Android Create "Ghost" Image (Touch-through)

Question

I have created a service which will overlay an image on top of the whole screen.

This part is the code which will overlay an image on top of the whole screen:

@Override public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();

    windowManager = (WindowManager) getSystemService(WINDOW_SERVICE);

    img = new ImageView(this);
    img.setImageResource(R.drawable.image); // Image is .png format

    WindowManager.LayoutParams params = new WindowManager.LayoutParams(
        WindowManager.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
        WindowManager.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
        WindowManager.LayoutParams.TYPE_PHONE,
        WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_NOT_FOCUSABLE,
        PixelFormat.TRANSLUCENT);

        params.gravity = Gravity.CENTER | Gravity.CENTER;
        params.x = 0;
        params.y = 0;

        windowManager.addView(img, params);
}

However, any space which the image covers in untouchable. I want the image to be just overlaid, without affecting any other components on the screen, similar to what this does:

CPU usage overlay example

How can I make the area beneath the image touchable (touch-through)?

Edit
It seems that the transparent space of the image fills a square, and covers the screen (FYI). So my ultimate goal is, to make the image touch-through.

I have tried the popupWindow class, recommended by a few SO users, but its purpose does not fulfill my needs and does not work.

You can use a RelativeLayout below ImageView with background color like that #99000000, important part "#99" to Alpha color or use transparent color and add onClick events to RelativeLayout — Aspicas, Jun 13 '14 at 09:26
Does it work if you add `return false` in onTouchListener of an imageview, so touch event can be passed to relative layout instead? — MysticMagicϡ, Jun 13 '14 at 09:27
Setting `return false`on onTouchListener didn't work. It seems that the image is causing the problem: the blank space. Is there a way to remove the blank space? — jyoonPro, Jun 13 '14 at 09:50
NO. The "blank" space... just **isn't blank**. Instead, it is **transparent** (that is, it is filled with "see-through" pixels, which arent "touch-through" - they are a solid barrier covering the screen, like a **glass sheet**). — Phantômaxx, Jun 13 '14 at 09:54
I wouldn't use the word "Service", in Android that has a special meaning. — PearsonArtPhoto, Jun 15 '14 at 14:16
As a caution, you've made a lot of seemingly trivial edits to "bump" this question. Please stick to making more substantial edits, as frequent edits like this can be seen as exploiting the system. — Brad Larson, Jun 20 '14 at 20:40
Actually service is correct since it will be used to display above the entire screen, even when the app is closed. — jyoonPro, Aug 20 '14 at 19:05
You could add a touch listener to the overlay, manually intercept touch events, examine the coordinates that were touched, and re-route the touch event to the underlying views accordingly. — EricaCooksey, Aug 20 '14 at 19:21
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11635934/touch-through-translucent-app — Shirish Herwade, Jul 14 '16 at 07:20

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 19 '14 at 14:22

1

I found that WindowManager.LayoutParams.TYPE_SYSTEM_OVERLAY solves the issue.

answered Nov 19 '14 at 14:22

jyoonPro

1,661
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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 15 '14 at 14:49

0

Try

img.setClickable(false);

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/View.html#setClickable(boolean)

answered Jun 15 '14 at 14:49

Michele

6,126
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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 16 '14 at 21:16

Try setting the param flags to:

WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_NOT_FOCUSABLE | 
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_NOT_TOUCH_MODAL | 
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_WATCH_OUTSIDE_TOUCH

I've tried this with success before. The last two will help send touch events to the views behind it.

Android Create "Ghost" Image (Touch-through)

3 Answers3