How do I get a TextView to show up on top of a ListView?

Question

I'm trying to display a TextView on top of a ListView from within a ListActivity, but the text is not showing up.

LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater)getSystemService( Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE );
View layout = inflater.inflate( R.layout.main, null );
TextView myTextView = (TextView)layout.findViewById( R.id.myTextView );
myTextView.setVisibility( View.VISIBLE );
myTextView.setText( R.string.emptyList );
setContentView( layout );

Here is the main layout:

<?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:id="@+id/myTextView"
        android:paddingLeft="10dp"
        android:paddingTop="10dp"
        android:textSize="16sp"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:visibility="gone"/>    
    <ListView  
        android:id="@android:id/list"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent" 
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
</LinearLayout>

I want an "Empty list" notice to go at the top of the screen in case the list view is empty.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

3

Why dont you use setEmptyView for your ListView and do your notification that way.

<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<ListView
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="300dip"
    android:id="@+id/list_view" />
<TextView
    android:id="@+id/empty_list_view"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="List view is empty"
    android:visibility="gone" />
</LinearLayout>

And call in your code.

ListView listView = (ListView) findViewById( R.id.list_view );
listView.setEmptyView( findViewById( R.id.empty_list_view ) );
listView.setAdapter(yourAdapter);

Check these for more info.

Correct use of setEmtpyView in AdapterView

http://www.technotalkative.com/android-listview-setemptyview/

edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

Community

1
1

answered Dec 24 '12 at 22:37

Serdar Dogruyol

5,147
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Although not strictly necessary, I prefer to use a separate layout file for the empty view list item but +1 anyway. – Squonk Dec 24 '12 at 22:41
Should I call setEmptyView before, or after setListAdapter() and setContentView()? – Phillip Dec 24 '12 at 23:13
Call it before setListAdapter() and after setContentView() – Serdar Dogruyol Dec 24 '12 at 23:17

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 24 '12 at 22:36

You could use a FrameLayout instead of a LinearLayout, that way both the TextView and the ListView will share the same layout space (although not strictly necessary).

Then you can set the ListView empty view to myTextView, and it will take care of showing or hiding the empty view automatically for you.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 24 '12 at 22:41

I'm not sure what you mean regarding the TextView. Are you trying to place something above the list when the activity loads? In that case adding it above the list in the LinearLayout will do just fine.

To get the "empty list" notice you are referring to, make sure activity you are using extends ListActivity, not just Activity, and that the respective views are titled "list" and "empty."

<?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"
   >

<ListView
    android:id="@+id/android:list"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"/>

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/android:empty"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:text="@string/empty_user_list"/>

</LinearLayout>

How do I get a TextView to show up on top of a ListView?

3 Answers3