IllegalStateException when replacing a Fragment

Question

It's small Android 2.2 test application using the Compatibility Package. This is the (wrong, of course) way I try to replace a Fragment when receiving a click. I'm trying to replace it with a new (different) instance of the same Fragment class. As I will explain it doesn't work as expected and I need help:

public class MainFragmentActivity extends FragmentActivity {
  ...

  public void myAction(View view) {
    ...
    RightFragment newRightFrag = RightFragment.newInstance(myNewOption);
    FragmentTransaction ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
    ft.setCustomAnimations(android.R.anim.fade_in, android.R.anim.fade_out);
    ft.replace(R.id.landscape_right_fragment, newRightFrag);
    ft.commit();
  }
}

You will surely have seen what my mistake is. Anyway let's give a little more explaination about what the application should do :

Landscape Orientation :

---------                ----------
| L | R |  -> click ->   | L | R2 |
---------                ----------

On landscape orientation, the activity has a view with 2 fragments: "leftLand" & "rightLand", and if you click a button of the fragment "leftLand" then it changes creates a new Fragment and substitutes the "rightLand" Fragment instance with another instance of the same FragamentActivity class. What makes different those two instances is a parameter passed to "newInstance(int)", it's based upon the clicked button.

Portrait Orientation :

-----                  -----
|   |                  |   |
| L |   -> click ->    | R |
|   |                  |   |
-----                  -----

In portrait orientation it just shows the fragment "leftPort" (has the same layout as "leftLand") and if you click its button then it launches an Intent an starts the RightFragmentActivity, which shows the Fragment "rightLand"

It works fine ... if I don't replace the right fragment. If I do it (clicking the button in landscape orientation) then on a subsequent orientation change (restart of the activity) the FragmentActivity isn't able to start because of a "IllegalStateException: Fragment RightFragment did not create a view" like this :

D/AndroidRuntime( 1428): Shutting down VM
W/dalvikvm( 1428): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x4001d800)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.agm.test/com.agm.test.MainFragmentActivity}: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #13: Error inflating class fragment
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2663)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2679)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.handleRelaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:3815)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.access$2400(ActivityThread.java:125)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2037)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4627)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:868)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:626)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428): Caused by: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #13: Error inflating class fragment
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:582)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:618)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:407)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:320)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:276)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.setContentView(PhoneWindow.java:198)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.Activity.setContentView(Activity.java:1647)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at com.agm.test.MainFragmentActivity.onCreate(MainFragmentActivity.java:25)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2627)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        ... 12 more
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428): Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Fragment com.agm.test.RightFragment did not create a view.
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity.onCreateView(FragmentActivity.java:287)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:558)
E/AndroidRuntime( 1428):        ... 21 more
W/ActivityManager(   59):   Force finishing activity com.agm.test/.MainFragmentActivity

I have realized that the old "RightFragment" is not destroyed after been replaced. This is probably a consequence of my wrong way to try to substitute it.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

/ Angel Galindo Muñoz

Is your initial RightFragment added programmatically, or through XML? If you try to remove (or replace) fragments that you have defined in XML you can get yourself [into trouble](http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/b56967e0f147168d?pli=1). — theisenp, Oct 09 '11 at 23:09
Thanks for your such a fast reply, theisenp. I have read some article like that but I thought it just applied if I was replacing the fragment with a instance of other Fragment class. I will try to do it programmatically this afternoon and I will post results. Thanks a lot! — Angel, Oct 10 '11 at 07:57
I'm back again without luck. I was doing it programmatically, using "inflater.inflate(...)" on RightFragment.onCreateView. I reduced the view to something more simple but still fails : just a TextView in a LinearLayout. Seen something important: Each time I press a button and change the text of the TextView **it doesn't replace completely it's contents**, it's just painted over it. It confirms that after the "`ft.replace(...)`" and commit the original RightFragment istance is never destroyed. I also would appreciated very much at least a link to a correct way to replace a Fragment.Thanks a lot — Angel, Oct 10 '11 at 18:24

score 95 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 10 '11 at 19:37

I think you may have misunderstood my comment, so I'll offer a more detailed explanation here.

One problem that commonly arises with removing or replacing fragments is trying to remove a fragment that has been added to the layout through XML instead of programmatically in Java. This is not the same as inflating the fragment's own layout in the onCreateView() function of the fragment's Java code (this is what you seem to be describing in your response to my comment). To illustrate what I'm talking about, I'll show you two ways that people try to remove/replace fragments.

