So I have a language setting in my application. When the language is switched, I would like all the textviews etc to change language immediately. Currently I just change the locale in the configuration, so the language has changed when the user restarts the activity.
An ugly solution to my problem would be to make each textview load the new resources each time the language is changed. Is there a better solution? Perhaps a neat way to discretely restart the activity? Or maybe just force reload of the resources?
In your AndroidManifest.xml, add this attribute to your Activity
android:configChanges="locale"
In your activity override onConfigurationChanged()
#Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
// refresh your views here
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
}
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html#config
I think the question is switching language in runtime for the app and displaying localized messages in UI. android:configChanges="locale" calls onConfigurationChanged if the system locale is changed (in setting of your device) while the app is running, and not if you change locale in the code for your app, which I guess is what you want to accomplish. That's why it's not refreshing.
Here is the method I use during every activity onCreate() or onResume() depending on my needs (if my activity will be resuming after user changed language settings or will always be created with language already set):
From there I just refresh the view manually or from onConfigurationChanged() which get called after this method finishes.
public static void changeLocale(Activity activity, String language)
{
final Resources res = activity.getResources();
final Configuration conf = res.getConfiguration();
if (language == null || language.length() == 0)
{
conf.locale = Locale.getDefault();
}
else
{
final int idx = language.indexOf('-');
if (idx != -1)
{
final String[] split = language.split("-");
conf.locale = new Locale(split[0], split[1].substring(1));
}
else
{
conf.locale = new Locale(language);
}
}
res.updateConfiguration(conf, null);
}
I'm not sure why this isn't picked up by onConfigurationChanged().
Hey, sandis, do you mean the method onConfigurationChanged() doesn't called in your activity when you changed the language? I met the same problem. The problem maybe this: when we change the language, the activity goes to onDestroy()(you can try this), so there is nobody to call onConfigurationChanged(). When we launch the activity again, the onCreate() is called, not the onConfigurationChanged(). There maybe something different in locale change and orientation change.
public void settingLocale(Context context, String language) {
Locale locale;
Configuration config = new Configuration();
if(language.equals(LANGUAGE_ENGLISH)) {
locale = new Locale("en");
Locale.setDefault(locale);
config.locale = locale;
}else if(language.equals(LANGUAGE_ARABIC)){
locale = new Locale("hi");
Locale.setDefault(locale);
config.locale = locale;
}
context.getResources().updateConfiguration(config, null);
// Here again set the text on view to reflect locale change
// and it will pick resource from new locale
tv1.setText(R.string.one); //tv1 is textview in my activity
}
Assuming you're changing the language through something like
private void updateLocale(#NonNull final Context context,
#NonNull final Locale newLocale) {
final Resources resources = context.getResources();
final DisplayMetrics displayMetrics = resources.getDisplayMetrics();
final Configuration configuration = resources.getConfiguration();
configuration.locale = newLocale;
resources.updateConfiguration(configuration, displayMetrics);
Locale.setDefault(newLocale);
}
You'll need to call Activity.recreate() in all currently open activities, which is what would happen if the user changed the system language while you were not subscribing to android:configChanges="locale".
Related
I have two different strings.xml for multi-language app. Where can I set that I want to use English strings.xml file independent of phone locale language always but use Chinese language only in case when on splash screen we have chosen it?
To support language setting in your application you need to change current configuration and restart activity to reload all resources. You can change current configuration like this:
void changeLanguage(Context context, String language) {
final Locale locale = new Locale(language);
Locale.setDefault(locale);
final Resources res = context.getResources();
final Configuration config = new Configuration(res.getConfiguration());
config.setLocale(locale);
res.updateConfiguration(config, res.getDisplayMetrics());
}
And then don't forget to recreate your activity activity.recreate(); or reload your resources manually.
Also you need to set your locale on every process start. You can do it in application onCreate:
public void YourApplication extends Application {
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
changeLanguage(this, getLanguageSettingsFromPreferences());
}
}
I'm trying to change the language of the application according to the user's input. I tried using this code to change the language of the application and it's working pretty fine.
public void setLocale(String lang) {
myLocale = new Locale(lang);
Resources res = getResources();
DisplayMetrics dm = res.getDisplayMetrics();
Configuration conf = res.getConfiguration();
conf.locale = myLocale;
res.updateConfiguration(conf, dm);
Intent refresh = new Intent(MainActivity.this, MainActivity.class);
startActivity(refresh);
}
But the problem is that app has to restart/refresh in order to reload the resources.
