How to write character & in android strings.xml

Question

I wrote the following in the strings.xml file:

<string name="game_settings_dragNDropMove_checkBox">Move by Drag&Drop</string>

I got the following error:

The reference to entity "Drop" must end with the ';' delimiter.

How can I write character & in the strings.xml?

In android studio, you can simply press `Alt+Enter` and it will convert for you. — Rumit Patel, Nov 13 '18 at 14:31

score 1174 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 16 '10 at 12:11

1174

Encode it:

&amp;

answered Jun 16 '10 at 12:11

Bob Fincheimer

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If using CDATA then be aware that some characters are reserved. © -> © Refer to this article. http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_entities.asp – toidiu Dec 28 '15 at 19:20
3

\u0026 Better to use unicode as suggested by @Moss – Neo Apr 10 '16 at 16:01

score 170 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 17 '10 at 11:41

170

For special character I normally use the Unicode definition, for the '&' for example: \u0026 if I am correct. Here is a nice reference page: http://jrgraphix.net/research/unicode_blocks.php?block=0

answered Jun 17 '10 at 11:41

Moss

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This one seems to work the best. The $amp; comes out of getString() without being converted. So it's a pain. – Adam Aug 28 '12 at 18:05
1

This didn't work for me for some symbols, like \u227A. – Luis A. Florit Dec 24 '13 at 15:47
for Ⓡ symbol use ® and trademark ™ symbol ™ – Deepak Jun 19 '17 at 10:04

score 81 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 07 '21 at 10:37

81

This is a my issues, my solution is as following: Use > for >, <for < , & for & ,"'" for ' , &quot for \"\"

edited Jun 07 '21 at 10:37

Mobile Developer iOS Android

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answered May 30 '16 at 04:18

Hai Rom

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Cannot edit this because the change is tiny, leaving comment instead. It should read `Use > for >, <for <` – Jose_GD Jun 04 '18 at 20:28

score 27 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 10 '18 at 16:43

Even your question is answered, still i want tell more entities same like this. These are html entities, so in android you will write them like:

Replace below with:

& with &amp;
> with &gt;
< with &lt;
" with &quot;, &ldquo; or &rdquo;
' with &apos;, &lsquo; or &rsquo;
} with &#125;

score 10 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 26 '16 at 03:25

10

It should be like this :

<string name="game_settings_dragNDropMove_checkBox">Move by Drag&amp;Drop</string>

answered Jun 26 '16 at 03:25

Faruk

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score 7 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 21 '21 at 11:27

7

& in string like:

<string name="string_abc">Translate &amp; Scan Objects</string>

Output will be:

Translate & Scan Objects

answered Dec 21 '21 at 11:27

Ghayas

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score 6 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 13 '15 at 16:02

6

It is also possible put the contents of your string into a XML CDATA, like Android Studio does for you when you Extract string resource

<string name="game_settings_dragNDropMove_checkBox"><![CDATA[Move by Drag&Drop]]></string>

answered Nov 13 '15 at 16:02

caulitomaz

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score 4 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 11 '16 at 07:48

This may be very old. But for those whose looking for a quick code.

 public String handleEscapeCharacter( String str ) {
    String[] escapeCharacters = { "&gt;", "&lt;", "&amp;", "&quot;", "&apos;" };
    String[] onReadableCharacter = {">", "<", "&", "\"\"", "'"};
    for (int i = 0; i < escapeCharacters.length; i++) {
        str = str.replace(escapeCharacters[i], onReadableCharacter[i]);
    } return str;
 }

That handles escape characters, you can add characters and symbols on their respective arrays.

-Cheers

score 4 · Answer 9 · edited Mar 08 '18 at 07:49

4

To avoid the error, use extract string:

<string name="travels_tours_pvt_ltd"><![CDATA[Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd.]]></string>

edited Mar 08 '18 at 07:49

Gowthaman M

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answered Jul 20 '16 at 06:42

Thamays

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score 1 · Answer 10 · edited Mar 08 '18 at 07:49

1

You can write in this way

<string name="you_me">You &#38; Me<string>

Output: You & Me

edited Mar 08 '18 at 07:49

Gowthaman M

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answered May 24 '17 at 04:06

Hoque MD Zahidul

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score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 07 '19 at 14:25

1

Mac and Android studio users:

Type your char such as & in the string.xml or layout and choose "Option" and "return" keys. Please refer the screen shot

answered Mar 07 '19 at 14:25

MetaPlanet

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score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 04 '21 at 01:45

If you want to hardcode the string in xml directly, you can add it up this way.

  <TextView 
     android:layout_marginStart="5dp"
     android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"
     android:layout_centerVertical="true"
     android:layout_width="wrap_content"
     android:layout_height="wrap_content"
     android:text="You &amp; Me"

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Sep 28 '21 at 09:49

0

The simplest way I've found is to replace the '&' with the Unicode equivalent. So for the example given write:

<string name="game_settings_dragNDropMove_checkBox">Move by Drag\u0026Drop</string>

answered Sep 28 '21 at 09:49

user3194684

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Oct 18 '21 at 09:24

I'm posting this because none of the above encodings worked for me.

I found that replacing the ampersand with the sequence: & worked as an xml string resource. As in:

<string name="webLink"><a href="https://www.example.com?param1=option1&#38;param2=option2">click here</a></string>

How to write character & in android strings.xml

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