Screen Design App

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The Layout Editor enables you to quickly build layouts by dragging UI elementsinto a visual design editor instead of writing layout XML by hand. The designeditor can preview your layout on different Android devices and versions, andyou can dynamically resize the layout to be sure it works well on differentscreen sizes.

The Layout Editor is especially powerful whenbuilding a layout with ConstraintLayout,a layout manager that's compatible with Android 2.3 (API level 9) and higher.

This page provides an overview of the Layout Editor. To learn more about layoutfundamentals, see Layouts.

Introduction to the Layout Editor

The Layout Editor appears when you open an XML layout file.

Figure 1. The Layout Editor

1. Palette: Contains various views and view groups that you can drag intoyour layout.
2. Component Tree: Shows the hierarchy of components in your layout.
3. Toolbar: Click these buttons to configure your layout appearance in theeditor and change layout attributes.
4. Design editor: Edit your layout in Design view, Blueprint view, or both.
5. Attributes: Controls for the selected view's attributes.
6. View mode: View your layout in either Code, Design, or Split modes. Split mode shows both theCode and Design windows at the same time.
7. Zoom and pan controls: Control the preview size and position within theeditor.

When you open an XML layout file, the design editor opens by default, as shownin figure 1. To edit the layout XML in the text editor, click the Codebutton in the top-right corner of the window. Note thatthe Palette, Component Tree, and Attributes windows are not availablewhile editing your layout in Code view.

Tip: You can switch between design and text editors by pressingAlt + Shift + Right/Left arrow (Control + Shift + Right/Left arrow on Mac).

Change the preview appearance

The buttons in the top row of the design editor enable you to configure theappearance of your layout in the editor.

Figure 2. Buttons in the Layout Editor toolbar thatconfigure the layout appearance

Corresponding to the numbers in figure 2, the buttons available are as follows:

1. Design and blueprint: Select how you'd like to view your layout in theeditor. Choose Design to see a rendered preview of your layout. ChooseBlueprint to see only outlines for each view. ChooseDesign + Blueprint to see both views side-by-side. You can also pressB to cycle through these view types.
2. Screen orientation and layout variants: Choose between landscape andportrait screen orientation, or choose other screen modes for which your appprovides alternative layouts, such as night mode. This menu alsocontains commands for creating a new layout variant.You can also press O to change orientation.
3. Device type and size: Select the device type (phone/tablet, Android TV,or Wear OS) and screen configuration (size and density). You can select fromseveral pre-configured device types and your own AVD definitions, or you cancreate a new AVD by selecting Add Device Definition from the list. Youcan resize the device size by dragging the bottom-right corner of the layout.You can also press D to cycle through the device list.
4. API version: Select the version of Android on which to preview yourlayout.
5. App theme: Select which UI theme to apply to the preview. Note that thisworks only for supported layout styles, so many themes in this list result inan error.
6. Language: Select the language to show for your UI strings. This listdisplays only the languages available in your string resources. If you'd liketo edit your translations, click Edit Translations from the drop-downmenu. For more information on working with translations, seeLocalize the UI with Translations Editor.

Create a new layout

When adding a new layout for your app, first create a default layout file inyour project's default layout/ directory so that it applies to all deviceconfigurations. Once you have a default layout, you cancreate layout variations for specific device configurations,such as for large screens.

You can create a new layout in one of the following ways:

Use Android Studio's main menu

1. In the Project window, click the module in which you want to add alayout.
2. In the main menu, select File > New > XML > Layout XML File.
3. In the dialog that appears, provide the file name, the root layout tag, andthe source set in which the layout belongs.
4. Click Finish to create the layout.

Use the Project view

1. Choose the Project view from within the Project window.
2. Right-click the layout directory where you'd like to add the layout.
3. In the context menu that appears, click New > Layout Resource File.

Use the Android view

1. Choose the Android view from within the Project window.
2. Right-click the layout folder.
3. In the context menu that appears, select New > Layout Resource File.

Use the Resource Manager

1. In the Resource Manager, select theLayout tab.
2. Click the + button, and then click Layout Resource File.

Use layout variants to optimize for different screens

A layout variant is an alternative version of an existing layout that isoptimized for a certain screen size or orientation.

Use a suggested layout variant

Android Studio includes common layout variants that you can use in your project.To use a suggested layout variant, do the following:

1. Open your original layout file, click the Design icon in the top-right corner of the window.
2. Click Orientation for Preview() in the toolbar.
3. In the dropdown list, select a suggested variant, such asCreate Landscape Variant.

Create your own layout variant

If you'd like to create your own layout variant, do the following:

1. Open your original layout file, and click the Design icon() in the top-right corner of the window.
2. Click Orientation for Preview in the toolbar.
3. In the dropdown list, select Create Other...
4. In the dialog that appears, define the resource qualifiers for the variant.Select a qualifier from the Available qualifiers list, and then clickthe Add button.Repeat this step to add other qualifiers as needed.
5. Once you've added all of your qualifiers, click OK.

When you have multiple variations of the same layout, you can switch betweenthem by clicking Layout Variantsand choosing from the list that appears.

For more information about how to create layouts for different screens, seeSupporting different screen sizes.

Convert a view or layout

App Home Screen Design

Sketch app android. You can convert a view to another kind of view, and you can convert a layoutto another kind of layout.

1. Click the Design button in the top-right corner of the editor window.
2. In the Component Tree, right-click the view or layout, and then clickConvert view...
3. In the dialog that appears, choose the new type of view or layout, and thenclick Apply.

Convert a layout to ConstraintLayout

For improved layout performance, you should convert older layouts toConstraintLayout. ConstraintLayout uses aconstraint-based layout system that enables you to build most layouts withoutany nested view groups.

To convert an existing layout to a ConstraintLayout, do the following:

1. Open an existing layout in Android Studio, and click the Design buttonin the top-right corner of the editor window.
2. In the Component Tree, right-click the layout, and then clickConvert your-layout-type to ConstraintLayout.

To learn more about ConstraintLayout, seeBuild a Responsive UI with ConstraintLayout.

Find items in the Palette

To search for a view or view group by name in the Palette, click theSearchbutton at the top of the palette. Alternatively, you can type the name of the itemwhenever the Palette window has focus.

You can find frequently used items in the Common category in thePalette. To add an item to this category, right-click on a view or viewgroup in the Palette, and then click Favorite in the context menu.

Open documentation from the Palette

To open the Android Developers reference documentation for a view or view group,select the UI element in the Palette and press Shift + F1.

To view Material Guidelines documentation for a view or view group, right-clickthe UI element in the Palette and select Material Guidelines from thecontext menu. If no specific entry exists for the item, then the command opensthe home page of theMaterial Guidelines documentation.

Add views to your layout

To start building your layout, simply drag views and view groups from thePalette into the design editor. As you place a view in the layout, theeditor displays information about the view's relationship with the rest of thelayout. Macos catalina ios apps.

If you are using ConstraintLayout, you canautomatically create constraintsusing the Infer Constraints and Autoconnect features.

Edit view attributes

You can edit view attributes from the Attributes window on the right side ofthe Layout Editor. This window is available only when the design editor is open,so be sure you're using either Design or Split mode to view yourlayout.

When you select a view, whether by clicking the view in the Component Treeor in the design editor, the Attributes window shows the following, asindicated in figure 3:

1. The Declared Attributes section lists attributes specified in the layoutfile. To add an attribute, click the Addbutton at the top right of the section.
2. The Layout section contains controls for the width and height of theview. If the view is in a ConstraintLayout, this section also showsconstraint bias and lists the constraints that the view uses. For moreinformation on working with ConstraintLayout, seeBuild a Responsive UI with ConstraintLayout.
3. The Common Attributes section lists common attributes for the selectedview. To see all available attributes, expand the All Attributes sectionat the bottom of the window.
4. Click the Search button to search for a specific view attribute.
5. The icons to the right of each attribute value indicate whether theattribute values are resource references. These indicators are solid when the value is a resource referenceand empty when the value is hard-coded. Theseindicators help you recognize hard-coded values at a glance. Clickingindicators in either state opens the Resources dialog window where youcan select a resource reference for the corresponding attribute.

6. A red highlight around an attribute value indicates an error with the value.An error might indicate an invalid entry for a layout-defining attribute, asshown in the red highlight in figure 3.

   An orange highlight indicates a warning for the value. A warning mightappear when you use a hard-coded value where a resource reference isexpected, for example.

Add sample data to your view

Because many Android layouts rely on runtime data, it can be difficult tovisualize the look and feel of a layout while designing your app. In AndroidStudio 3.2 and later, you can add sample preview data to a TextView, anImageView, or a RecyclerView from within the Layout Editor.

You can right-click on one of these view types and choose Set Sample Data todisplay the Design-time View Attributes window, as shown in figure 4.

Figure 4. The Design-time View Attributes window

In a TextView, you can choose between different sample text categories. Whenusing sample text, Android Studio populates the text attribute of theTextView with your chosen sample data. Note that you can choose sample textvia the Design-time View Attributes window only if the text attribute isempty.

Screen Design And Layout

Figure 5. A TextView with sample data

Screen Design App

In an ImageView, you can choose between different sample images. When youchoose a sample image, Android Studio populates the tools:src attribute of theImageView (or tools:srcCompat if using the Support Library).

Figure 6. An ImageView with sample data

In a RecyclerView, you can choose between a set of templates that containsample images and texts. When using these templates, Android Studio adds a fileto your res/layout directory, recycler_view_item.xml Adobe photoshop cc 2015 free. download full version filehippo. , that contains thelayout for the sample data. Android Studio also adds metadata to theRecyclerView to properly display the sample data.

Figure 7. A RecyclerView with sample data

Show layout warnings and errors

The Layout Editor notifies you of any layout issues next to the correspondingview in the Component Tree by using a red circle exclamation iconfor errors or an orange triangle exclamation iconfor warnings. Click on the icon to see more details.

To see all known issues in a window below the editor, clickShow Warnings and Errors(or)in the toolbar.

Download fonts and apply them to text

When using Android 8.0 (API level 26) or Android Support Library 26.0.0 or higher,you can select from hundreds of fonts by following these steps:

1. In the Layout Editor, click the Design button to view your layout in the design editor.
2. Click on a text view.
3. In the Attributes window, expand textAppearance, and then expand thefontFamily box.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the list and click More Fonts to open theResources dialog.
5. In the Resources dialog, select a font by browsing the list or by typinginto the search bar at the top. If you select a font under Downloadable,then you can either click Create downloadable font to load the font atruntime as adownloadable font,or click Add font to project to package the TTF font file in your APK.Note that the fonts listed under Android are provided by the Androidsystem, so they do not need to be downloaded or bundled in your APK.
6. Click OK to finish.