Hello Readers! In this post, we are going to learn about how to use android spinner in any android application. We will also go through different attributes that are used to customise spinner widget.

Output

Tutorialwing Android Spinner Output

Getting Started

Spinner can be defined as below –

A spinner is a widget that have many options in dropdown, but only one option is displayed at a time. The displayed option is selected by the user. All the options in the spinner are provided using Adapter.

Note – You must provide an adapter with the some options so that user can pick one among them.

Attributes of Android Spinner Widget

Now, we will see different attributes that can be used to customise this widget.

Attributes of Spinner are also inherited from AbsSpinner, ViewGroup and View. Some of the popular attributes of Spinner inherited from AbsSpinner are –

Some of the popular attributes of Spinner inherited from ViewGroup are –

Some of the popular attributes of Spinner inherited from View are –

Note – Visit official documentation for more details about attributes.

Example of Android Spinner Widget

At First, we will create android application. Then, we will use android spinner in this application.

1. Creating New Project

Follow the steps below to create new project. Please ignore the steps if you have already created a new project.

Now, we will modify xml and java file to use android spinner in the project.

2. Modify Values folder

Open res/values/strings.xml file. Then, add below code into it.

<resources>
	<string name="app_name">Spinner</string>
	<string name="selected_item">Selected item:</string>
</resources>

3. Use Android Spinner Widget in xml file

Open res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Then, add below code into it.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
	xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
	android:layout_width="match_parent"
	android:layout_height="match_parent"
	android:background="@android:color/white"
	android:gravity="center">

	<Spinner
		android:id="@+id/spinner"
		android:layout_width="wrap_content"
		android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

</LinearLayout>

In activity_main.xml file, we have added spinner widget. Now, we will access this widget in java file.

4. Access Spinner Widget in java file

Open src/main/java/com.tutorialwing.spinner/MainActivity.java file. Then, add below code into it.

package com.tutorialwing.spinner;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.AdapterView;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.Spinner;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

	@Override
	protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
		setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);


		final String[] personNames = {"Rahul", "Jack", "Rajeev", "Aryan", "Rashmi", "Jaspreet", "Akbar"};
		Spinner spinner = findViewById(R.id.spinner);
		if (spinner != null) {
			ArrayAdapter arrayAdapter = new ArrayAdapter(this, android.R.layout.simple_spinner_item, personNames);
			spinner.setAdapter(arrayAdapter);

			spinner.setOnItemSelectedListener(new AdapterView.OnItemSelectedListener() {
				@Override
				public void onItemSelected(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
					Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, getString(R.string.selected_item) + " " + personNames[position], Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
				}

				@Override
				public void onNothingSelected(AdapterView<?> parent) {

				}
			});
		}
	}
}

In MainActivity.java file, we have accessed spinner widget. Then, we have created an adapter for the spinner and added it to spinner. Also, we are showing a toast message of selected item whenever any item is selected from dropdown of the spinner.

AndroidManifest.xml

Code inside src/main/AndroidManifest.xml file is as below –

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest package="com.tutorialwing.spinner"
		  xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

	<application
		android:allowBackup="true"
		android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
		android:label="@string/app_name"
		android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
		android:supportsRtl="true"
		android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
		<activity android:name=".MainActivity">
			<intent-filter>
				<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>

				<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
			</intent-filter>
		</activity>
	</application>

</manifest>

When you run the application, you will get output as shown above.

That’s the end of tutorial on Android Spinner Widget.