1. Lesson 7 Using Menus Victor Matos Cleveland State University
Portions of this page are reproduced from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms
described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

2. Using Menus What do Menus do?
Menus are used to allow Android apps to enhance their functionality.
When displayed, a menu is shown as an overlapping layer on top of the current UI. After making a selection, the exposed Menu layer disappear.
In principle, a single Menu could add an unlimited number of additional operations (caution - perhaps not a good practice).
An application could have any number of menus.
CAUTION
Android no longer requires a dedicated Menu button. Developers are advise to migrate away from the notion of a hardware button, as most new devices do not have one (see Example3). 2

3. Using Menus
Menu Types
Android supports two types of menus: options menu and context menu.
The options menu is triggered by pressing the hardware/virtual Menu button on the device, while
the context menu is raised by a tap-and-hold interaction ( a.k.a. long-tap) on the widget associated to the menu.

4. Using Menus (Legacy Style)
Figure 1. Using an option menu & physical menu button
First Generation G1 Phone. Most modern handsets do not include a hardware MENU button
Options
available in
this context
Press the physical
Menu button
A maximum of six entries per menu. Excess is displayed as part of the More option 4

5. Using Menus Figure 2. Using an option menu
& SDK4.3 emulator’s hardware menu button
Press
Menu
button
List of Options available in
this context 5

6. Using Menus Figure 3. Using an option menu
& device’s virtual menu button
(Image from an HTC One Phone)
Press Menu
button 6

7. Using Menus Tap-&-Hold Figure 4.
Dealing with text-messages by using the built-in Messaging app’s
context menu
Tap-&-Hold
Context menu options
Messages 7

8. Using Menus Example 1. Attaching a Simple Option and Context Menu
The example app shows two EditText boxes displayed by the main activity.
When the user clicks on the Option-Menu button the app offers options to change point-size, and color of the EditText boxes.
When the user applies a long-tap on the second textbox a menu is shown offering help in changing the text style (Bold, Italic, Underlined)
A long-tap on the first textbox displays the same options listed by the option menu.
Based on an example from: The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development
by Mark L. Murphy Copyright © CommonsWare, LLC.
ISBN:

9. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 1
Click on Menu button to see size options
This Option Menu offers a way of changing
the text size & color of the EditText boxes.
OptionMenu
button
After choosing option:
50 points 9

10. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 1: Using a Context Menu
Each view could have an associated
Context Menu
Long-press a textbox to invoke its Context Menu 10

11. Using (Legacy) Menus Example1. Option & Context Menu – Main Layout
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<EditText
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_margin="5dp"
android:text="Hello world" />
android:text="Hola mundo" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:text="Press the MENU key, or \nLong-press text-boxes" />
</LinearLayout> 11

12. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
EditText txtBox1;
EditText txtBox2;
Integer[] arrayPointSize = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
txtBox1 = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.txtBox1);
txtBox2 = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.txtBox2);
// you may register an individual context menu for each view
registerForContextMenu(txtBox1);
registerForContextMenu(txtBox2);
} //onCreate 1 12

13. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
// detect what view is calling and create its context menu
@Override
public void onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu menu, View v,
ContextMenuInfo menuInfo) {
// decide what context menu needs to be made
if (v.getId() == txtBox1.getId())
// create a menu for txtBox1 box
populateMyFirstMenu(menu);
if (v.getId() == txtBox2.getId()){
// create a menu for txtBox2 box
populateMySecondMenu(menu); }
} //onCreateContextMenu
// set the option menu for the current activity
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// only one Option-Menu per Activity
return true; 2 3 13

14. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
private void populateMyFirstMenu(Menu menu){
int groupId = 0;
//arguments: groupId, optionId, order, title
menu.add(groupId, 1, 1, "10 points");
menu.add(groupId, 2, 2, "20 points");
menu.add(groupId, 3, 3, "30 points");
menu.add(groupId, 4, 4, "40 points");
menu.add(groupId, 5, 5, "50 points");
menu.add(groupId, 6, 8, "Red text");
menu.add(groupId, 7, 7, "Green Text");
menu.add(groupId, 8, 6, "Blue text");
} //populateMyFirstMenu
private void populateMySecondMenu(Menu menu){
menu.add(groupId, 9, 1, "Bold");
menu.add(groupId, 10, 2, "Italic");
menu.add(groupId, 11, 3, "Normal");
}//populateMySecondMenu 4 14

15. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
// called whenever an item in your context menu is selected
@Override
public boolean onContextItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
return applyMenuOption( item ); }
// called whenever an item in your options menu is selected.
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) { 5 6
Note:
boolean event observers of the type onEvent(. . . ) by convention return:
true to indicate the triggered event has been consumed by the method, and
false to signal that the event is still alive and could be consumed by others. 15

16. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
// apply the action associated to selected item
private boolean applyMenuOption(MenuItem item){
int menuItemId = item.getItemId(); //1, 2, 3, ...11
String strMsg2 = txtBox2.getText().toString();
if (menuItemId <= 5) {
// first five option are for setting text size (10pt, 20pt, ... )
int newPointSize = arrayPointSize[menuItemId - 1];
txtBox1.setTextSize(newPointSize);
txtBox2.setTextSize(newPointSize); }
else {
// either change color on txtBox1 or style on txtBox2
if (menuItemId == 6)
txtBox1.setTextColor(color.background_dark | Color.RED); // red
else if (menuItemId == 7)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff00ff00); // green
else if (menuItemId == 8)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff0000ff); // blue
else if (menuItemId == 9)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "BOLD")); //bold
else if (menuItemId == 10)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "ITALIC")); //italic
else if (menuItemId == 11)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "NORMAL")); //normal
return false;
} //applyMenuOption 7 16

17. Using (Legacy) Menus
Example1. Option & Context Menu – MainActivity.java
// changing text style using HTML formatting
// Spanned is text to which you could add formatting features
private Spanned beautify (String originalText, String selectedStyle){
Spanned answer = null;
if (selectedStyle.equals("BOLD"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<b>" + originalText +"</b>");
else if (selectedStyle.equals("ITALIC"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<i>" + originalText +"</i>");
else if (selectedStyle.equals("NORMAL"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<normal>" + originalText +"</normal");
return answer;
} //beautify
} //class 8 17

18. Using Menus Example1. Comments
Indicate which widget(s) on your activity have context menus. To do this, call registerForContextMenu(theWidget)
This statement generates a call to the onCreateContextMenu method.
Implement onCreateContextMenu(…), populate your menu adding options. This method is called each time the context menu is requested, after it is used it gets discarded
Parameters
menu The context menu that is being built
v The view for which the context menu is being built
menuInfo Extra information about the item for which the context menu
should be shown. This information will vary depending on the class of v.
Implement onCreateOptionMenu(…). You need to populate the activity’s menu by adding its options as shown by Bullet 4. An OptionMenu is created only once for each activity. 18 18

19. Using Menus Example1. Comments
The construction of a menu object requires you to supply each individual choice that will be offered to the user. Choices are added using the statement:
menu.add(groupId, optionId, order, title);
To find out which context menu choice was made, you need to implement the method onContextItemSelected().
To service requests for the activity’s OptionMenu you need to override the method onOptionsItemSelected().
After the user clicks on a menu item, a reference to this choice is supplied to our service routine applyMenuOption. There we use item.getItemId() to obtain its ID and switch to the appropriate set of service actions.
The beautification of simple text is accomplished by applying style HTML tags to the string. For instance <b><i>simple message</i></b> returns simple message (Text is rendered bold and in italics) 19 19

20. Using (Legacy) Menus
Extending Example1.
Example 2: Enhancing Option/Context Menu with SubMenus
A Menu Hierarchy
This legacy app was designed for an SDK predating Level 14 (no ActionBar on top).
An overlapping layer at the bottom of the screen shows up to six choices for a request to bring the activity’s Option Menu.
If you have more than six selections the button More will display the remaining entries on a simple list.
Keyboard shortcuts / links
Images taken from app targeting SDK 10. 20

21. Using (Legacy) Menus
Extending Example1.
Example 2: Enhancing Option/Context Menu with SubMenus
A Menu Hierarchy
The previous app is now shown when running on an device set for SDK Level 18.
The overlapping layer at the bottom of the screen is replaced by a floating list of options.
An option in the list could be a call to another submenu. Observe item on fifth row Sub-Menu-CINCO is one of such kind.
Images taken from app targeting SDK 18. 21

