout file, you can define a 'single line' layout file and use it as a custom layout entry.

//for your edittext set min width and max length
android:minWidth="40"
android:maxLength="30"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
so that it will be always shows minimum width and your characters wont exceed more than 30.

You need to work with the Layout. LinearLayout is not the right Layout for your purposes. Have a look at TableLayout, which I think might fulfill your requirements. Have a look at the TableLayout tutorial.

Making a View occupy a fixed width in Android layout

I have this as part of my layout:
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="0dip"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_weight="0.15">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/question_text"
android:layout_width="0dip"
android:layout_height="fill_parent" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="right"
android:text="#string/score_label" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/score_text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="right" />
</LinearLayout>
The first TextView is empty at the beginning of the application. Its content is changed dynamically. This makes it occupy zero space so that the second TextView is aligned to the left, even though its layout_gravity is set to right.
How can I make it occupy a fixed width, without taking the contents into account?
I thought about using layout_weight, but I know the recommendation is against using nested weights (the parent ViewGroup has a layout_weight attribute). Maybe I should use a RelativeLayout?
Thanks for any suggestions.

I solved a similar problem using the attribute android:ems="<some number>" on the TextView. An "ems" is the width of the character "M". This attribute makes the TextView exactly the given no. of ems wide.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/TextView.html

You have all of your TextViews width set to android:layout_width="wrap_content" which means that if there's nothing in there it will have no width. You need to set that to either "match_parent" which will make it the same width as it's parent container or set it to a fixed value, something like android:layout_width="100dp".

RelativeLayout is taking fullscreen for wrap_content

Why does FOOBARZ get layed out all the way at the bottom when no elements are layout_height="fill_parent" in other words, all elements are wrap_content for height?
<?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">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/feed_u"
android:layout_width="50dip"
android:layout_height="50dip"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dip"
android:scaleType="centerCrop"
android:drawableTop="#android:drawable/presence_online"
android:text="U" />
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_toRightOf="#id/feed_u">
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/feed_h"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#android:drawable/btn_minus" />
<ImageView
android:id="#+id/feed_ha"
android:layout_toLeftOf="#id/feed_h"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#android:drawable/btn_plus" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/feed_t"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Title">
</TextView>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/feed_a"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Band"
android:layout_below="#id/feed_t">
</TextView>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/feed_s"
android:layout_below="#id/feed_a"
android:text="S"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content">
</TextView>
<TextView
android:id="#+id/feed_tm"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:text="FOOBARZ"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content">
</TextView>
</RelativeLayout>
</RelativeLayout>

From the RelativeLayout doc:
Class Overview
A Layout where the positions of the children can be described in relation to each other or to the parent.
Note that you cannot have a circular dependency between the size of the RelativeLayout and the position of its children. For example, you cannot have a RelativeLayout whose height is set to WRAP_CONTENT and a child set to ALIGN_PARENT_BOTTOM
Class documentation
Which is exactly your case. RelativeLayout can not do that.

For those looking for a solution to this, like I did, you can use FrameLayout instead of RelativeLayout.
Then you can set the gravity the intended object to bottom right as below
<TextView
android:layout_gravity="bottom|right"
android:text="FOOBARZ"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content">
</TextView>

You have set the RelativeLayout to "wrap_content"
and the TextView to android:layout_alignParentBottom="true", so it automatically tries to stretch the RelativeLayout to the bottom. Don't use such dependencies with Relative Layout, as it can count as "circular dependencies".
From the docs for RelativeLayout:
Note that you cannot have a circular dependency between the size of the RelativeLayout and the position of its children. For example, you cannot have a
RelativeLayout whose height is set to WRAP_CONTENT and a child set to ALIGN_PARENT_BOTTOM.
Try to align your TextView to something other than the parent RelativeLayout, but watch out for this problem as well:
Circular dependencies, need some help with exact code
Alternatively, try to add more sophisticated inner layouts.

Dont use alight_Parent type properties with the child views
You can use frame layout instead of RelativeLayout with respective gravity
<FrameLayout
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content">
<TextView
android:layout_gravity="bottom|right"
android:text="Hello "
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content">
</TextView>
</FrameLayout>

FrameLayout is usually good for placing different views one on top of each other (where the most recent child is on top of the previous child). In your case, you'd like to place views one next to each other (above, below, start, end), so I think ConstrainLayout fits better because it's exactly what it does.
Unlike RelativeLayout, you'd be able to set the ConstrainLayout width to wrap_content and still arrange its children views as you wish, for example instead of
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
you can use
grid:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
and instead of
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
you can use
grid:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"

Good answers. Now if you don't have layout_alignParentBottom="true" and still getting this issue watch out for android:background="#drawable/bkgnd" where bkgnd is a biggie.

I'm not sure why the clean and obvious way of accomplishing this hasn't been posted yet. This performant solution works for any View MyView with a known height.
Wrap your RelativeLayout with height wrap_content in a FrameLayout:
<!-- width here should constrain RelativeLayout -->
<FrameLayout
android:layout_width="#dimen/my_layout_width"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
<MyView
...
android:layout_gravity="bottom" />
</FrameLayout>
Just note that the view at the bottom of the FrameLayout will be on top of your RelativeLayout content, so you'll need to add padding to the bottom of that layout to accomodate it. If you want that view to be variable height, you can either Subclass FrameLayout to add padding in code based on the measured view height, or just change the FrameLayout to vertical LinearLayout if you're not worried about the performance, i.e. it's not a listview item, or the views are relatively lightweight.

Not sure why all the answers here suggest FrameLayout, which is designed to render a single view or views layered in the z axis. OP's problem is a sequence of views stacked vertically, which should be in a LinearLayout.

Android layout weight problem

friends,
i have written following layout code and buttons to be displayed on screen equally but it not seems to work any one guide me what mistake am i doing?
![<?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"
>
<LinearLayout
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:background="#color/color_panel_background"
>
<ImageButton
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/currentLocation"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:src="#drawable/current_location_icon"
/>
<ImageButton
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/searchCity"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:src="#drawable/search_icon"
/>
<ImageButton
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/home"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:src="#drawable/home_icon"
/>
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout>][2]

The drawable for the middle button is obviously bigger than the other two. You set the height of the buttons with wrap_content, so the middle button gets bigger. Weight has nothing to do with this. Its only defining how much space the item takes when you use fill_parent.
Easiest way to fix this is either changing the layout_height to a fixed value (use dp as unit)
or change the size of your drawables making the images all the same size to begin with.
Thumbs up for the way you asked the question. Screenshot and relevant code. Wish everybody would do that :)

Change android:layout_height from "wrap_content" to some constant if you want them to have equal height.

change your linear layout height to some constant and
change object layout_height within the linear layout to fill_parent

in Horizontal: if you set weight for child view then set with = 0dp
in Vertical: if you set weight for child view then set height = 0dp