Tag Archives: UI design pattern

03
Aug

Android UI Design Pattern – Action Bar

Android, Mobile Application Development August 3rd, 2011

The previous posts on User Interface tips and Dashboard design pattern gave you a fair idea on how to get going with your User Interface.

In this post, we shall look at the Action Bar design pattern in more detail which will enable you to better understand and execute Action Bars on your user interface.

Introduction:

As previously mentioned, action bar is a bar placed atop the screen that houses all the essential actions used in an application. It contains only those actions that are common to the entire application, and not activity specific ones. It is very commonly used in most applications, some even before it was introduced as a design pattern.

The Twitter Application for Android is a prime example. It has an action bar that provides actions like refresh, search, messages etc. The Facebook app is another common app that uses this pattern. Imagine if every app had an action bar, how useful and user friendly it would be. Navigation can also be added there. For now, this should suffice. Let us take a look at how do you actually go about creating it. Of the 3 patterns this is the easiest pattern to implement. So let us try and implement this step by step in the same manner as described in Dashboard Design pattern. Please refer -Xoriant Source Code for Android Dashboard UI Pattern

Take a look at the images below :

Follow these few simple steps to get going with your Action Bar:

Step 1: Create Action Bar Class

First of all, you need to create an abstract base class that houses all the common functionalities like the lifecycle method and the” onClick” handlers similar to the dashboard. In this, “onClick” handlers refer to actions that need to be triggered when the actions on the action bar are clicked. This should be pretty simple, especially after doing it for the dashboard. But as always the sample snippet is available for your reference.

public abstract class ActionBarAppActivity extends Activity
{
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        //setContentView(R.layout.main);
    }

    public void onSearch(View v)
    {
    	startActivity (new Intent(getApplicationContext(), SearchActivity.class));
    }

    public void onHome (View v)
    {
    	return2Home(this);
    }

    public void return2Home(Context context)
    {
        final Intent intent = new Intent(context, HomeActivity.class);
        intent.setFlags (Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
        context.startActivity (intent);
    }
}

Step 2: Create Layout For Action Bar

You have got your base class ready. That means half the job is done. Now simply create the layout for the home screen along with the action bar. Remember the title bar will not be present in the application. It will be replaced by the action bar. The layout must include an icon for home, the title of the current view and other options to be displayed on the bar. Don’t include more than 3 options as it looks cluttered. Creating layouts by now won’t be a hurdle. All you need is a couple of image views and text views. The necessary icons/images may be stored in the resources and referred to in the usual way. With the hints I have given you the layout shouldn’t take long to make. Anyhow a sample snippet is always there at your disposal. Take a look at the sample above. Just to remind you; it is only a snippet not the entire code.

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
			  android:orientation="horizontal"
			  android:layout_width = "fill_parent"
			  android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			  android:gravity="right"
			  android:layout_gravity="right">

			   <ImageButton style="@style/TitleBarOperation"
            			   android:src="@drawable/about_click"
            			   android:onClick="onAbout"
            			   android:layout_marginTop = "6dip"
            			   android:layout_marginBottom = "4dip"
            			   android:layout_marginLeft="5dip"
            			   android:background="@null"
            			   android:layout_marginRight="5dip"/>

			  <ImageView android:layout_width="1px"
			   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
			   android:background="@drawable/separator"
			   android:layout_marginLeft = "5dip"
			   android:layout_marginRight="5dip"
			   />

			  <ImageButton style="@style/TitleBarOperation"
            			   android:src="@drawable/search"
            			   android:layout_marginTop = "6dip"
            			   android:layout_marginBottom = "4dip"
            			   android:onClick="onSearch"
            			   android:background="@drawable/home_bg"
            			   android:layout_marginRight="5dip"/>
	</LinearLayout>

Step 3: Append Action Bar to all Activities and create layouts (Modify action bar in case of search)

Now all that remains is replicating the same layout of the home screen action bar across all the other activities. That is simple replication of the code. Also generate the layout for the remaining activities. In case of the search activity, only a slight modification will be needed to the action bar to include a search box as well. That is as simple as appending an edit text to the layout. Have a look at the code snippet below.

