Develop Reference

How to read a TextAppearance attribute programmatically [duplicate]

Currently I'm using either a WebView or a TextView to show some dynamic data coming from a webservice in one of my apps.
If the data contains pure text, it uses the TextView and applies a style from styles.xml.
If the data contains HTML (mostly text and images) it uses the WebView.
However, this WebView is unstyled. Therefor it looks a lot different from the usual TextView.
I've read that it's possible to style the text in a WebView simply by inserting some HTML directly into the data. This sounds easy enough, but I would like to use the data from my Styles.xml as the values required in this HTML so I won't need to change the colors et cetera on two locations if I change my styles.
So, how would I be able to do this? I've done some extensive searching but I have found no way of actually retrieving the different style attributes from your styles.xml. Am I missing something here or is it really not possible to retrieve these values?
The style I'm trying to get the data from is the following:
<style name="font4">
<item name="android:layout_width">fill_parent</item>
<item name="android:layout_height">wrap_content</item>
<item name="android:textSize">14sp</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#E3691B</item>
<item name="android:paddingLeft">5dp</item>
<item name="android:paddingRight">10dp</item>
<item name="android:layout_marginTop">10dp</item>
<item name="android:textStyle">bold</item>
</style>
I'm mainly interested in the textSize and textColor.

It is possible to retrieve custom styles from styles.xml programmatically.
Define some arbitrary style in styles.xml:
<style name="MyCustomStyle">
<item name="android:textColor">#efefef</item>
<item name="android:background">#ffffff</item>
<item name="android:text">This is my text</item>
</style>
Now, retrieve the styles like this
// The attributes you want retrieved
int[] attrs = {android.R.attr.textColor, android.R.attr.background, android.R.attr.text};
// Parse MyCustomStyle, using Context.obtainStyledAttributes()
TypedArray ta = obtainStyledAttributes(R.style.MyCustomStyle, attrs);
// Fetch the text from your style like this.
String text = ta.getString(2);
// Fetching the colors defined in your style
int textColor = ta.getColor(0, Color.BLACK);
int backgroundColor = ta.getColor(1, Color.BLACK);
// Do some logging to see if we have retrieved correct values
Log.i("Retrieved text:", text);
Log.i("Retrieved textColor as hex:", Integer.toHexString(textColor));
Log.i("Retrieved background as hex:", Integer.toHexString(backgroundColor));
// OH, and don't forget to recycle the TypedArray
ta.recycle()

The answer #Ole has given seems to break when using certain attributes, such as shadowColor, shadowDx, shadowDy, shadowRadius (these are only a few I found, there might be more)
I have no idea as to why this issue occurs, which I am asking about here, but #AntoineMarques coding style seems to solve the issue.
To make this work with any attribute it would be something like this
First, define a stylable to contain the resource ids like so
attrs.xml
<resources>
<declare-styleable name="MyStyle" >
<attr name="android:textColor" />
<attr name="android:background" />
<attr name="android:text" />
</declare-styleable>
</resources>
Then in code you would do this to get the text.
TypedArray ta = obtainStyledAttributes(R.style.MyCustomStyle, R.styleable.MyStyle);
String text = ta.getString(R.styleable.MyStyle_android_text);
The advantage of using this method is, you are retrieving the value by name and not an index.

The answers from Ole and PrivatMamtora didn't work well for me, but this did.
Let's say I wanted to read this style programmatically:
<style name="Footnote">
<item name="android:fontFamily">#font/some_font</item>
<item name="android:textSize">14sp</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#color/black</item>
</style>
I could do it like this:
fun getTextColorSizeAndFontFromStyle(
context: Context,
textAppearanceResource: Int // Can be any style in styles.xml like R.style.Footnote
) {
val typedArray = context.obtainStyledAttributes(
textAppearanceResource,
R.styleable.TextAppearance // These are added to your project automatically.
)
val textColor = typedArray.getColorStateList(
R.styleable.TextAppearance_android_textColor
)
val textSize = typedArray.getDimensionPixelSize(
R.styleable.TextAppearance_android_textSize
)
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
val typeface = typedArray.getFont(R.styleable.TextAppearance_android_fontFamily)
// Do something with the typeface...
} else {
val fontFamily = typedArray.getString(R.styleable.TextAppearance_fontFamily)
?: when (typedArray.getInt(R.styleable.TextAppearance_android_typeface, 0)) {
1 -> "sans"
2 -> "serif"
3 -> "monospace"
else -> null
}
// Do something with the fontFamily...
}
typedArray.recycle()
}
I took some inspiration from Android's TextAppearanceSpan class, you can find it here: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/master/core/java/android/text/style/TextAppearanceSpan.java

