Working With the TextView in Android

10 Jun, 2021
TextView in Android is one of the basic and important UI elements. This plays a very important role in the UI experience and depends on how the information is displayed to the user. This TextView widget in android can be dynamized in various contexts. For example, if the important part of the information is to be highlighted then the substring that contains, it is to be italicized or it has to be made bold, one more scenario is where if the information in TextView contains a hyperlink that directs to a particular web URL then it has to be spanned with hyperlink and has to be underlined. Have a look at the following list and image to get an idea of the overall discussion.
Formatting the TextViewSize of the TextViewChanging Text StyleChanging the Text ColorText ShadowLetter Spacing and All CapsAdding Icons for TextViewHTML Formatting of the TextView
Formatting the TextView
Size of the TextView
Changing Text Style
Changing the Text Color
Text Shadow
Letter Spacing and All Caps
Adding Icons for TextView
HTML Formatting of the TextView
Step 1: Create an Empty Activity Project
Create an empty activity Android Studio Project. Refer to Android | How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio? to know how To Create an empty activity Android Studio project.
Step 2: Working with the activity_main.xml file
The main layout and one, which includes only a TextView and as varied as we go on discuss the various contexts.
To implement the UI of the activity invoke the following code inside the activity_main.xml file.
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" /> </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
 
 
Output UI:
 
Android offers mainly 3 types of typefaces
normal
sans
serif
monospace
The above four types of faces are to be invoked under the “typeFace” attribute of the TextView in XML.
Invoke the following code and note the “typeFace” attribute of the TextView.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <!--the below typeFace attribute has to         invoked with values mentioned-->    <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textSize="32sp"         android:typeface="normal"         app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" /> </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
 
 
Output:
 
This feature of the Text view upholds what type of content has to be shown to the user. For example, if there is a Heading, there are 6 types of heading that can be implemented have a look at the following image which contains the guidelines for the size of the text view and style of the text view which is recommended by Google’s Material Design.
The attribute which is used to change the size of the Text View in android is “textSize”.
Refer to the following code and its output for better understanding.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    android:orientation="vertical"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"         android:textSize="48sp"         android:text="H3 Heading" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="32dp"         android:textSize="32sp"         android:text="H6 Heading" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="32dp"         android:textSize="16sp"         android:text="Body 1" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="32dp"         android:textSize="14sp"         android:text="Body 2" />  </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output: 
 
In Android there are basically three text styles:
Bold
Italic
Normal
The text style of the text in android can be implemented using the attribute “textStyle”.
Multiple text styles can also be implemented using the pipeline operator. Example “android:textStyle=”bold|italic”.
To implement the various text styles refer to the following code and its output.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <LinearLayout        android:layout_width="match_parent"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="32dp"        android:orientation="vertical">         <!--the below textStyle attribute has to            invoked with values mentioned-->        <TextView            android:layout_width="wrap_content"            android:layout_height="wrap_content"            android:text="GeeksforGeeks"                         android:textStyle="italic"             android:textSize="32sp" />         <TextView            android:layout_width="wrap_content"            android:layout_height="wrap_content"            android:layout_marginTop="32dp"            android:text="GeeksforGeeks"                               android:textStyle="bold"             android:textSize="32sp" />         <TextView            android:layout_width="wrap_content"            android:layout_height="wrap_content"            android:layout_marginTop="32dp"            android:text="GeeksforGeeks"                               android:textStyle="normal"             android:textSize="32sp" />         <TextView            android:layout_width="wrap_content"            android:layout_height="wrap_content"            android:layout_marginTop="32dp"            android:text="GeeksforGeeks"                               android:textStyle="bold|italic"             android:textSize="32sp" />     </LinearLayout> </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output:
 
The color of the text should also change according to the change in the context of the information displayed to the user.
For example, if there is warning text it must be in the red color and for disabled text, the opacity or the text color should be grayish. To change the color of the text, the attribute “textColor” is used.
Android also offers the predefined text colors, which can be implemented using “@android:color/yourColor” as value for the “textColor”. Here the value may be hex code or the predefined colors offered by the android.
Refer to the following code and its output for better understanding.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    android:orientation="vertical"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <!--the value predefined by android-->    <TextView        android:id="@+id/text"        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"        android:text="Warning Message"        android:textColor="#B00020"        android:textSize="32sp" />     <!--the value predefined by android-->    <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"        android:text="Disabled Text"         android:textColor="@android:color/darker_gray"         android:textSize="32sp" />     <!--the value is hex code-->    <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"         android:textColor="#000000"         android:textSize="32sp" /> </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output: 
 