This is the Wrong Way to do it:

XML Layout:

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="@+id/fragment_container"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <fragment android:name="com.example.ExampleFragment"
    android:id="@+id/example_fragment"
    android:layout_weight="1"
    android:layout_width="0dp"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" />

</LinearLayout>

Java:

swapFragment()
{
    Fragment newFragment = new ExampleFragment();
    FragmentTransaction transaction = getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
    transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment);
    transaction.addToBackStack(null);
    transaction.commit();
}

This code, will not execute in the way that you expect. The initial fragment that is added in the XML layout will not be removed. This is because XML layouts are intended to describe static layout elements. You can change their contents at run time, or hide them, but you can't delete these things from the layout. This is what Dianne Hackborn was saying in the discussion thread I linked to before.

This is the right way to do it (At least in my experience):

XML Layout:

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="@+id/fragment_container"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <!-- Fragment will go here eventually, but it's not added in the layout -->

</LinearLayout>

Java:

protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
     super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
     setContentView(R.layout.my_layout);

     ExampleFragment newFragment = new ExampleFragment();
     FragmentTransaction transaction = getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
     transaction.add(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment);
     transaction.commit();
}

...

swapFragment()
{
    Fragment newFragment = new ExampleFragment();
    FragmentTransaction transaction = getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
    transaction.replace(R.id.fragment_container, newFragment);
    transaction.addToBackStack(null);
    transaction.commit();
}

This strategy does not add the fragment in the initial layout. Instead it adds it in the Java code when the Activity is created. This allows it to be removed from the layout (either using remove() or replace())

This might not solve your problem, but it is a common difficulty that Fragments create. You can make sure that you are adding the Fragments in the proper way to allow them to be removed, and then if that doesn't solve the problem we can troubleshoot further.

You rule!!! Thanks a lot, theisenp, I would invite you to have a fresssh beer hahahah ;) Certainly I had misunderstood that. I'm going quickly to test it and will com back to update. — Angel, Oct 10 '11 at 20:45
Ooooops, now I get a `IllegalArgumentException: No view found for id 0x7f050006 for fragment RightFragment{44ee2af0 #3 id=0x7f050006}` , but this can be a completely different error. I'm going to rewrite it all from the scratch, too many debugging code and then I will com back! But ... one *question* : the view is attached to the Activity. So on *orientation change*, like the Activity is destroyed, *all the attached Fragments should be destroyed by the runtime*, isn't it? / Angel Galindo — Angel, Oct 10 '11 at 21:16
Yes the fragments will be destroyed. Fragments have their own lifecycle functions (like onCreate(), onPause(), onDestryView(), etc) that are called at the appropriate times when the Activity they are tied to is created or destroyed. If rewriting your code doesn't solve your problems, edit your question to include your current code as well as the error you are getting. From there we can debug things properly. — theisenp, Oct 10 '11 at 21:25
I'm back again and I confirm that **it's SOLVED!!!** Thanks a lot, theisenp. You have helped me a lot, now I understand it all a little bit more. It's a pitty because I dont have reputation enough to vote up your answer. Surely others will do. Now I'm a little happier ;) **Cheers from Barcelona, Spain**. / Angel Galindo — Angel, Oct 10 '11 at 22:42
Awesome, I'm glad I could help! You might not have the reputation to upvote the answer, but you can mark it as accepted by clicking the check mark next to it. That way, when other people have this problem in the future, they can easily see that my solution worked for you. — theisenp, Oct 10 '11 at 22:48
Hi theisenp, as you seem to know what you're talking about, could you have a look on that post (pretty similar) http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10689279/adding-a-fragment-programmatically-impacts-xml-created-fragments-behavior ? that'd be great =) — elgui, May 26 '12 at 15:58
@theisenp, i am getting IllegalArgumentException: No view found for id 0x7f050006 for fragment RightFragment{44ee2af0 #3 id=0x7f050006} exception in landscape mode, can you please let me know when android will raise this exception? — Bipin Vayalu, Jan 03 '14 at 16:49
@BipinVayalu It sounds like you might be trying to reference a view that doesn't exist, but it's hard to say without looking at your actual code. Can you create a new question with your Activity and Fragment code as well as the portrait and landscape layouts you're using? — theisenp, Jan 03 '14 at 19:29
Not work for me ... I get a new error : referenced from method b.a — , Oct 27 '15 at 09:26
In `onCreate`, should add initial fragment only on first run, i. e. if `savedInstanceState == null`. If it's not null, the fragment was recreated automatically during `super.onCreate` call. — Miha_x64, Aug 12 '17 at 06:47

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 19 '13 at 18:13

there is another way, when you are developing apps for tablet with big screens you can inflate diferents layout ffor each screen orientations.you just have to create the two layouts and named them with portrait or landscape, in onCreate it simply inflate the xml according with the orientation.

on the onClick event just identify the orientation with: getResources().getConfiguration().orientation

and do your stuff

IllegalStateException when replacing a Fragment

2 Answers2

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