I was not able to get the earlier solutions to work.
My style is:
<style name="Widget.TextView.NumPadKey.Klondike" parent="Widget.TextView.NumPadKey">
<item name="android:textSize">12sp</item>
<item name="android:fontFamily">sans-serif</item>
<item name="android:textColor">?attr/wallpaperTextColorSecondary</item>
<item name="android:paddingBottom">0dp</item>
</style>
The obtainStyledAttributes() for android.R.attr.textSize gives String results of "12sp" which I then have to parse. For android.R.attr.textColor it gave a resource file XML name. This was much too cumbersome.
Instead, I found an easy way using ContextThemeWrapper.
TextView sample = new TextView(new ContextThemeWrapper(getContext(), R.style.Widget_TextView_NumPadKey_Klondike), null, 0);
This gave me a fully-styled TextView to query for anything I want. For example:
float textSize = sample.getTextSize();

With Kotlin, if you include the androidx.core:core-ktx library in your app/library...
implementation("androidx.core:core-ktx:1.6.0") // Note the -ktx
...you can have either of the following (no need for you to recycle the TypedArray):
// Your desired attribute IDs
val attributes = intArrayOf(R.attr.myAttr1, R.attr.myAttr2, android.R.attr.text)
context.withStyledAttributes(R.style.MyStyle, attributes) {
val intExample = getInt(R.styleable.MyIntAttrName, 0)
val floatExample = getFloat(R.styleable.MyFloatAttrName, 0f)
val enumExample = R.styleable.MyEnumAttrName, MyEnum.ENUM_1 // See Note 1 below
// Similarly, getColor(), getBoolean(), etc.
}
context.withStyledAttributes(R.style.MyStyle, R.styleable.MyStyleable) {
// Like above
}
// attributeSet is provided to you like in the constructor of a custom view
context.withStyledAttributes(attributeSet, R.styleable.MyStyleable) {
// Like above
}
Note 1 (thanks to this answer)
For getting an enum value you can define this extension function:
internal inline fun <reified T : Enum<T>> TypedArray.getEnum(index: Int, default: T) =
getInt(index, -1).let { if (it >= 0) enumValues<T>()[it] else default }
Note 2
The difference between -ktx dependencies like androidx.core:core and androidx.core:core-ktx is that the -ktx variant includes useful extension functions for Kotlin.
Otherwise, they are the same.
Also, thanks to the answer by Ole.

If accepted solution not working for try to rename attr.xml to attrs.xml (worked for me)

How to get rid of the default background of the Android DatePickerDialog in Android 4.4.4?