Is this the correct approach to set the language of the app programmatically?
Is there any other way to change the language without refreshing the app?
Try with recreate() on your activity. This approach was successful in my case. If you are on Fragment, then use getActivity().recreate();
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = prefs.edit();
editor.putString(Constants.APP_STATE.SAVED_LOCALE, localeString);
editor.apply();
getActivity().recreate();
Override following method of your activity:
#Override
protected void attachBaseContext(Context newBase) {
SharedPreferences prefs = newBase.getSharedPreferences(Constants.APP_STATE.STATE_SHARED_PREFERENCES, MODE_PRIVATE);
String localeString = prefs.getString(Constants.APP_STATE.SAVED_LOCALE, Constants.DEFAULTS.DEFAULT_LOCALE);
Locale myLocale = new Locale(localeString);
Locale.setDefault(myLocale);
Configuration config = newBase.getResources().getConfiguration();
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
config.setLocale(myLocale);
if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.N){
Context newContext = newBase.createConfigurationContext(config);
super.attachBaseContext(newContext);
return;
}
} else {
config.locale = myLocale;
}
super.attachBaseContext(newBase);
getResources().updateConfiguration(config, getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
When user set wanted locale, what you want to do is to save it into some string in SharedPreferences and call recreate() of activity. This will then call attachBaseContext(Context context) and in this method proper locale will be set to configuration, then new context will be created with this configuration. After that, new context will be sent to super class which will update application context and proper locale will be shown.
It is also good because locale is automatically set when starting app next time.
Change locale is a Configuration which leads your acitivity restart. There are many other things have the same effect like orientation , keyboardHidden. Take care of your activity's states.
If restarting your activity requires that you recover large sets of
data, re-establish a network connection, or perform other intensive
operations, then a full restart due to a configuration change might be
a slow user experience. Also, it might not be possible for you to
completely restore your activity state with the Bundle that the system
saves for you with the onSaveInstanceState() callback—it is not
designed to carry large objects (such as bitmaps) and the data within
it must be serialized then deserialized, which can consume a lot of
memory and make the configuration change slow. In such a situation,
you can alleviate the burden of reinitializing part of your activity
by retaining a Fragment when your activity is restarted due to a
configuration change. This fragment can contain references to stateful
objects that you want to retain.
Not the best-practice, but you can handle it
<activity android:name=".MyActivity"
android:configChanges="locale"
android:label="#string/app_name">
Then in your Activity
#Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
// Do your stuff here
}
Remember to take care of your state. Using setRetainFragment(true) is a good approach. Read this
Yes your code is correct and if you want without refreshing the application
then In Your Application class you need to call this in onCreate() method
String languageSelected = "en";//selected language
Locale myLocale = new Locale(languageSelected);
Resources res = getResources();
DisplayMetrics dm = res.getDisplayMetrics();
Configuration conf = res.getConfiguration();
conf.locale = myLocale;
res.updateConfiguration(conf, dm);
getActivity().onConfigurationChanged(conf);//Call this method
You need to perform this particular language to be selected on Application class.
Following is the Application code of my Android app:
public class MyApplication extends Application
{
private Locale locale = null;
#Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig)
{
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
if (locale != null)
{
newConfig.locale = locale;
Locale.setDefault(locale);
getBaseContext().getResources().updateConfiguration(newConfig, getBaseContext().getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}
}
#Override
public void onCreate()
{
super.onCreate();
SharedPreferences settings = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
Configuration config = getBaseContext().getResources().getConfiguration();
String lang = settings.getString(getString(R.string.pref_language), "");
if (! "".equals(lang) && ! config.locale.getLanguage().equals(lang))
{
locale = new Locale(lang);
Log.i("Locale" , lang);
Locale.setDefault(locale);
config.locale = locale;
getBaseContext().getResources().updateConfiguration(config, getBaseContext().getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}
}
}
I have got to change the value of settings.getString(getString(R.string.pref_language), ""); from the Settings Activity of my app.
The problem is none of the strings (which have a translation) and are accessed using getString() method, are showing the translated text.
EDIT1 : I am using Android 8.0
In android 8, the behavior of the Locales changed, now every Activity context will take its locale, i.e if you in Activity1 and changed the locale for Activity1, then Activity2 will remain on the default locale.
