AlertDialog with EditText, open soft keyboard automatically with focus on EditText doesn't work

Question

I'm trying to get a piece of code work which should focus an EditText in an AlertDialog as soon as it shows and then automatically open the soft keyboard. Instead, it just makes the screen go darker.

Builder builder = new Builder(this);
final EditText input = new EditText(this);
AlertDialog dialog = builder.create();
builder
    .setTitle(R.string.dialog_title_addsubject)
    .setMessage(R.string.dialog_addsubject)
    .setView(input)
    .setPositiveButton(android.R.string.ok, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
            String value = input.getText().toString();
            if (input.getText().toString().trim().length() == 0) {
                Toast.makeText(Main.this, R.string.input_empty, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            } else {
                db.insertSubject(value);
                getData();
            }
         }
    })
    .setNegativeButton(android.R.string.cancel, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        }
    });
    input.requestFocus();
    dialog.getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE);
    dialog.show();

I tried many ways of doing this but none worked. I hope you guys can help me here. Thanks in advance!

see this link: https://stackoverflow.com/a/76074557/12272687 — Mori, Apr 21 '23 at 15:21

score 73 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 21 '12 at 14:51

Ok I managed to get it working:

Builder builder = new Builder(this);
            final EditText input = new EditText(this);
            builder
                .setTitle(R.string.dialog_title_addsubject)
                .setMessage(R.string.dialog_addsubject)
                .setView(input)
                .setPositiveButton(android.R.string.ok, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                        String value = input.getText().toString();
                        if (input.getText().toString().trim().length() == 0) {
                            Toast.makeText(Main.this, R.string.input_empty, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                        } else {
                            db.insertSubject(value);
                            getData();
                        }
                        InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
                        imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(input.getWindowToken(), 0);
                    }
                })
                .setNegativeButton(android.R.string.cancel, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                        InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
                        imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(input.getWindowToken(), 0);
                    }

                });

                builder.show();
                input.requestFocus();
                InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
                imm.toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, 0);

This method doesn't need a dialog so I can use builder.show() to show the dialog and the code provided by Sabre opens the soft keyboard. Another code snippet in each of the buttons closes the soft keyboard automatically.

AWESOME!!! Been trying to get the keyboard to show up with my edittext in alert dialog and nothing worked. thanks so much — gbotha, Nov 06 '12 at 02:36
This worked, but bare in mind that you must use builder.setView() because if you use dialog.setContentView() the keyboard will appear beneath the Dialog and won't catch inputs. — GuilhE, Oct 27 '17 at 16:04
It works, but what if the user doesn't press Positive nor Negative Button, but rather clicks on white space The Keyboard stays on after dialogue is dismissed — smj, Nov 03 '18 at 02:36

score 16 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 21 '12 at 12:35

16

You can use this instead of dialog.getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE);:

InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, 0);

Call this after dialog.show();

answered Oct 21 '12 at 12:35

Sabre

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Was my answer useful for you? – Sabre Oct 21 '12 at 18:32
Ok this work but I can show the cursor on textView. Any idea? – adev Jan 30 '16 at 19:07
Actually, it worked great but with dialog.getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE); called before dialog.show() – dorsz Aug 22 '16 at 08:34
My AlertDialog is in a separate DialogFragment class. Using the `InputMethodManager` method worked on many devices, but not all. Using `alertDialog.getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE);` made it work on all for me. – Eric B. Sep 05 '16 at 20:54
This fixed my issue, I only needed the first line of code. – 476rick Nov 09 '17 at 16:05

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 03 '17 at 10:05

   public void selectContact(Context context) {
        AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
        builder.setIcon(R.mipmap.icon);
        builder.setTitle(R.string.title);
        builder.setPositiveButton(android.R.string.ok, context);
        builder.setNegativeButton(android.R.string.cancel,context);
        builder.setView(View.inflate(context,
                R.layout.dialog, null));
        AlertDialog alertDialog = builder.create();

        alertDialog.setOnShowListener(this); //Add listener
        alertDialog.show();
    }

open keyborad in onShow :-

    @Override
    public void onShow(DialogInterface dialog) {
        EditText editText = (EditText) ((AlertDialog) dialog).findViewById(R.id.number);
        InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
        imm.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);
    }

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 18 '17 at 07:40

Try showing it after a second -

new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).postDelayed(new Runnable() {
    input.requestFocus();

    dialog.getWindow().
  setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE); 

    dialog.show();  
}, 1000)

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 05 '20 at 03:39

This is what worked for me. Request focus on the edit text and then post a delayed task on it to show the keyboard.

editTextView.requestFocus()
editTextView.postDelayed(200) {
    ContextCompat.getSystemService(requireContext(), InputMethodManager::class.java)
        ?.showSoftInput(
            editTextView,
            InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT,
        )
}

Using SHOW_FORCED will keep the keyboard until the user manually closes it, even if they have already dismissed the dialog, so use SHOW_IMPLICIT

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 19 '21 at 17:01

After trying different suggestions, finally clearing flags and setting soft input mode on window works. Make sure to call this after dialog.show():

dialog.window?.apply {
    clearFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_NOT_FOCUSABLE)
    clearFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_ALT_FOCUSABLE_IM)
    setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_ALWAYS_VISIBLE)
}

AlertDialog with EditText, open soft keyboard automatically with focus on EditText doesn't work

6 Answers6

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