I have a Xamarin.Android project targeting API 25 and having API 19 as the minimum SDK, in one of the activities when a button is touched the following DatePickerDialog appears:
As you can see, I defined a custom drawable with rounded corner and used it in the DatePickerDialog. The issue is that I can't get rid of the default background that has a shadowed border when running my application on an Android 4.4.4 device(API 19).
On Android N device (API 25) everything seem to work properly, here is a screenshot:
I would like to know how to remove the default background in Android 4.4.4 devices, is there any useful xml style attribute? Or maybe a programmatic solution? I can't find any resource discussing this issue.
Details
DatePickerFragment implementation that I am using:
public class DatePickerFragment : Android.Support.V4.App.DialogFragment,
Android.App.DatePickerDialog.IOnDateSetListener
{
public static readonly string TAG = "X:" + typeof(DatePickerFragment).Name.ToUpper();
Action<DateTime> _dateSelectedHandler = delegate { };
public static DatePickerFragment NewInstance(Action<DateTime> onDateSelected)
{
DatePickerFragment frag = new DatePickerFragment();
frag._dateSelectedHandler = onDateSelected;
return frag;
}
public override Dialog OnCreateDialog(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
DateTime currently = DateTime.Now;
DatePickerDialog dialog = new DatePickerDialog(Activity,
Resource.Style.MyDialogTheme,
this,
currently.Year,
currently.Month,
currently.Day);
dialog.SetTitle("");
return dialog;
}
public void OnDateSet(DatePicker view, int year, int monthOfYear, int dayOfMonth)
{
DateTime selectedDate = new DateTime(year, monthOfYear + 1, dayOfMonth);
_dateSelectedHandler(selectedDate);
}
}
Style applied to the DatePickerDialog
<style name="MyDialogTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.Dialog">
<item name="android:windowFrame">#null</item>
<item name="android:windowIsFloating">true</item>
<item name="android:windowContentOverlay">#null</item>
<item name="android:windowBackground">#color/transparent</item>
<item name="android:windowFrame">#color/transparent</item>
<item name="android:colorBackgroundCacheHint">#null</item>
<item name="android:background">#drawable/dialog_background</item>
<item name="android:datePickerStyle">#style/MyDatePicker</item>
<item name="android:backgroundDimEnabled">true</item>
</style>
dialog_background drawable
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<stroke android:width="3dp"
android:color="#color/white" />
<corners android:radius="10dp" />
<solid android:color="#color/white" />
</shape>
MyDatePicker style definition
<style name="MyDatePicker" parent="android:Widget.Material.DatePicker">
<item name="android:datePickerMode">spinner</item>
</style>

The issue is that I can't get rid of the default background that has a shadowed border when running my application on an Android 4.4.4 device(API 19).
On Android N device (API 25) everything seem to work properly.
It seems that in your values\styles.xml file, Theme.AppCompat.Light.Dialog theme in material design support library is not working properly with DatePickerDialog.
Your MyDialogTheme parent theme is Theme.AppCompat.Light.Dialog,
maybe this theme does not work properly for all android versions, it works for Lollipop and above but does not work for KitKat.
To make it work for both versions you could do this :
Create a different folder for values-v21, copy your MyDialogTheme style to values-v21\styles.xml file, then it will work properly on Android API 21+.
In your values\styles.xml file, define a correct parent of the dialog to make sure it works properly on Android API 19. If you copy MyDialogTheme style to values-v21\styles.xml file and delete MyDialogTheme style in values\styles.xml, effect on Android API 19 like this, maybe this is the effect you want to achieve.

I was able to work around this issue by implementing custom dialogs.
By sub-classing the Dialog class, we can create custom dialogs that loads arbitrary axml layout files.
This requires you to create an axml layout and to define a class, which is obviously more work.
Here is the date picker dialog class I created:
public class CustomDatePickerDialog : Dialog
{
private AltRegisterFormActivity _owner;
public CustomDatePickerDialog(Context context, int styleId, DateTime birthDate) : base(context, styleId)
{
_owner = context as AltRegisterFormActivity;
SetTitle("");
SetContentView(Resource.Layout.DatePickerDialog);
FindViewById<DatePicker>(Resource.Id.DialogDatePicker).MaxDate = _getTimeStamp(DateTime.UtcNow.Year - 3);
FindViewById<DatePicker>(Resource.Id.DialogDatePicker).MinDate = _getTimeStamp(1920);
FindViewById<DatePicker>(Resource.Id.DialogDatePicker).DateTime = birthDate;
FindViewById<Button>(Resource.Id.DialogOkButton).Click += (_, __) =>
{
_owner.UISyncContext.Send((state) =>
{
_owner.SetDate(FindViewById<DatePicker>(Resource.Id.DialogDatePicker).DateTime);
Hide();
}, null);
};
FindViewById<Button>(Resource.Id.DialogCancelButton).Click += (_, __) =>
{
_owner.UISyncContext.Send((state) =>
{
Hide();
}, null);
};
}
private long _getTimeStamp(int year)
{
return Convert.ToInt64(new DateTime(year, 1, 1).Subtract(new DateTime(1970, 1, 1)).TotalMilliseconds);
}
}
CustomDatePickerDialog's constructor takes a styleId argument that allows to pass the desired style Id.
And here is the Resource.Layout.DatePickerDialog layout file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:padding="#dimen/date_picker_dialog_padding">
<DatePicker
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/DialogDatePicker"
android:datePickerMode="spinner"
android:calendarViewShown="false" />
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:padding="0dp">
<View
android:layout_width="1dp"
android:layout_height="0dp"
android:layout_weight="1" />
<Button
android:text="CANCEL"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/DialogCancelButton"
android:background="#null"
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-regular"
android:textSize="13dp"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<Button
android:text="OK"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:id="#+id/DialogOkButton"
android:background="#null"
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-regular"
android:textSize="13dp"
android:textStyle="bold" />
</LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>
The previous custom dialog will have almost the same look and feel whether it is displayed in a Kitkat or Lollipop+ device.

