ProgressDialog alternative if I don't want the user "interacting" with my app?

Question

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So according to this android the dev site, ProgressDialog is deprecated due to:

This class was deprecated in API level 26. ProgressDialog is a modal dialog, which prevents the user from interacting with the app. Instead of using this class, you should use a progress indicator like ProgressBar, which can be embedded in your app's UI. Alternatively, you can use a notification to inform the user of the task's progress

But it doesn't really work out for me.

I DON'T want my user interacting with my app in some cases. I don't want him leaving the current activity. Take a "Create new Recipe" page for an example. It saves it to the database, when it's done it goes back to the main page, where it's displaying all the recipies from the database, and the recipe he created isn't showing in the list yet (since it's not done saving to the database), hence confusing the user.

So in the case mentioned above, am I forced to use something deprecated? Or is there an alternative?

Answer 1

I don't want him leaving the current activity

You do not have much of a choice. The user can navigate to other apps whether you like it or not.

the recipe he created isn't showing in the list yet (since it's not done saving to the database), hence confusing the user.

Then perhaps you should be updating the list in tandem with updating the database. For example, the list could be operating off of an ArrayList<Recipe> and not be dependent upon the database I/O to be completed to show the newly-created recipe.

Moreover, if database I/O for saving a recipe is taking more than a few hundred milliseconds, you need to focus on why your database I/O is taking so long. Saving a recipe to a local database should not need a ProgressDialog in the first place.

So in the case mentioned above, am I forced to use something deprecated? Or is there an alternative?

Don't block the UI waiting for I/O to complete.

Otherwise, create your own ProgressDialog equivalent, using an AlertDialog. Or, stick with the deprecated ProgressDialog.

Answer 2

You can create your own DialogFragment, here my solution for this case:

1. Create dialog class

class BaseProgressDialog : DialogFragment() {

    companion object {
        const val DIALOG_TAG = "BaseProgressDialogFragment"
    }

    override fun onCreateDialog(savedInstanceState: Bundle?): Dialog {
        return activity?.let {
            val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(it, R.style.MainAlertDialog)
            val inflater = requireActivity().layoutInflater
            val dialogView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.progress_dialog, null)

            builder.setView(dialogView)
            builder.create()
        } ?: throw IllegalStateException("Activity cannot be null")
    }

    override fun onCreateView(inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? {
        dialog?.setCanceledOnTouchOutside(false)
        dialog?.setCancelable(false)
        return super.onCreateView(inflater, container, savedInstanceState)
    }

    override fun onResume() {
        super.onResume()
        val size = resources.getDimensionPixelSize(R.dimen.size_80dp)
        dialog?.window?.setLayout(size, size)
    }
}

2. Create style in your styles.xml

<style name="MainAlertDialog" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.Dialog.Alert">
    <item name="android:windowBackground">@drawable/bg_alert_dialog</item>
</style>

3. Create background for your dialog bg_alert_dialog.xml

<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <solid android:color="?attr/colorSecondary"/>
    <corners android:radius="@dimen/radius_10dp" />
</shape>

4. Create layout for dialog progress_dialog.xml

    <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:background="@drawable/bg_alert_dialog"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="@dimen/padding_16dp">

    <com.google.android.material.progressindicator.CircularProgressIndicator
        android:layout_width="@dimen/size_40dp"
        android:layout_height="@dimen/size_40dp"
        android:indeterminate="true"
        app:indicatorColor="?attr/colorPrimary" />

</LinearLayout>

5. Call dialog in the Fragment

private var progressDialog = BaseProgressDialog()
activity?.let {
   progressDialog.show(it.supportFragmentManager, BaseProgressDialog.DIALOG_TAG)
}

And this is what it will look like:

Answer 3

If you don't feel like creating your own progress dialog, you can use this library I wrote called PleaseWait. It's designed using Material Design and supports light/dark/determinate/indeterminate modes. It looks like this: