Android: Custom Toast Messages.

In last tutorial we saw how to use Toast Messages, and now we will see how to customize Toast messages.
Output will be as:

Android Custom Toast

Xml file:
res/layout
1. activity_main.xml

 <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:orientation="vertical"  
    >  
    <Button   
      android:id="@+id/button1"  
      android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
      android:text="Android Toast"  
      />  
   </LinearLayout>  

2. toast.xml

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
 <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"  
   android:id="@+id/toast_layout"  
   android:layout_width="match_parent"  
   android:layout_height="match_parent"  
   android:orientation="horizontal" >  
    <ImageView android:src="@drawable/rating_good"  
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
         />  
   <TextView android:id="@+id/tv1"  
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
        />  
 </LinearLayout>  

Here we have defined a layout for our custom Toast. Also don't forget to add an image in your drawable folder.(res/drawable).

Java file:
src/

 package com.example.toastexample;  
 import android.os.Bundle;  
 import android.app.Activity;  
 import android.view.LayoutInflater;  
 import android.view.View;  
 import android.view.View.OnClickListener;  
 import android.view.ViewGroup;  
 import android.widget.Button;  
 import android.widget.TextView;  
 import android.widget.Toast;  
 public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {  
      Button b1;  
      @Override  
      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {  
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);  
           b1=(Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);  
           b1.setOnClickListener(this);  
      }  
      @Override  
      public void onClick(View v) {  
           // TODO Auto-generated method stub  
           switch(v.getId()){  
           case R.id.button1:  
                LayoutInflater inflater = getLayoutInflater();  
                View layout = inflater.inflate(R.layout.toast,  
                                (ViewGroup) findViewById(R.id.toast_layout));//referencing toast layout  
                TextView text1 = (TextView) layout.findViewById(R.id.tv1);  
                text1.setText("Well Done");  
                Toast toast = new Toast(getApplicationContext());  
                toast.setDuration(Toast.LENGTH_LONG);  
                toast.setView(layout);  
                toast.show();  
                break;  
           }  
      }  
 }  

Here we have referenced our custom toast layout(toast.xml) and added that layout on our toast message.

Android: Using Toast Messages.

Android Toast is a little message used to provide feedback to the user. Today in this tutorial we will see how to make use of these Toast messages.

Output will be as:

 

Android Toast Message

Xml file:
res/layout/

 <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:orientation="vertical"  
    >  
    <Button   
      android:id="@+id/button1"  
      android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
      android:text="Android Toast"  
      />  
   </LinearLayout>  

Java file:
src/

 package com.example.toastexample;  
 import android.os.Bundle;  
 import android.app.Activity;  
 import android.view.Menu;  
 import android.view.View;  
 import android.view.View.OnClickListener;  
 import android.widget.Button;  
 import android.widget.Toast;  
 public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {  
      Button b1;  
      @Override  
      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {  
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);  
           b1=(Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);  
           b1.setOnClickListener(this);  
      }  
      @Override  
      public void onClick(View v) {  
           // TODO Auto-generated method stub  
           switch(v.getId()){  
           case R.id.button1:  
                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Android Toast Message", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();  
                //Display Toast message  
                break;  
           }  
      }  
 }  

Here Toast.makeText() method is used to make a Toast message which takes Context, Message and the duration for which the toast is to be displayed. And then show() method is used to display the Toast Message.

Android:Styling Buttons

In this tutorial we will see how we can change the default appearance of a button. For this we need to customize three different states of button i.e. default state, pressed state and focused state.
Output will be as:(When button is pressed)

Xml files:
1. activity_main(res/layout):

 <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:padding="10dp"  
       android:orientation="vertical"  
   >  
   <Button   
     android:id="@+id/button1"  
     android:layout_width="200dp"  
     android:layout_height="50dp"  
     android:background="@drawable/custom_button"  
     android:text="Button"  
     />  
   </LinearLayout>  

2. custom_button.xml(res/drawable):
Now here we need to create a new xml file(custom_button.xml) under res/drawable that will customize the three states of button.

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
 <selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >  
   <item android:state_pressed="true"   
     android:drawable="@color/change"  
     >  
    </item>  
   <item android:state_focused="true"  
     android:drawable="@color/change"  
     >  
    </item>   
   <item android:drawable="@color/default_color">  
    </item>  
 </selector>  

3. colors.xml(res/values):
We also need to create colors.xml under res/values to define the colors.

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
 <resources>  
   <color name="change">#5F9EA0</color>  
   <color name="default_color">#ACACAC</color>  
 </resources>  

Android: Passing Messages between Activities

Intents are the messages which are passed between Activities, Broadcast Receivers, Services and Content Providers. So intent can be used to start a new Activity and to pass a message between activities. In our application first activity will pass some message to second activity, which will be simply retrieved and displayed by the second activity.

Output will be as:

Xml files: res---layout
activity_main.xml

 <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:orientation="vertical"  
   android:padding="10dp"  
    >  
   <EditText   
     android:id="@+id/etmessage"  
     android:layout_width="fill_parent"  
     android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
     android:hint="Enter Message"  
     />  
   <Button   
     android:id="@+id/button1"  
     android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
     android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
     android:text="Send"  
     />  
   </LinearLayout>  

message.xml:

 <?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="match_parent"  
   android:orientation="vertical"   
   android:padding="10dp"  
   >  
   <TextView   
     android:id="@+id/tvMessage"  
     android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
     android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
     android:textSize="24dp"  
     android:textColor="#FF0000"  
     android:layout_gravity="center"  
     />  
 </LinearLayout>  