Resources$NotFoundException in Graphical Layout ADT preview (but app actually Works)

My problem is that loading an array of strings defined in XML works in the app but will result in an error in the ADT Graphical Layout preview.
Now I can't see any graphics in the Graphical Layout because of this error, and it's difficult to work with other graphics.
But the view is loading and displaying the strings fine if I build and run my app.
So I suppose my code is correct but either:
I am missing some limitations of the Graphical Layout preview and some workaround
or perhaps I'm missing something obvious and doing things wrong even if it seems to work in the app
I have a custom view where I get an array defined by me in an array.xml file.
public class ScoreTable extends View {
[...]
#Override
protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
[...]
int score_vals[] = getResources().getIntArray(R.array.score_vals);
[...]
}
[...]
}
My array is defined in res/values/array.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<array name="score_vals">
<item >10</item>
<item >20</item>
<item >50</item>
</array>
</resources>
Graphical Layout is blank and says:
Int array resource ID #0x7f050000
Exception details are logged in Window > Show View > Error Log
But of course I have "public static final int score_vals=0x7f050000;" in R.java!
The details of this error are in a 50-deep stack, but resumes to this:
android.content.res.Resources$NotFoundException: Int array resource ID #0x7f050000
at android.content.res.Resources.getIntArray(Resources.java:405)
at com.threecats.poker.ScoreTable.onDraw(ScoreTable.java:53)
at android.view.View.draw(View.java:6740)
[...]
So, should getResources().getXXXArray() work in the context of a ADT Graphical Layout preview?
I would like to mention that I tried with both "array" and "array-integer" in the XML, and both work in the app but not in the preview.
Also I tried to save the Context from the constructor of the view in a private Context member... didn't help either.

Your code is alright but unfortunately there are still some bugs in ADT plugin and there is one of them. Layout Editor has troubles with rendering custom views. I had the same issue and the only workout I have found is checking View.isInEditMode and initializing int array in some other way but not from resources. So your code will look like this:
int score_vals[];
if (isInEditMode()) {
score_vals = { 10, 20, 50 };
} else {
score_vals = getResources().getIntArray(R.array.score_vals);
}
And by the way don't create or load any resources in your onDraw methods. I suppose getResources().getIntArray uses some sort of caching but anyway your perfomance may suffer.