22. Using (Legacy) Menus
Extending Example1.
Example 2: Enhancing Option/Context Menu with SubMenus
Creating a
Hierarchy of Menus.
A Sub-Menu item shows a DialogBox displaying the associated
sub-options.
In this example item-5 is a SubMenu type.
Keyboard shortcuts / links
Images taken from app targeting SDK 10. 22

23. Using (Legacy) Menus
Extending Example1.
Example 2: Enhancing Option/Context Menu with SubMenus
A Sub-Menu item shows a DialogBox displaying the associated sub-options.
Selected sub-menu item known through its .getOrder() method
Keyboard shortcuts / links
Images taken from app targeting SDK 10. 23

24. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 2: Enhancing Option/Context Menu
Extending Example1.
Example 2: Enhancing
Option/Context Menu
with SubMenus.
(App Structure)
Add icons to the app’s folder: res/drawable
Do this, only in case you are developing a legacy type app running on a platform earlier than Level-14.
NOTE
A handful of icons are available in the folder:
… android-sdk/docs/images/icon-design
For standard Android ActionBar icons see: 24

25. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 2: MainActivity.java Extending Example1.
Replace the method
populateMyFirstMenu (Example1)
with the following code
private void populateMyFirstMenu(Menu menu){
int groupId = 0;
//arguments: groupId, optionId, order, title
MenuItem item1 = menu.add(groupId, 1, 1, "10 points");
MenuItem item2 = menu.add(groupId, 2, 2, "20 points");
MenuItem item3 = menu.add(groupId, 3, 3, "30 points");
MenuItem item4 = menu.add(groupId, 4, 4, "40 points");
//MenuItem item5 = menu.add(groupId, 5, 5, "50 points");
MenuItem item6 = menu.add(groupId, 6, 8, "Red text");
MenuItem item7 = menu.add(groupId, 7, 7, "Green Text");
MenuItem item8 = menu.add(groupId, 8, 6, "Blue text");
//set icons
item1.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_menu_add);
item2.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_menu_add);
item3.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_menu_archive);
item4.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_menu_call);
Remove this line from previous version
Icons are added to first four entries of the Option Menu 25

26. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 2: MainActivity.java Extending Example1.
Replace the method
populateMyFirstMenu (Example1)
with the following code
// adding a sub-menu as fifth entry of this menu
// .addSubMenu(int groupId, int itemId, int order, CharSequence title)
int smGroupId = 0; // don't care, same as Menu.NONE
int smItemId = 5; // fifth element
int smOrder = 5; // don't care, same as Menu.NONE
SubMenu mySubMenu5 = menu.addSubMenu(smGroupId, smItemId, smOrder,
"Sub-Menu-CINCO");
mySubMenu5.setHeaderIcon(R.drawable.btn_rating_star_on_pressed);
mySubMenu5.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_menu_compass);
// .add(int groupId, int itemId, int order, CharSequence title)
MenuItem sub51 = mySubMenu5.add(smGroupId,5,1,"Sub Menu 5-1");
MenuItem sub52 = mySubMenu5.add(smGroupId,5,2,"Sub Menu 5-2");
MenuItem sub53 = mySubMenu5.add(smGroupId,5,3,"Sub Menu 5-3");
} //populateMyFirstMenu 26

27. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 2: MainActivity.java Same as before
Extending Example1.
Example 2: MainActivity.java
Replace the method
applyMenuOption
(Example1)
with the following code
private boolean applyMenuOption(MenuItem item){
int menuItemId = item.getItemId(); //1, 2, 3, ...11
String strMsg2 = txtBox2.getText().toString();
if (menuItemId < 5) {
// first four options are for setting text size
int newPointSize = arrayPointSize[menuItemId - 1];
txtBox1.setTextSize(newPointSize);
txtBox2.setTextSize(newPointSize); }
else if (menuItemId == 5) {
// the sub-menu (attached to 5th item) is processed here
txtBox1.setText (
"You have selected: \n" +item.getTitle()
+ "\nId: " + menuItemId
+ " order: " + item.getOrder() );
// either change color on text1 or style on text2
else if (menuItemId == 6)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xffff0000); // red
Same as before
Take care of
sub-menu here 27

28. Using (Legacy) Menus Example 2: MainActivity.java Same as in Example1
Extending Example1.
Example 2: MainActivity.java
Replace the method
applyMenuOption
(Example1)
with the following code
else if (menuItemId == 7)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff00ff00); // green
else if (menuItemId == 8)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff0000ff); // blue
else if (menuItemId == 9)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "BOLD")); //bold
else if (menuItemId == 10)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "ITALIC")); //italic
else if (menuItemId == 11)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "NORMAL")); //normal
return false;
} //applyMenuOption
Same as in Example1 28

29. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 3: Using the Menu-Snippet Created by Eclipse+ADK
Assume you are using Eclipse and running and SDK newer than Level 14.
The New > ‘Android Application Project’ wizard allows you to choose a
“Blank Activity”.
The newly created blank activity contains the skeleton of the onCreate method as well as the following code fragment:
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_main, menu);
return true; } 29

30. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 3: Using the Menu-Snippet Created by Eclipse+ADK
XML Definition of the Activity’s Option Menu
<menu xmlns:android=" >
<item
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="Menu-Option-1"/>
android:orderInCategory="110"
android:title="Menu-Option-2"/>
android:orderInCategory="120"
android:title="Menu-Option-3"/>
</menu>
The call to onCreateOptionsMenu shown in the previous code fragment inflates the XML menu file stored in /res/menu/activity_main.xml .
(the file above has been slightly modified to included a few more items) 30

31. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 3: Using the Menu-Snippet Created by Eclipse+ADK
@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
String text = " ID: " + item.getItemId()
+ " title: " + item.getTitle();
Toast.makeText(this, text, 1).show();
return true; }
To add functionality to the menu you need to override the method: onOptionsItemSelected
For instance, the above fragment grabs the selected item and toasts its ID and Title. Observe it returns true to keep the event alive. 31

32. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 3: Using the Menu-Snippet Created by Eclipse+ADK
Our example produces the following snapshots:
ActionBar showing OVERFLOW button 32

33. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 4: Combining Menus and the ActionBar
It is possible to enhance the ActionBar and place there not only its Tabs but also portions of the activity’s Option Menu.
There are several reasons to follow this practice:
Aesthetics
More homogeneous look-&-feel
Distribution of the Tabs and menu-items from the OptionMenu is done by the OS which finds the “best” way of displaying -as much as possible- all of the requested UI elements (top, bottom, multiple rows, overflow button, scrollable parts, etc).
Allowing the OS to place visual parts of the ActionBar results not only in a more pleasant rendering of the GUI but also on less code for the developer. 33 33

34. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 4: Combining Menus and the ActionBar
The app in this example consists of an encapsulating activity and two fragments. The activity displays an ActionBar that exposes two Tabs: Action1 and Action2.
The first Tab (Action1) invokes a ListFragment and the second (Action2) presents a fragment showing the layout of Example1.
As in Example 1, the two textboxes included in Action2 define individual ContextMenus that when invoked can change the size, color, and style of the text held in the textviews.
The app also adds a global OptionMenu. The choices of the menu include: Search for a particular text in the list, Reset the list, and an About item.
The activity’s OptionMenu is treated as an extension of the ActionBar 34 34

35. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
⟵ Status Bar
Example 4:
Combining Menus
and the ActionBar
⟵ Action Bar
ActionBar and OptionMenu combined. Image taken from a phone running SDK 18
(Portrait Mode)
⟵ OptionMenu 35

36. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 4: Combining Menus and the ActionBar
⟵ Status Bar
⟵ Action Bar
showing Tabs and OptionMenu items
ActionBar and OptionMenu combined. Image taken from a phone running SDK 18
(Landscape Mode) 36

37. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 4: Combining Menus and the ActionBar
Status Bar
Action Bar
showing Tabs and OptionMenu items
ActionBar and OptionMenu combined. Image taken from a Nexus7 tablet running SDK 18
(Portrait Mode) 37

38. Using Menus – Suggested Practice
Example 4: Combining Menus
and the ActionBar
App Structure
App Structure 38

39. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Layout: Main Activity – activity_main.xml
<FrameLayout xmlns:android="
xmlns:tools="
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" >
</FrameLayout>

40. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Layout: fragment2_layout.xml
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<EditText
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_margin="5dp"
android:text="Hello world" />
android:text="Hola mundo" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
android:text="Press the MENU key, or \nLong-press text-boxes" />
</LinearLayout>

41. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Layout: search_box.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="horizontal" >
<ImageView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
/>
<TextView
android:text="Search"
/>
<EditText
android:layout_marginLeft="2dp"
android:imeActionId="1111"
android:imeOptions="actionDone"
android:inputType="text"
android:width="100sp" />
</LinearLayout>

42. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Menu: option_menu_choices.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android=" >
<item
android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"
android:title="Search"/>
android:title="Reset"/>
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="About"/>
</menu>

43. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
public class ActionBarMain extends Activity implements
OnMyCustomRowSelectedListener, TabListener, OnEditorActionListener {
// TAGs identifying ActionBar TABs
final String TAG1 = "Action1";
final String TAG2 = "Action2";
// this is the row# picked up in Fragment1(ListView)
Integer selectedRow = 0;
String searchWord = "";
String lastTag = TAG1;
// host layout where fragments are displayed
FrameLayout mainLayout;
// fragment objects
FragmentTransaction fragTransactMgr = null;
Fragment currentFragment;
// name of control variables saved as state info.
private final String SELECTED_ROW = "selectedRow";
private final String SEARCH_WORD = "searchWord";
private final String LAST_TAG = "lastTag";
// reference to SEARCH TextBox
TextView referenceToSearchWord;

44. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
mainLayout = (FrameLayout) findViewById(R.id.mainLayout);
try {
// dealing with device rotation & re-starting
// if needed bring back previous state info including
// selected row and search word, then destroy the bundle
if (savedInstanceState != null) {
selectedRow = savedInstanceState.getInt(SELECTED_ROW, 0);
searchWord = savedInstanceState.getString(SEARCH_WORD, "");
lastTag = savedInstanceState.getString(LAST_TAG, TAG1);
savedInstanceState = null; }
// construct & show the ActionBar for this activity
fragTransactMgr = getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ActionBar bar = getActionBar();
// create fresh tab(s) adding caption and icon
bar.addTab(bar.newTab().setText("Action1")
.setTag(TAG1)
.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_4_collections_view_as_list)
.setTabListener(this));

45. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
bar.addTab(bar.newTab().setText("Action2")
.setTag(TAG2)
.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_4_collections_view_as_list)
.setTabListener(this));
bar.setNavigationMode(ActionBar.NAVIGATION_MODE_TABS);
bar.setDisplayShowHomeEnabled(true);
bar.setDisplayShowTitleEnabled(true);
bar.show();
// clicking on first TAB ("Action1")
bar.selectTab(bar.getTabAt(0));
fragTransactMgr.commit();
} catch (Exception e) { }
}// onCreate
private void executeFragment(int containerLayoutId, Fragment fragment, String tag) {
// our input fragment comes with a bundle already set with arguments
// replace the indicated layout with the chosen fragment
FragmentTransaction ft = getFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
ft.replace(containerLayoutId, fragment, tag);
ft.commit();

46. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
protected void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle outState) {
super.onSaveInstanceState(outState);
// at the end! (phone was rotated or app was terminated)
// Save important state info (row, tab, searchWord...)
outState.putInt(SELECTED_ROW, selectedRow);
outState.putString(SEARCH_WORD, searchWord);
outState.putString(LAST_TAG, lastTag); }
// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// each activity (regardless of how many Fragments it hosts)
// is allowed one OptionMenu. Do the inflation of it here.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.option_menu_choices, menu);
configureActionItem(menu);
return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
private void configureActionItem(Menu menu) {
// attach a listener to the search-word textbox
EditText searchBox = (EditText) menu.findItem(R.id.search).getActionView()
.findViewById(R.id.title);
searchBox.setOnEditorActionListener(this);

47. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
// OPTIONS-MENU. let user know about the selected menu option
Toast.makeText(this, "Option selected: " + item.getTitle(),
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
// attending RESET option
if (item.getTitle().equals("Reset")) {
// RESET. make a new Fragment1 passing an int (selectedRow=0)
// this will move the cursor to the top of the list
selectedRow = 0;
searchWord = "";
if ( referenceToSearchWord != null){
referenceToSearchWord.setText(""); // clear search box }
Fragment fragment = addArgsToFragment(new Fragment1(), selectedRow,
searchWord, lastTag);
executeFragment(R.id.mainLayout, fragment, TAG1);
return true;

48. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java //
// Accept a fragment, and simple arguments, put those arguments
// into a bundle and bind the fragment with the bundle.
// This approach is required for apps running SDK Level-14+
public <E extends Fragment> E addArgsToFragment(E fragment, int selectedRow,
String searchWord, String lastTag) {
// E represents: Fragment1, Fragment2, or Fragment3 classes
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
bundle.putInt(SELECTED_ROW, selectedRow);
bundle.putString(SEARCH_WORD, searchWord);
bundle.putString(LAST_TAG, lastTag);
fragment.setArguments(bundle);
return fragment; } //
// this method supports fragment-to-Activity communication. When
// a row in Fragment1 is selected, our custom callBack is invoked.
// It updates the valued of 'selectedRow' held in the main activity.
@Override
public void onMyCustomRowSelected(Integer selectedRow) {
// as soon as the user picks a row in fragment1,
// its value (position in the list) is saved here
this.selectedRow = selectedRow;

49. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
public void onTabReselected(Tab tab, FragmentTransaction ft) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub } //
public void onTabSelected(Tab tab, FragmentTransaction ft) {
try {
Fragment fragment = null;
String strTag = (String) tab.getTag();
if (strTag.equals(TAG1)) {
fragment = addArgsToFragment(new Fragment1(), selectedRow,
searchWord, TAG1);
if (strTag.equals(TAG2)) {
fragment = addArgsToFragment(new Fragment2(), selectedRow,
searchWord, TAG2);
executeFragment(mainLayout.getId(), fragment, strTag );
} catch (Exception e) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"MAIN-onTabSelected ERROR:" + tab.getText() + "\n"
+ e.getMessage(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

50. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
public void onTabUnselected(Tab tab, FragmentTransaction ft) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub } //
public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId, KeyEvent event) {
if ((event == null) || (event.getAction() == KeyEvent.ACTION_UP)) {
// obtain a reference to searchBox, get its text, initiate search
referenceToSearchWord = v;
searchWord = v.getText().toString();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Searching for: " + searchWord,
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
// remove keyboard from search box
InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(v.getWindowToken(), 0);
// make a new Fragment1 passing a search string, let the new fragment locate
// the searchWord entered in the OptionMenu box.
Fragment fragment = addArgsToFragment(new Fragment1(), selectedRow,
searchWord, lastTag);
executeFragment(R.id.mainLayout, fragment, TAG1);
return true;
}// class

51. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Main Activity – ActionBarMain.java
@Override
public void onTabUnselected(Tab tab, FragmentTransaction ft) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub } //
public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId, KeyEvent event) {
if ((event == null) || (event.getAction() == KeyEvent.ACTION_UP)) {
// obtain a reference to searchBox, get its text, initiate search
referenceToSearchWord = v;
searchWord = v.getText().toString();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Searching for: " + searchWord,
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
// remove keyboard from search box
InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(v.getWindowToken(), 0);
// make a new Fragment1 passing a search string, let the new fragment locate
// the searchWord entered in the OptionMenu box.
Fragment fragment = addArgsToFragment(new Fragment1(), selectedRow,
searchWord, lastTag);
executeFragment(R.id.mainLayout, fragment, TAG1);
return true;
}// class

52. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment1.java – Showing a ListView

53. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment1.java – Showing a ListView
ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(context,
android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, items);
listView.setAdapter(adapter);
selectedRow = getArguments().getInt("selectedRow", 0);
searchWord = getArguments().getString("searchWord","");
if (searchWord.length()>0){
selectedRow = findWordInList(searchWord, listView); }
listView.setSelection(selectedRow);
listView.smoothScrollToPosition(selectedRow);
listView.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
@Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View v,
int position, long id) {
Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "FRAG. You picked: " + position, 1)
.show();
// Send the event and clicked item's row ID to the host activity
mListener.onMyCustomRowSelected(position);
});
return listView;
}// onCreateView

54. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment1.java – Showing a ListView
private int findWordInList(String searchWord, ListView listView) {
for(int i=0; i<listView.getCount(); i++){
String currentRow = (String) listView.getItemAtPosition(i);
if (currentRow.contains(searchWord)){
Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "FRAG. " + searchWord + " FOUND "+ i, 1).show();
mListener.onMyCustomRowSelected(i);
return i; }
Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "FRAG. " + searchWord + " NOT FOUND", 1).show();
mListener.onMyCustomRowSelected(0);
return 0; //
// making sure the MainActivity has implemented the listener
// and can accept our callback messaging
@Override
public void onAttach(Activity activity) {
super.onAttach(activity);
// Activities containing this fragment must implement its callbacks.
if (!(activity instanceof OnMyCustomRowSelectedListener)) {
throw new IllegalStateException(
"Activity must implement OnMyCustomPictureSelectedListener.");
mListener = (OnMyCustomRowSelectedListener) activity;
}// onAttach
}// class

55. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu 55

56. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu

57. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu
public class Fragment2 extends Fragment {
EditText txtBox1;
EditText txtBox2;
Integer[] arrayPointSize = { 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 };
LinearLayout fragment2Layout;
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}// onCreate //
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
Bundle savedInstanceState) {
View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment2_layout, null);
fragment2Layout = (LinearLayout) view.findViewById(R.id.fragment2_layout);
txtBox1 = (EditText) view.findViewById(R.id.txtBox1);
txtBox2 = (EditText) view.findViewById(R.id.txtBox2);
// you may register an individual context menu for each view
registerForContextMenu(txtBox1);
registerForContextMenu(txtBox2);
return view;
}// onCreateView

58. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu
// detect what view is calling and re-create its context menu
@Override
public void onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu menu, View v,
ContextMenuInfo menuInfo) {
// decide what context menu needs to be made
if (v.getId() == txtBox1.getId())
// create a menu for txtBox1 box
makeMyFirstContextMenu(menu);
if (v.getId() == txtBox2.getId()){
// create a menu for txtBox2 box
makeMySecondContextMenu(menu); }
} //onCreateContextMenu //
private void makeMyFirstContextMenu(Menu menu){
int groupId = 0;
//arguments: groupId, optionId, order, title
menu.add(groupId, 1, 1, "10 points");
menu.add(groupId, 2, 2, "20 points");
menu.add(groupId, 3, 3, "30 points");
menu.add(groupId, 4, 4, "40 points");
menu.add(groupId, 5, 5, "50 points");
menu.add(groupId, 6, 8, "Red text");
menu.add(groupId, 7, 7, "Green Text");
menu.add(groupId, 8, 6, "Blue text");
} //makeMyFirstContextMenu

59. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu
private void makeMySecondContextMenu(Menu menu){
int groupId = 0;
//arguments: groupId, optionId, order, title
menu.add(groupId, 9, 1, "Bold");
menu.add(groupId, 10, 2, "Italic");
menu.add(groupId, 11, 3, "Normal");
}//makeMySecondContextMenu //
// called whenever an item in your context menu is selected
@Override
public boolean onContextItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
//return(applyMenuOption(item));
int menuItemId = item.getItemId(); //1, 2, 3, ...11
String strMsg2 = txtBox2.getText().toString();
if (menuItemId <= 5) {
// first five option are for setting text size
int newPointSize = arrayPointSize[menuItemId - 1];
txtBox1.setTextSize(newPointSize);
txtBox2.setTextSize(newPointSize); }
else {
// either change color on text1 or style on text2
if (menuItemId == 6)
txtBox1.setTextColor(color.background_dark | Color.RED); // red
else if (menuItemId == 7)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff00ff00); // green

60. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: Fragment2.java – Defining a ContextMenu
else if (menuItemId == 8)
txtBox1.setTextColor(0xff0000ff); // blue
else if (menuItemId == 9)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "BOLD")); //bold
else if (menuItemId == 10)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "ITALIC")); //italic
else if (menuItemId == 11)
txtBox2.setText(beautify(strMsg2, "NORMAL")); //normal }
return false; //
// changing text style using HTML formatting
// Spanned is text to which you could add formatting features
private Spanned beautify (String originalText, String selectedStyle){
Spanned answer = null;
if (selectedStyle.equals("BOLD"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<b>" + originalText +"</b");
else if (selectedStyle.equals("ITALIC"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<i>" + originalText +"</i>");
else if (selectedStyle.equals("NORMAL"))
answer = Html.fromHtml("<normal>" + originalText +"</normal");
return answer;
} //beautify
}// class

61. Using Menus – ActionBar & OptionMenu
Example 4: OnMyCustomRowSelectedListener.java
Defining a Custom Listener
// Note: The MainActivity must implement this interface !!!
// Used to tell the MainActivity what row from ListView the user
// has selected when interacting with Fragment1 (this is
// functionally equivalent to an onClickLister)
public interface OnMyCustomRowSelectedListener {
public void onMyCustomRowSelected(Integer selectedRow); }

62. Questions ? Using Menus Recommended Additional Reading: 62 62