Java files:
MainActivity.java

 import android.os.Bundle;  
 import android.app.Activity;  
 import android.content.Intent;  
 import android.view.Menu;  
 import android.view.View;  
 import android.view.View.OnClickListener;  
 import android.widget.Button;  
 import android.widget.EditText;  
 public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {  
      EditText et;  
      Button b1;  
      @Override  
      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {  
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); //referencing UI  
           et=(EditText) findViewById(R.id.etmessage);//referencing EditText  
           b1=(Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);//referencing Button  
           b1.setOnClickListener(this); //adding click event  
      }  
      @Override  
      public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {  
           // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.  
           getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);  
           return true;  
      }  
      @Override  
      public void onClick(View v) {  
           // TODO Auto-generated method stub  
           switch(v.getId()){  
           case R.id.button1:  
                String message=et.getText().toString();  
                Intent i=new Intent(this,Message_class.class);//Intent used to start a new Activity  
                Bundle extras=new Bundle();  
                extras.putString("key", message);//binding data to bundle  
                i.putExtras(extras);//Adding extras(bundle) to intent  
                startActivity(i);//starting new Activity  
                finish();//finishing current activity  
                break;  
           }  
      }  
 }  

Here we have simply used Bundle that binds our data with Intent.
After adding bundle to an intent, startActivity() method is used to start a new Activity.

Message_class.java

 import android.app.Activity;  
 import android.os.Bundle;  
 import android.widget.TextView;  
 public class Message_class extends Activity {  
   TextView tv;  
      @Override  
      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {  
           // TODO Auto-generated method stub  
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
           setContentView(R.layout.message);  
           tv=(TextView) findViewById(R.id.tvMessage);  
           Bundle extras=this.getIntent().getExtras();//retrieving bundle from intnet  
           if(extras!=null){  
                String msg=extras.getString("key");//retrieving message from bundle  
                tv.setText(msg);  
           }  
      }  
 }  

Manifest file:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"  
   package="com.example.message_example"  
   android:versionCode="1"  
   android:versionName="1.0" >  
   <uses-sdk  
     android:minSdkVersion="8"  
     android:targetSdkVersion="17" />  
   <application  
     android:allowBackup="true"  
     android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"  
     android:label="@string/app_name"  
     android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >  
     <activity  
       android:name="com.example.message_example.MainActivity"  
       android:label="@string/app_name" >  
       <intent-filter>  
         <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />  
         <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />  
       </intent-filter>  
     </activity>  
     <activity  
       android:name=".Message_class"  
       android:label="New Activity"  
       ></activity>  
   </application>  
 </manifest>  

Here we have added our new activity i.e Message_class to our manifest file.
Feel free to ask me your doubts in the comments below.

Android: Using ListView

In last tutorial we saw how to add click event to buttons and now in this tutorial we will see how to use a listview.

Output will be as:

XML file: res---layout

 <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:orientation="vertical"  
  >  
 <EditText   
   android:id="@+id/etText"  
   android:layout_width="fill_parent"  
   android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
   android:hint="Enter text"  
   />  
 <Button   
   android:id="@+id/bAdd"  
   android:layout_width="wrap_content"  
   android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
      android:text="Add"    
   />  
 <ListView   
   android:id="@+id/listDisplay"  
   android:layout_width="fill_parent"  
   android:layout_height="wrap_content"  
   >  
 </ListView>  
 </LinearLayout>     

In our layout file we have added one EditText, Button and a ListView.
Clicking a button will take the user data and add it to a ListView.

Java file: src---your package name

 import java.util.ArrayList;  
 import android.os.Bundle;  
 import android.app.Activity;  
 import android.view.Menu;  
 import android.view.View;  
 import android.view.View.OnClickListener;  
 import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;  
 import android.widget.Button;  
 import android.widget.EditText;  
 import android.widget.ListView;  
 public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {  
      Button b1;  
      ListView list;  
      EditText et;  
      private ArrayAdapter<String> adapter;  
      private ArrayList<String> items;  
      @Override  
      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {  
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);//referencing UI  
           b1=(Button) findViewById(R.id.bAdd); //referencing button  
           list=(ListView) findViewById(R.id.listDisplay); //referencing listview  
           et=(EditText) findViewById(R.id.etText); //referencing edittext  
           b1.setOnClickListener(this); //adding click event to button  
           items=new ArrayList<String>();  
           adapter=new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,items);  
           //Adapter used to bind array to the listview  
           list.setAdapter(adapter);//applying adapter to listview  
      }  
      @Override  
      public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {  
           // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.  
           getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);  
           return true;  
      }  
      @Override  
      public void onClick(View v) {  
           // TODO Auto-generated method stub  
           switch(v.getId()){  
           case R.id.bAdd:  
                items.add(0, et.getText().toString());//getting data from edittext  
                adapter.notifyDataSetChanged();//refereshes the adapter (listview)  
                et.setText("");  
                break;  
           }  
      }  
 }  

Here we have used an ArrayAdapter which will bind the array(i.e ArrayList) to the ListView.
The onClick method does the job of retrieving user data from EditText and adding it to the ArrayList and the function notifyDataSetChanged() is used to refresh the adapter.

Manifest file:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"  
   package="com.example.listvieweg"  
   android:versionCode="1"  
   android:versionName="1.0" >  
   <uses-sdk  
     android:minSdkVersion="8"  
     android:targetSdkVersion="17" />  
   <application  
     android:allowBackup="true"  
     android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"  
     android:label="@string/app_name"  
     android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >  
     <activity  
       android:name="com.example.listvieweg.MainActivity"  
       android:label="@string/app_name" >  
       <intent-filter>  
         <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />  
         <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />  
       </intent-filter>  
     </activity>  
   </application>  
 </manifest>  

No need to make any changes in a Manifest file.

Test your application and if you have any doubts feel free to ask me in the comments below.