The solution is to change the locale for every Activity and your issue will be fixed.
When you are using getString(R.string.pref_language) the call will return the string from the language matching Locale.getDefault() as long as a translation is provided.
If a translation is not provided it will return the default language, that is the language your using in the values/strings.xml file.
All translated values are in values-xx folders, where xx is the 2 letter ISO code for the language.
I am currently work with changing language in the app. My app structure is tab host + fragment I have successfully change the locale but it is quite strange.
That means after I run the change locale code , it does not change the view immediately but only when I go to another tab. I think this is due to I need to reload the view, but are there any way to implment this without kill and restart the activity?
Because there is some goolge analytic code, the entry number will be increase if the user start activity again? Are there standard way to reload view? thanks
The change locale function is in one of the tabhost fragment, I have to refresh the view in tabhost (main activity), and the current fragment .
public OnClickListener setChangeLangListener(final String lang) {
OnClickListener changeLangListener = new OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View arg0) {
Configuration config = new Configuration(getResources()
.getConfiguration());
if (lang.equals("en")) {
config.locale = Locale.ENGLISH;
chi.setTextColor(oldColor);
eng.setTextColor(getActivity().getResources().getColor(android.R.color.white));
} else {
config.locale = Locale.TRADITIONAL_CHINESE;
eng.setTextColor(oldColor);
chi.setTextColor(getActivity().getResources().getColor(android.R.color.white));
}
getResources().updateConfiguration(config,
getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}
};
return changeLangListener;
}
eng.setOnClickListener(setChangeLangListener("en"));
chi.setOnClickListener(setChangeLangListener("zh"));
Allright add this to your manifest
android:configChanges="locale"
and override onConfigurationChanged() in your activity
#Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
// refresh your views here
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
}
go here for more info.
Hope it helps. :)
Have you tried calling setContentView. Eg.:
String languageToLoad = "fr"; // your language
Locale locale = new Locale(languageToLoad);
Locale.setDefault(locale);
Configuration config = new Configuration();
config.locale = locale;
getBaseContext().getResources().updateConfiguration(config,
getBaseContext().getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
activity.setContentView(R.layout.your_layout);
My android application is in dual language. So I have 2 res folder value and value-sw(for swahili). I am fetching string values from this file in design and also at run time. For example in layout:
android:hint="#string/Officer"
and in code:
getResources().getString(R.string.Officer);
To change the locale setting I have function which I call on onCreate() which looks like this:
public void ChangeLanguage(Context ctx,String Language){
Resources res = ctx.getResources();
DisplayMetrics dm = res.getDisplayMetrics();
android.content.res.Configuration config = res.getConfiguration();
config.locale = new Locale(Language.toLowerCase());
res.updateConfiguration(config, dm);
}
All works fine. Problem comes only if I change the orientation.
For example on start up I set the language to Swahili. So everything is in Swahili. Now if I change the orientation from vertical to horizontal or vice-verse. Textbox box hint which was set in layout remains in Swahili which I expect. But getResources().getString(R.string.Officer); fetches value from the default value file, which is English.
Any suggestions?
Set android:configChanges="orientation" to your activity in AndroidManifest.xml
Doing so will cause your activity not to be destroyed and re-created when orientation is changed.
The problem with having the android:configChanges attribute, is that that disables onCreate() from being called after an orientation change. You are basically telling the app: "I know there will be orientation changes, so don't recreate the screen, I will handle it"
I would suggest calling that function of yours in the onConfigurationChanged() method. Have in mind that any views will be null at that point, so if you need them you will need to get a new reference.
I have same case as one in the question, using English and Swahili in an app.
This is how I tackled it : I created a folder called values-sw then in the folder I created a resource file named string.xml. this is where all my Swahili translations are written. I call the following method in onCreate:
public static void setLocale(Context context) {
SharedPreferences sharedPreferences = context.getSharedPreferences(context.getPackageName(), Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
String userLocale = sharedPreferences.getString("userlocale", null); // adapt to your need
if (userLocale != null) {
Locale locale = new Locale(userLocale);
Locale.setDefault(locale);
Configuration config = new Configuration();
config.locale = locale;
context.getResources().updateConfiguration(config, context.getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}
}
Dont forget to refresh your activity for changes to take effect:
finish();
startActivity(getIntent());
(I know it's pretty late for this answer I hope it helps someone out there, cheers!)