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How to make widget in the middle of layout stretch to fill the parent in Android

I have an Android layout question. I have a display where I am putting some text into the middle of a view that has a header at the top and three buttons at the bottom. What I am having trouble with is getting the TextView (which is inside a ScrollView) to stretch to fill up the available screen space. If I set the layout_height of the ScrollView to "fill_parent" the three buttons are pushed off the bottom of the screen. If I set it to "wrap_content" it is only as large as is needed to support the text that is put into the TextView.
Here is the XML for the layout I am using:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<LinearLayout android:orientation="horizontal"
android:gravity="top"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" >
<ImageView android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#drawable/ic_launcher">
</ImageView>
<TextView android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:gravity="center_vertical"
style="#android:style/TextAppearance.Large"
android:text="#string/meetingdetail" />
</LinearLayout>
<ScrollView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<TextView android:id="#+id/meeting"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
style="#android:style/TextAppearance.Medium" />
</ScrollView>
<Button android:id="#+id/navigation"
android:text="#string/naviation"
android:onClick="meetingInfoOnClick"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
<Button android:id="#+id/mapsingle"
android:text="#string/mapsingle"
android:onClick="meetingInfoOnClick"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
<Button android:id="#+id/goback"
android:text="#string/goback"
android:onClick="meetingInfoOnClick"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</LinearLayout>
Could someone suggest what would work best to make the ScrollView with the TextView fill up the available space but still allow the three buttons to appear?

Set the height of the ScrollView to 0dp and its weight to 1.
<ScrollView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1" >
<TextView android:id="#+id/meeting"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
style="#android:style/TextAppearance.Medium" />
</ScrollView>
However if you don't plan to have more than one views scrollable you should remove the ScrollView and use:
android:scrollbars="vertical"
attribute on your TextView since the TextView is scrollable itself.

Just replace your ScrollView tag code to..
<ScrollView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1">
<TextView android:id="#+id/meeting"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
style="#android:style/TextAppearance.Medium" />
</ScrollView>
It will work fine, if still you have any problem then tell me. if works then accept as answer.

Difficulty with ScrollView and LinearLayout

I'm trying to make an Android layout: 3 components inside a vertical LinearLayout. The center component is a ScrollView that contains a TextView. When the TextView contains a significant amount of text (more than can fit on the screen), the ScrollView grows all the way to the bottom of the screen, shows scrollbars, and pushes the last component, a LinearLayout with a Button inside, off the screen.
If the text inside the TextView inside the ScrollView is short enough, the button at the bottom of the screen is positioned perfectly.
The layout I'm trying to achieve is:
The XML for the layout I've written is:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<TextView android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
android:layout_marginLeft="10dip"
android:layout_marginRight="10dip"
android:layout_marginTop="10dip"
android:layout_marginBottom="10dip"
android:text="Title />
<ScrollView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<TextView android:id="#+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:autoLink="web"
android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
android:background="#444444"
android:padding="10dip" />
</ScrollView>
<LinearLayout
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1">
<LinearLayout
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="0dip"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1"/>
<Button android:id="#+id/login_button"
android:layout_width="0dip"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="bottom"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:text="#string/next_button"/>
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>

The scrollview is the second view object and is set to wrap_content, which is more than the screen.
I recommend a RelativeLayout. Top textview first with android:alignParentTop="true", the bottom LinearLayout next with android:alignParentBottom="true" and the scrollview listed last in the xml with the value android:alignBelow="#id/whatYouCallTheHeader.
This will align the bottom bar at the bottom of the screen, and the header at the top, no matter the size. Then the scrollview will have its own place, after the header and footer have been placed.

you should go for relativeLayout rather than LinearLayout. And you can use some properties like alignBelow and all.

Try adding a layout weight into the ScrollView ie.
<ScrollView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_weight="1">
This worked for me in a situation almost identical to the one you're presenting but left me wondering why, because it is counter-intuitive that increasing the layout weight of a control from 0 (the default if you don't specify a layout_weight) to 1 should make a control which is already using too much space smaller.
I suspect the reason it works is that by not specifying a layout_weight you actually allow the layout to ignore the size of the scroll view relative to other controls and conversely if do specify one you give it permission to shrink it in proportion to the weights you assign.