Shadow for the text can also be given in Android. The attributes required for the shadowed text view are:
android:shadowDx=”integer_value” -> which decides the distance of text from its shadow with respect to x axis, if the integer_value is positive the shadow is on positive of the x axis and vice versa.
android:shadowDy=”integer_value” -> which decides the distance of text from its shadow with respect to y axis, if the integer_value is positive the shadow is on negative of the y axis and vice versa.
android:shadowRadius=”integer_value” -> which decides the amount of the shadow to be given for the text view.
Refer to the following code and its output for better understanding.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    android:orientation="vertical"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"        android:shadowColor="@color/green_500"        android:shadowDx="4"        android:shadowDy="4"        android:shadowRadius="10"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="#000000"        android:textSize="32sp"        tools:targetApi="ice_cream_sandwich" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"        android:padding="8dp"        android:shadowColor="@color/green_500"        android:shadowDx="-15"        android:shadowDy="4"        android:shadowRadius="10"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="#000000"        android:textSize="32sp"        tools:targetApi="ice_cream_sandwich" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"        android:shadowColor="@color/green_500"        android:shadowDx="4"        android:shadowDy="-15"        android:shadowRadius="10"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="#000000"        android:textSize="32sp"        tools:targetApi="ice_cream_sandwich" /> </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output:
 
Letter spacing and capital letters are some of the important properties of the text View in android.
For the text of buttons and tab layouts, the text should be in uppercase letters recommended by Google Material Design.
The letter spacing also should be maintained according to the scenario.
android:letterSpacing=”floatingTypeValue” -> This attribute is used to give the space between each of the letters.
android:textAllCaps=”trueOrfalse” -> This attribute decides, all the letters should be in uppercase or not.
Refer to the following code and its output for better understanding.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    android:orientation="vertical"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"        android:letterSpacing="0.15"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="@android:color/black"        android:textSize="32sp" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textAllCaps="true"        android:textColor="@android:color/black"        android:textSize="32sp" /> </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output:
 
Android also allows adding drawable with the text views.
There are three positions to add the icons for the TextView. They are a start, end, top, and bottom.
Refer to the following code and its output, to know how to add the drawable icons to the Text View.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    android:orientation="vertical"    tools:context=".MainActivity"    tools:ignore="HardcodedText">     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"        android:drawableStart="@drawable/ic_lappy"        android:padding="4dp"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="@android:color/black"        android:textSize="32sp" />     <TextView        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="32dp"        android:layout_marginTop="64dp"        android:drawableEnd="@drawable/ic_lappy"        android:padding="4dp"        android:text="GeeksforGeeks"        android:textColor="@android:color/black"        android:textSize="32sp" /> </LinearLayout>
 
 
Output: 
 
In Android, the string can be formatted using the Html class.
Refer to the following example for a better understanding.
Add the following code inside the activity_main.xml.
 
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"    android:layout_width="match_parent"    android:layout_height="match_parent"    tools:context=".MainActivity">     <TextView        android:id="@+id/text"        android:layout_width="wrap_content"        android:layout_height="wrap_content"        android:layout_marginStart="8dp"        android:layout_marginEnd="8dp"        android:focusable="auto"        android:textSize="32sp"        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" /> </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
  
Now add the following code inside the MainActivity.kt file.
 
Kotlin
import android.os.Buildimport androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivityimport android.os.Bundleimport android.text.Htmlimport android.text.method.LinkMovementMethodimport android.widget.TextViewimport androidx.annotation.RequiresApi class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {    @RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.N)    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)         val text: TextView = findViewById(R.id.text)        val s: String =            "This is <i>italic</i> <b>bold</b> <u>underlined</u> <br>Goto <a href='https://www.geeksforgeeks.org'>GeegksforGeeks</a>"         // movementMethod which traverses the links in the text buffer        text.movementMethod = LinkMovementMethod.getInstance()         text.text = Html.fromHtml(s, Html.FROM_HTML_MODE_COMPACT)    }}
 
 
Output: Run on Emulator
 
 
ruhelaa48
android
Android-View
Technical Scripter 2020
Android
Technical Scripter
Android
Writing code in comment?
Please use ide.geeksforgeeks.org,
generate link and share the link here.
Android SDK and it's Components
Flutter - Custom Bottom Navigation Bar
Retrofit with Kotlin Coroutine in Android
How to Post Data to API using Retrofit in Android?
Flutter - Stack Widget
Introduction to Android Development
Animation in Android with Example
Data Binding in Android with Example
Fragment Lifecycle in Android
Activity Lifecycle in Android with Demo App