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

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

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

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

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin TextSwitcher Output

Getting Started

We can define android TextSwitcher widget as below –

TextSwitcher, a subclass of ViewSwitcher, is a widget that contains children of type textView. It is used to animates current text out and next text in.

Now, how do we use TextSwitcher 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 TextSwitcher 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 TextSwitcher in Kotlin

Follow steps below to use TextSwitcher in newly created project –

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

  <resources>
      <string name="app_name">TextSwitcher</string>
      <string name="next">Next</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">
  
      <Button
          android:id="@+id/btnNext"
          android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_gravity="center"
          android:layout_marginTop="40dp"
          android:text="@string/next"
          app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
  
      <TextSwitcher
          android:id="@+id/textSwitcher"
          android:layout_width="320dp"
          android:layout_height="320dp"
          android:layout_marginTop="40dp"
          app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
          app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/btnNext" />
  
  </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
  

  In activity_main.xml file, we have defined button and textSwitcher widgets. Now, we will access these widgets in java file to perform some operations on them.

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

  package com.tutorialwing.textswitcher
  
  import android.graphics.Color
  import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
  import android.os.Bundle
  import android.view.Gravity
  import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils
  import android.widget.TextView
  import com.tutorialwing.textswitcher.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
  
  class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
  
  	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding
  
  	private val textList =
  		arrayOf("Panda", "Tiger", "Zebra", "Lion", "Deer", "Goat", "Ape", "Monkey", "Human")
  	private var index = 0
  
  	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
  		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
  		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
  		val view = binding.root
  		setContentView(view)
  
  		setupTextSwitcher()
  	}
  
  	private fun setupTextSwitcher() {
  		binding.textSwitcher.setFactory {
  			val textView = TextView(this@MainActivity)
  			textView.gravity = Gravity.TOP or Gravity.CENTER_HORIZONTAL
  			textView.textSize = 32f
  			textView.setTextColor(Color.RED)
  			textView
  		}
  		binding.textSwitcher.setText(textList[index])
  
  		val inAnim = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_in_left)
  		binding.textSwitcher.inAnimation = inAnim
  
  		val out = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_out_right)
  		binding.textSwitcher.outAnimation = out
  
  		binding.btnNext.setOnClickListener {
  			index = if (index + 1 < textList.size) index + 1 else 0
  			binding.textSwitcher.setText(textList[index])
  		}
  	}
  }
  

  In MainActivity.kt file, we have accessed textSwitcher widget. Then, we have set factory to define the views which will be used by textSwitcher. Then, we have set in and out animations that are used when current text is animated out and next text is animated in. Then, we have set click listener on button to show next text in textSwitcher.

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

Tutorialwing Kotlin TextSwitcher Output

Different Attributes of TextSwitcher in XML

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

Set Id of TextSwitcher

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 TextSwitcher using android:id attribute like below –

    <TextSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/textSwitcher_ID"
        />

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

Set Width of TextSwitcher

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

    <TextSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/textSwitcher_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 TextSwitcher Dynamically

Set Height of TextSwitcher

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

    <TextSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/textSwitcher_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 TextSwitcher Dynamically

Set Padding of TextSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Margin of TextSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Background of TextSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Visibility of TextSwitcher

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

    <TextSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/textSwitcher_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:visibility="gone"
        />

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

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

Different Attributes of Android TextSwitcher Widget

Below are the various attributes that are used to customise android TextSwitcher Widget. However, you can check the complete list of attributes of TextSwitcher 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 textSwitcher widget inherited from viewAnimator are –

Some of the popular attributes of android textSwitcher inherited from FrameLayout are –

Some of the popular attributes of android textSwitcher inherited from ViewGroup are –

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

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

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