I found a kind of a workaround whereby you have to hijack android's own attributes to get access to resources in the designer.
The following should provide the idea, but you would have to find a native android property of type int[]
This custom view XML should render in the graphical layout preview while using resources
<!-- Could override individual attributes here too rather than using a style -->
<com.github.espiandev.showcaseview.ShowcaseView
style="#style/ShowcaseView"/>
styles.xml - Style specifying some of the resources to use
<style name="ShowcaseView" parent="match_fill">
<!--# Cling drawable -->
<item name="android:src">#drawable/cling</item>
<!--# Title #-->
<item name="android:contentDescription">#string/showcase_title</item>
<!--# Description #-->
<item name="android:description">#string/showcase_description</item>
<!--# Button Text #-->
<item name="android:text">#string/ok</item>
<item name="sv_titleTextColor">#33B5E5</item>
<item name="sv_detailTextColor">#FFFFFF</item>
<item name="sv_backgroundColor">#3333B5E5</item>
<item name="sv_buttonBackgroundColor">#3333B5E5</item>
<item name="sv_buttonForegroundColor">#33B5E5</item>
</style>
attrs.xml - Custom attribute definition compatible with design-time preview
<!-- The android attrs assume the corresponding android format / data type -->
<declare-styleable name="ShowcaseView">
<!--# Cling drawable -->
<attr name="android:src"/>
<!--# Title #-->
<attr name="android:contentDescription"/>
<!--# Description #-->
<attr name="android:description"/>
<!--# Button Text #-->
<attr name="android:text"/>
<attr name="sv_backgroundColor" format="color|reference" />
<attr name="sv_detailTextColor" format="color|reference" />
<attr name="sv_titleTextColor" format="color|reference" />
<attr name="sv_buttonBackgroundColor" format="color|reference" />
<attr name="sv_buttonForegroundColor" format="color|reference" />
</declare-styleable>
ShowcaseView.java - Using the custom attributes in the custom view
public ShowcaseView(Context context) {
this(context, null, R.styleable.CustomTheme_showcaseViewStyle);
}
public ShowcaseView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
this(context, attrs, R.styleable.CustomTheme_showcaseViewStyle);
}
public ShowcaseView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
super(context, attrs, defStyle);
// Get the attributes for the ShowcaseView
final TypedArray styled = context.getTheme().obtainStyledAttributes(attrs, R.styleable.ShowcaseView, 0, 0);
showcase = styled.getDrawable(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_android_src);
titleText = styled.getString(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_android_contentDescription);
subText = styled.getString(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_android_description);
buttonText = styled.getString(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_android_text);
backColor = styled.getInt(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_sv_backgroundColor, Color.argb(128, 80, 80, 80));
detailTextColor = styled.getColor(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_sv_detailTextColor, Color.WHITE);
titleTextColor = styled.getColor(R.styleable.ShowcaseView_sv_titleTextColor, Color.parseColor("#49C0EC"));
styled.recycle();
// Now make use of the fields / do further initialization ..
}

Android Custom Alert Dialog Display Error after changing the Build Version

I am developing a simple demo . Here in this demo, I am just creating one simple custom alert dialog . It works fine.
It shows me the perfect result when i build application in 1.6, but when i change the android version from 1.6 to 2.2, it shows the unexpected result. It doesn't show the background screen on which i display the custom alert dialog.
Here is my xml file. Custom Dialog Theme File
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomDialogTheme" parent="#android:style/AlertDialog">
<item name="android:windowFrame">#null</item>
<item name="android:windowContentOverlay">#null</item>
<item name="android:backgroundDimEnabled">true</item>
<item name="android:windowIsTranslucent">true</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
<item name="android:windowAnimationStyle">#android:style/Theme.Dialog</item>
</style>
</resources>
Here is My CustomConfirmOkDialog Class
package com.utility.org;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.Dialog;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.Window;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
public class CustomConfirmOkDialog extends Dialog implements OnClickListener
{
private Button okButton = null;
private TextView infoText=null,confirmBody=null;
private int errorMessage=0;
#SuppressWarnings("unused")
private Activity activity;
public CustomConfirmOkDialog(Activity context,int customdialogtheme,int errorMessage)
{
super(context,customdialogtheme);
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
setContentView(R.layout.confirm_ok);
this.errorMessage = errorMessage;
this.activity = context;
initControls();
}
private void initControls()
{
okButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.ok_button);
okButton.setOnClickListener(this);
infoText = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.infoText);
confirmBody = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.confirmBody);
switch (this.errorMessage)
{
case Utility.INVALID_USERNAME_PASSWORD:
try
{
infoText.setText(R.string.signIn);
confirmBody.setText(R.string.invalidUsernameAndPassword);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
break;
default:
break;
}
}
public void onClick(View v)
{
dismiss();
}
}
Calling this class from my main activity using the below code.
CustomConfirmOkDialog dialog = new CustomConfirmOkDialog(MainActivity.this, R.style.CustomDialogTheme, Utility.INVALID_USERNAME_PASSWORD);
dialog.show();
Here you can clearly notice that 1st image shows the background . Its build in android 1.6 version while 2nd image doesn't shows the background . It shows the entire black screen. Its build in android version 2.2 . I am very thankful if anyone can solve this issue.
Can anyone help me to solve this simple and silly issue ?
Thanks in Advance.