![Fixed Header-Footer and scrollable Body layout ][1]
This is what you are looking for . Most of the app in android had this type of layout ,
a fixed header and footer and a scrollable body . The xml for this layout is
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:background="#5599DD"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<!-- Header goes here -->
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
android:layout_marginLeft="10dip"
android:layout_marginRight="10dip"
android:layout_marginTop="10dip"
android:layout_marginBottom="10dip"
android:textSize="20sp"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:text="Title" />
<!-- Body goes here -->
<ScrollView
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<TextView
android:id="#+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:autoLink="web"
android:text="#string/lorem_ipsum"
android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
android:padding="10dip" />
</ScrollView>
<!-- footer goes here -->
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<Button
android:id="#+id/login_button"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="bottom"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:text="Button"/>
</RelativeLayout>
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>

display the imageview after listview

i want to add the imageview after listview. In listview i have so many elements.so my xml file is like this please look and help me what i want to add in this xml file..
-->
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/search_layout"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal">
<AutoCompleteTextView android:id="#+id/autocomplete_country"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
android:singleLine="true"
android:hint="Search"/>
</LinearLayout>
<!-- <ScrollView android:id="#+id/scrollView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"> -->
<ListView android:id="#+id/listview"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="#id/search_layout"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" />
<ImageView android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="#drawable/orbit"
android:layout_below="#+id/listview"
/>
<!-- </ScrollView> -->
</RelativeLayout>
<!-- </ScrollView> -->
<!-- <RelativeLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"> -->
<!-- </RelativeLayout> -->
</LinearLayout>

add attribute android:layout_alignParentBottom="true" in your ImageView and add this in your ListView android:layout_above="#+id/imageViewId"

Nothing worked for me except adding the ImageView as Footer of ListView.
Better put your ImageView in a separate layout file and then inflate it programmatically and add it to the list as a footer view.
View footer = getLayoutInflater().inflate(R.layout.footer_image_view, null);
listView.addFooterView(footer);

Android ListActivity - how to add a view below the ListView?

I'm trying to put a ProgressBar view below a ListView for a ListActivity. I want it to be always below the last row in the listView.
The ProgressBar, which is placed in a LinearLayout, does appear, as long as the list (which is filled by an adapter at runtime) is not exceeding the screen. As soon as the list is larger than the screen, the ProgressBar is no longer visible.
The layout xml looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="#+id/db1_root"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
<!-- Title bar -->
<LinearLayout
style="#style/TitleBar" >
<TextView
style="#style/TitleBarText"
android:text="Some title text" />
<ImageButton
style="#style/TitleBarAction"
android:contentDescription="#string/description_search"
android:src="#drawable/title_search" />
</LinearLayout>
<!-- Content -->
<LinearLayout
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent" >
<ListView
android:divider="#drawable/category_item_divider"
android:dividerHeight="#dimen/list_divider_height"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/android:list"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<TextView
android:id="#+id/android:empty"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:text="#string/category_no_items" />
</LinearLayout>
<!-- Progress bar -->
<LinearLayout
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content" >
<ProgressBar
android:id="#+id/productlist_progressbar"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>
Is this not possible with a LinearLayout? Any help appreciated.

You should add a footer using :
list.addFooterView(footerView);
or doing it manually, but then consider using relative layouts, there are far more powerfull than linear layouts. And then place your footer below the list, or better, place your list and your empty view above your footerview.

RelativeLayout: can't use layout_below with link to a LinearLayout child?

I have a RelativeLayout which has a LinearLayout as a child containing TextViews.
I would like to place ImageViews at the right side of the TextViews with layout_alignRight="#id/userdetail_tv_special" but somehow this is not working.
Can't I "link" a child of a RelativeLayout to a child of a LinearLayout? Any ideas how i could achieve this without creating another RelativeLayout for each Button?
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/userdetail_lin_btncontainer"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_below="#id/userdetail_lin_divider"
android:padding="6dp" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/userdetail_tv_special"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:text="Special"
android:background="#cccccc" />
<!-- here are more TextViews like this one -->
</LinearLayout>
<ImageView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="#id/userdetail_tv_special"
android:src="#drawable/ic_detail_special" />
<!-- much more views and stuff -->
</RelativeLayout>

It would seem logical to me that you cannot point to a "layour" deeper: you can layout the children of a RelativeLayout against each-other, but you LinearLayout is a complete view that you can use as a reference.
If you want to be able to position views relative to the textview, place them as direct children of the relativelayout. I do not see why you would need a LinearLayout here by the way.

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/imgview"
android:src="#drawable/ic_detail_special" />
<LinearLayout
android:id="#+id/userdetail_lin_btncontainer"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="50dp"
android:layout_below="#id/userdetail_lin_divider"
android:layout_alignLeft="#id/imgview"
android:padding="6dp" >
<TextView
android:id="#+id/userdetail_tv_special"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:text="Special"
android:background="#cccccc" />
<!-- here are more TextViews like this one -->
</LinearLayout>
<!-- much more views and stuff -->