How do I dynamically control the layout of an app?

Question

I have a screen on my app where the user should be able to add reminders, and then toggle them individually with a switch (see screenshot below)

My question is, is there any way I can add/remove textviews and switches from an app screen using Java?

I'm new to app development, so I'm sorry if this is trivial or impossible! Cheers, Oli

Yes, but I can't seem to find what I am looking for. I could do with a hint in the right direction. — Oliver Wales, Oct 20 '17 at 09:25

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 20 '17 at 09:41

To add a textView within a linear layout:

 LinearLayout ll = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.linearlayout);
 TextView textView= new TextView(this);
 textView.setText("some text"); 
 ll.addView(textView);

To remove a textView within a linear layout:

LinearLayout ll = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.linearlayout);
TextView tV = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.textView);
ll.removeView(tV);

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 20 '17 at 09:32

The easiest case for you (in my opinion) would be to add maximum number of those inner layouts (TextView + toggle switch) and use Visibility.GONE/INVISIBLE etc.

If you want to do that dynamically you can use a RecyclerView, and have those ona list, you will have some challenges with handling user input though, but it's not that difficult.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 20 '17 at 09:35

For each reminder, inflate the layout containing the TextView and the Switch and add it to your parent layout. E.g. Your parent layout is named layoutReminders:

for (Reminder reminder : reminderList) {
    View reminderView = LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(
        R.layout.item_reminder, layoutReminders, false);

    TextView textReminder = (TextView) reminderView.findViewById(R.id.textReminder);
    Switch switchReminder = (Switch) reminderView.findViewById(R.id.switchReminder);

    textReminder.setText(reminder.getDescription());
    switchReminder.setChecked(reminder.isChecked());

    switchReminder.setOnCheckedListener(new OnCheckedListener() ...);

    layoutReminder.addView(reminderView);
}

In OnCheckedListener you update reminderList and layout accordingly.

Thank you, I will give this a try – Oliver Wales Oct 20 '17 at 09:56 — Oliver Wales, Oct 20 '17 at 09:56

How do I dynamically control the layout of an app?

3 Answers3