It resolved my problem by changing the following code in Custom Dialog Theme xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomDialogTheme" parent="#android:style/Theme.Translucent.NoTitleBar">
<item name="android:windowFrame">#null</item>
<item name="android:windowContentOverlay">#null</item>
<item name="android:backgroundDimEnabled">true</item>
<item name="android:windowIsTranslucent">true</item>
<item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
</resources>

I also faced the same problem. the problem is when I called constructor of Dialog class
Dialog(Context context, int themeId)
it will hide the background activity. The only solution that i found is don't call this constructor, instead only call
Dialog(Context context)
and set your style in the layout file.
So in your code, only write
super(context)
instead of
super(context, themeid);

Apparently, this is a known issue.
This only happens when you try inheriting from the framework themes.
Using #android:style directly will still treat them as non-
fullscreen, which punches through the black background as expected.
One workaround is to start with a nearly-blank theme (like Panel or
Translucent) and then render what you need in your own layout (such as
dialog edges, etc).
Thought, I still don't fully understand this solution myself yet.
And actually, I'm no longer sure they're talking about the exact same bug you've seen, since they're talking about it not working for an older version of the sdk (not a newer one like yours). See the bug report.

android how to put sub-menu within submenu

I want to add a submenu to an existing submenu with this xml:
<item android:id="#+id/chooseCountry" android:title="Choose Country">
<menu>
<item android:id="#+id/india" android:title="India" >
<menu>
<item android:id="#+id/blor" android:title="Bangalore" />
<item android:id="#+id/delhi" android:title="Delhi" />
<item android:id="#+id/hyd" android:title="Hyderabad" />
</menu>
</item>
<item android:id="#+id/pak" android:title="Pakistan" />
<item android:id="#+id/africa" android:title="South Africa" />
</menu>
</item>
I am getting but this exception:
08-15 12:57:50.942: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(312): java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: Attempt to add a sub-menu to a sub-menu.
I do not understand what I am doing wrong - can anybody give me some advice?

This appears to be natively supported from Android API level 15. On earlier versions, a workaround is to redirect menu calls. Using your xml example, change it so that the sub-sub-menu is a regular hidden menu item, and add a redirect place holder item instead:
<item android:id="#+id/india" android:title="India" android:visible="false">
<menu>
<item android:id="#+id/blor" android:title="Bangalore" />
<item android:id="#+id/delhi" android:title="Delhi" />
<item android:id="#+id/hyd" android:title="Hyderabad" />
</menu>
</item>
<item android:id="#+id/chooseCountry" android:title="Choose Country">
<menu>
<item android:id="#+id/india_redirect" android:title="India" />
<item android:id="#+id/pak" android:title="Pakistan" />
<item android:id="#+id/africa" android:title="South Africa" />
</menu>
Hang on to the inflated Menu mOptionsMenu created in onCreateOptionsMenu( Menu menu ) and open the sub-menu from your redirect like this:
#Override
public boolean onMenuItemSelected( int id, MenuItem item)
{
switch ( item.getItemId() )
{
case R.id.india_redirect:
mSomeView.post( new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
mOptionsMenu.performIdentifierAction( R.id.india, 0 );
}
} );
return true;
}
return super.onMenuItemSelected( id, item );
}
Note the call to performIdentifierAction is posted from a View to the UI message queue. On old versions of Android it can be called immediately, but on newer versions it needs to be a separate message to work.

Well, apparently this is not supported. You'll have to redesign your menu.