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
			  android:orientation="horizontal"
			  android:layout_width = "wrap_content"
			  android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			  android:gravity="left|center_vertical"
			  android:layout_gravity="left">

			  <ImageButton style="@style/TitleBarOperation"
            			   android:src="@drawable/home_def"
            			   android:background="@drawable/home_bg"
            			   android:onClick="onHome"
            			   android:layout_marginTop = "5dip"
            			   android:layout_marginRight="5dip"
            			   android:paddingBottom="3dip"
            			   android:layout_marginLeft = "4dip"
            			   android:layout_marginBottom = "4dip"
            			   android:layout_gravity="center"/>

              <ImageView android:layout_width="1px"
			   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
			   android:background="@drawable/separator"
			   android:layout_marginRight="5dip"/>

              <TextView style="@style/TitleBarText"
              			android:id = "@+id/title_text"
              			android:text = "Action Bar Sample"
              			/>

              <ImageView android:layout_width="1px"
			   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
			   android:background="@drawable/separator"
			   android:layout_marginLeft="5dip"
			   />

              <EditText android:id="@+id/input_text"
              			android:layout_height="fill_parent"
              			android:layout_width="100dip"
              			android:layout_marginTop="2dip"
              			android:layout_gravity="center"
              			android:textSize="10sp"
              			android:text = "search here..."
              			android:layout_marginLeft="5dip"
              			android:layout_marginRight="5dip"/>

			<ImageView android:layout_width="1px"
			   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
			   android:background="@drawable/separator"
			   android:layout_marginLeft="2dip"/>

Step 4: Modifying styles.xml

With this, your Action Bar is ready. All that remains is adding a few lines of code to your styles.xml file. This style must be appended to the manifest as a theme in the application tag. Basically these lines specify that there will be no title bar in the application, and instead will be overlaid by our own custom action bar. See the sample code to understand.

<style name="Theme.D1" parent="android:style/Theme.Light">
        <item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
        <item name="android:windowContentOverlay">@null</item>
    </style>

We have successfully implemented the Action Bar by following these 4 simple steps. Now you can create your very own action bar with actions of your choice. With this we have completed 2 of  the 3 design patterns. The third pattern will soon follow. Only if could imagine how attractive your UI would be if you were to use all 3 patterns in an app. Hopefully you have understood and enjoyed learning these patterns as much as I  am pleased to share them.

Source Code

Should you require full source code for Action Bar, please refer Xoriant-Source Code for Android Action Bar.Like always you can leave your comments here and I will look forward to answering them.

There will be the next blog on design patterns for Quick Actions soon. So watch out for the space to complete your User Interface with third and final design pattern!!

28
Jul

Android UI Design Pattern – Dashboard

Android, Mobile Application Development July 28th, 2011

The earlier post here has covered the importance and the basics of developing a user friendly UI, taking this further we will be presenting to you a detailed view of the design patterns discussed. The following post will cover the ‘Dashboard ‘ design pattern along with a step by step process to help you develop a dashboard yourself. The code snippets attached will allow you to learn and build the dashboard in no time.

Introduction:

Trust me when I say it’s too easy. Have you seen the Facebook application for Android? You will see the home screen has image icons for all major features of the application like messages, wall posts, friends, albums etc. This is exactly what a dashboard is. You might have actually used this before without even knowing it is a design pattern. The dashboard lets you highlight key/new features and provide easy navigation to various parts of the app. A detailed description of the same was given in my blog on User Interface Design Tips which I trust you would have read. Even if you haven’t, I would suggest going back to that article and reading it to get a clear picture of the dashboard design pattern. This will make this article a better read for you as it provides simple steps for creating your very own dashboard. So let’s begin!!!

A typical dashboard for any application may look like this:

Full source code for this sample application is available on xoriant’s public github repo - https://github.com/github-xoriant/Android-Dashboard-UI-Pattern

Listed are a few steps for creating a typical dashboard with precise detailing. Follow them to have a clear understanding

Step 1: Create Home Screen

Follow these codes to get your Home Screen in simplest possible way.

<LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical"
      				  android:layout_width="wrap_content"
      				  android:layout_height="wrap_content"
      				  android:layout_marginTop="60dip"
      				  android:layout_marginLeft="40dip" android:layout_marginBottom="40dip">

        	<ImageView android:id="@+id/photoAlbum"
            			 style="@style/Home"
            			 android:onClick="onPhotoAlbum"
           				 android:src="@drawable/photoalbum"/>

        	<TextView style="@style/HomeText"
        			  android:id="@+id/ph1"
        			  android:text="@string/photoAlbum"
        		  	  android:layout_marginTop="10dip"/>
</LinearLayout>
<LinearLayout style="@style/TitleBar"
    			  android:id="@+id/layout1">

       <ImageView style="@style/TitleBarLogo"
       			  android:id="@+id/img1"
                  android:src="@drawable/dashboard"
                  android:onClick="onHome"
            	  android:layout_marginTop = "5dip"
            	  android:layout_marginRight="5dip"
            	  android:layout_marginLeft="5dip"
            	  android:layout_marginBottom = "5dip"
            	  android:paddingBottom = "5dip"
            	  android:background="@null"
            	  android:layout_gravity="center"
            	  android:paddingLeft="5dip"
            	  android:paddingRight="7dip" />

