In this article, we will learn about android TextClock using Kotlin. We will go through various example that demonstrates how to use different attributes of TextClock. For example,

In this article, we will get answer to questions like –

• What is TextClock?
• Why should we consider TextClock while designing ui for any app?
• What are possibilities using TextClock while designing ui? etc.

Let’s have a quick demo of things we want to cover in this tutorial –

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin TextClock Output

Getting Started

We can define android TextClock widget as below –

TextClock is a widget that are used to display current date and/or time in specified format.

TextClock supports 2 formats.

1. 12 hour format
2. 24 hour format.

Now, how do we use TextClock in android application ?

Creating New Project

At first, we will create an application.
So, follow steps below to create any android project in Kotlin –

Newbie in Android ?

Some very important concepts (Recommended to learn before you move ahead)

• Install Android Studio
• Create New Project in Android Studio
• Android Project Structure
• Run / Debug / Test Android App

Before we move ahead, we need to setup for viewBinding to access Android TextClock Using Kotlin file without using findViewById() method.

Setup ViewBinding

Add viewBinding true in app/build.gradle file.

 
 android { 
 	// OTHER CODE... 
 	buildFeatures { 
 		viewBinding true 
 	} 
 } 
 

Now, set content in activity using view binding.
Open MainActivity.kt file and write below code in it.

 
 class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() { 
 	
 	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding 
 	
 	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { 
 		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) 
 		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater) 
 		val view = binding.root 
 		setContentView(view) 
 	} 
 } 
 

Now, we can access view in Kotlin file without using findViewById() method.

Using TextClock in Kotlin

Follow steps below to use TextClock in newly created project –

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

  <resources>
      <string name="app_name">TextClock</string>
  </resources>
  

• Open res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Then, add below code in it –

  <?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">
  
      <TextClock
          android:id="@+id/textClock"
          android:layout_width="match_parent"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_margin="40dp"
          android:format12Hour="hh:mm:ss a"
          app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
  
  </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
  

• We can also access it in Kotlin File, MainActivity.kt, as below –

  package com.tutorialwing.textclock
  
  import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
  import android.os.Bundle
  import com.tutorialwing.textclock.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
  
  class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
  
  	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding
  
  	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
  		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
  		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
  		val view = binding.root
  		setContentView(view)
  	}
  }
  

Now, run the application. We will get output as below –

Tutorialwing Kotlin TextClock Output

Different Attributes of TextClock in XML

Now, we will see how to use different attributes of Android TextClock using Kotlin to customise it –

Set Id of TextClock

Many a time, we need id of View to access it in kotlin file or create ui relative to that view in xml file. So, we can set id of TextClock using android:id attribute like below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        />

Here, we have set id of TextClock as textClock_ID using android:id=”” attribute. So, if we need to reference this TextClock, we need to use this id – textClock_ID.
Learn to Set ID of TextClock Dynamically

Set Width of TextClock

We use android:layout_width=”” attribute to set width of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        />

Width can be either “MATCH_PARENT” or “WRAP_CONTENT” or any fixed value (like 20dp, 30dp etc.).
Learn to Set Width of TextClock Dynamically

Set Height of TextClock

We use android:layout_height=”” attribute to set height of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        />

Height can be either “MATCH_PARENT” or “WRAP_CONTENT” or any fixed value.
Learn to Set Height of TextClock Dynamically

Set Padding of TextClock

We use android:padding=”” attribute to set padding of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:padding="10dp"
        />

Here, we have set padding of 10dp in TextClock using android:padding=”” attribute.
Learn to Set Padding of TextClock Dynamically

Set Margin of TextClock

We use android:layout_margin=”” attribute to set margin of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_margin="10dp"
        />

Here, we have set margin of 10dp in TextClock using android:layout_margin=”” attribute.
Learn to Set Margin of TextClock Dynamically

Set Background of TextClock

We use android:background=”” attribute to set background of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:background="#ff0000"
        />

Here, we have set background of color #ff0000 in TextClock using android:background=”” attribute.
Learn to Set Background of TextClock Dynamically

Set Visibility of TextClock

We use android:visibility=”” attribute to set visibility of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:visibility="gone"
        />