        <ImageView android:layout_width="1px"
        		   android:layout_height="fill_parent"
        		   android:id="@+id/sep"
			       android:background="@drawable/separator"
			       android:layout_marginRight="7dip"
			   />

        <TextView style="@style/TitleBarText"
        		  android:id="@+id/tv1"
        		  android:paddingLeft = "8dip"
        		  android:text="@string/home"/>
</LinearLayout>

The first step is to create a simple layout for the home screen that will house the image buttons. As the name itself says these are simply buttons, which are represented by icons/images present in the resources folder. The layout must have a custom title bar at the top that displays the current location/screen that the user is on, along with a straight link to reach the home screen or the dashboard. All you have to use is the “onClick” attribute of the image view to direct the user to the respective location. The layout is very simple, and all you require is basic knowledge of layout creation which you must be an expert on by this time!!!  Anyway to make it easy have a look at the code snippet for creating an image view for the image icon and the title bar given above. Keep in mind this has to be done in a proper layout.

Step 2:Create Dashboard Abstract Class

Follow these codes to create your own Dashboard Abstract Class.

public abstract class DashboardAppActivity extends Activity
{
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    }

    //Lifecycle Methods

    //App Click Methods

    public void onSearch(View v)
    {
    	startActivity (new Intent(getApplicationContext(), SearchActivity.class));
    }

    public void onAbout(View v)
    {
    	startActivity (new Intent(getApplicationContext(), AboutActivity.class));
    }

    public void return2Home(Context context)
    {
        final Intent intent = new Intent(context, HomeActivity.class);
        intent.setFlags (Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
        context.startActivity (intent);
    }

    public void onHome (View v)
    {
    	return2Home(this);
    }
}

By now you will have your home screen ready with you. Now we just need to define the “On Click” handlers that will trigger the necessary action which could be starting a new activity or simply a toast. For this purpose all you need to do is simply define an abstract class, that will contain all the common code like lifecycle methods, On Click handlers for the icons on the dashboard and the title bar(home) as well. In our app we will have to define the handlers to redirect the user to new activities associated with the appropriate image icon. Once done, all your other activities in the application that have representations on the home page will inherit this abstract class. It’s very simple and I am pretty sure you can do this on your own. Just in case, a sample code snippet is available at your disposal as always!!!

Step 3:Create Activities and Layouts

Following are a few codes to help you create your Activities and Layouts.

public class AboutActivity extends DashboardAppActivity
{
	public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
	{
	    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

	    setContentView (R.layout.about);
	    TextView tv = (TextView) findViewById (R.id.title_text);
	    if (tv != null)
	    {
	    	tv.setText(getTitle());
	    }
	}
}

So now your Dashboard is nearly done. All you need to do is create the activities for all functions that you have listed in the dashboard. Along with the activities you will need the XML Layouts as is the case with any basic activity in Android. These activities must extend the dashboard abstract class. Also, you need to write a few lines of code to display the name of the activity in the title bar.  You can have a look at the sample code given above.

Step 4:Understanding Styles

Finally, refer to the below given codes to Understand Styles.

<style name="TitleBar">
        <item name="android:id">@id/title_container</item>
        <item name="android:layout_width">fill_parent</item>
        <item name="android:layout_height">45dip</item>
        <item name="android:orientation">horizontal</item>
        <item name="android:background">@color/title_background</item>
    </style>

    <style name="TitleBarOperation">
        <item name="android:layout_width">45dip</item>
        <item name="android:layout_height">fill_parent</item>
    </style>

    <style name="TitleBarLogo">
        <item name="android:id">@id/title_logo</item>
        <item name="android:layout_width">wrap_content</item>
        <item name="android:layout_height">fill_parent</item>
 </style>

So now your dashboard is finally up and running.  Something that you will come across while going through the code is the regular use of styles. These styles are nothing new, and are very similar to style sheets used for  developing web pages. These styles have been defined in the styles.xml file, which is then referred in the app using their ids. A sample of the styles.xml file is given above.

So 4 simple steps and you have your dashboard set up. Now that was unbelievably easy as I had said. Hopefully this tutorial would have provided all the assistance that was required to create your very own creative dashboard.

Source Code

If there are still any problems you always have the complete source code of the app to fall back on Xoriant’s git hub repository. Xoriant- Source code for Android Dashboard UI Pattern

Also you can post your comments here and I will be more than happy to answer them.

I will soon be writing about yet another effective and easy design pattern, “The Action Bar” in my next blog. But till then keep experimenting with your dashboards!!!!