Here, we have set visibility of TextClock using android:visiblity=”” attribute. Visibility can be of three types – gone, visible and invisible
Learn to Set Visibility of TextClock Dynamically

Set Text of TextClock

We use android:text=”” attribute to set text of TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        />

Here, we have set text (“Hello Tutorialwing”) in TextClock using android:text=”” attribute.
Similarly, we can set any text using this attribute.
Learn to Set Text of TextClock Dynamically

Set Color of Text in TextClock

We use android:textColor=”” attribute to set color of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:textColor="#ffffff"     
        />

Here, we have set color (#ffffff i.e. white) of text (“Hello Tutorialwing”) in TextClock using android:textColor=”” attribute. Similarly, we can set any color using this attribute.
Learn to Set Color of TextClock Dynamically

Set Gravity of TextClock

We use android:gravity=”” attribute to set gravity of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:gravity="center_horizontal"
        />

Here, we have set gravity of text in TextClock using android:gravity=”” attribute. Attribute value can be – “center_horizontal”, “center”, “center_vertical” etc.
Learn to Set Gravity of TextClock Dynamically

Set Text in Uppercase, Lowercase

If we need to show text of TextClock in uppercase or lowercase etc.

Set text in uppercase

We can use android:textAllCaps=”true” attribute to set text in uppercase. We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:textAllCaps="true"
        />

Attribute android:textAllCaps=”true” sets text in uppercase. So, HELLO TUTORIALWING is set in TextClock.

By default, false is set in this attribute. So, Whatever value is written in android:text=”” attribute, it will be set as it is. For example,

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:textAllCaps="false"
        />

Above code will set Hello Tutorialwing to TextClock.

How do we set text in lowercase?

Answer –

• In xml file – write all the text in lowercase.
• In kotlin file – take text as string. Then, convert it in lowercase. Then, set it to TextClock.

Learn to Set Text in Uppercase or Lowercase Dynamically

Set Size of Text in TextClock

We use android:textSize=”” attribute to set size of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:textSize="20sp"
        />

Here, we have set size of text in TextClock using android:textSize=”” attribute.
Learn to Set Size of Text of TextClock Dynamically

Set Style (Bold/italic) of Text in TextClock

We use android:textStyle=”” attribute to set style (bold, italic etc.) of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:textStyle="bold"
        />

Here, we have set style of text in TextClock using android:textStyle=”” attribute. This attribute can take bold, italic or normal.
Learn to Set Style of Text of TextClock Dynamically

Set Letter Spacing of Text in TextClock

We use android:letterSpacing=”” attribute to set spacing between letters of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:letterSpacing="1"
        />

Here, we have set spacing between letters of text in TextClock using android:letterSpacing=”” attribute.
Learn to Set Letter Spacing of Text of TextClock Dynamically

Set Typeface of Text in TextClock

We use android:typeface=”” attribute to set typeface in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:typeface="sans"
        />

Here, we have set typeface of text in TextClock using android:typeface=”” attribute. This attribute can take values – “sans”, “normal”, “monospace” or “normal”.
Learn to Set Typeface of TextClock Dynamically

Set fontFamily of Text in TextClock

We use android:fontFamily=”” attribute to set fontFamily of text in TextClock.
We can do it as below –

    <TextClock
        android:id="@+id/textClock_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Hello Tutorialwing"
        android:fontFamily="sans-serif"
        />

Here, we have set fontFamily (Here, sans-serif) of text in TextClock using android:fontFamily=”sans-serif” attribute.

Till now, we have see how to use android TextClock using Kotlin. We have also gone through different attributes of TextClock to perform certain task. Let’s have a look at list of such attributes and it’s related task.

Different Attributes of Android TextClock Widget

Below are the various attributes that are used to customise android TextClock Widget. However, you can check the complete list of attributes of TextClock in it’s official documentation site. Here, we are going to list some of the important attributes of this widget –

Some of the popular attributes of android textClock widget are –

Some of the popular attributes of android TextClock inherited from TextClock are –

Some of the popular attributes of android TextClock inherited from View are –

We have seen different attributes of TextClock and how to use it. If you wish to visit post to learn more about it

Thus, we have seen what is TextClock, how can we use android TextClock using Kotlin ? etc. We also went through different attributes of android TextClock.