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

Output

Tutorialwing Android ViewAnimator Output

Getting Started

ViewAnimator widget can be defined as below –

ViewAnimator is a widget that are used to switch between views using animations

Attributes of Android ViewAnimator Widget

Some of the popular attributes of android ViewAnimator widget are –

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

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

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

Example of Android ViewAnimator Widget

At first, we will create android application. Then, we will use ViewAnimator widget in this application.

1. Creating New Project

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

Now, we will modify xml and java file to use ViewAnimator widget in the application.

2. Modify Values folder

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

<resources>
	<string name="app_name">ViewAnimator</string>
	<string name="next">Next</string>
	<string name="prev">Previous</string>
	<string name="item_post_1">Text at position 1</string>
	<string name="item_post_2">Button at position 2</string>
	<string name="item_post_4">Text at positon 4</string>
</resources>

3. Use ViewAnimator 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:orientation="vertical">

	<LinearLayout
		android:layout_width="match_parent"
		android:layout_height="wrap_content"
		android:gravity="center"
		android:orientation="horizontal"
		android:padding="10dp">

		<Button
			android:id="@+id/buttonPrev"
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:text="@string/prev"/>

		<Button
			android:id="@+id/buttonNext"
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:text="@string/next"/>

	</LinearLayout>

	<ViewAnimator
		android:id="@+id/viewAnimator"
		android:layout_width="match_parent"
		android:layout_height="match_parent">

		<TextView
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
			android:text="@string/item_post_1"
			android:textColor="@android:color/holo_red_dark"
			android:textSize="20sp"/>

		<Button
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
			android:text="@string/item_post_2">
		</Button>

		<ImageView
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
			android:src="@mipmap/ic_launcher"/>

		<TextView
			android:layout_width="wrap_content"
			android:layout_height="wrap_content"
			android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
			android:text="@string/item_post_4"
			android:textColor="@android:color/holo_red_dark"
			android:textSize="20sp"/>

	</ViewAnimator>

</LinearLayout>

In activity_main.xml file, we have defined ViewAnimator. We have also defined the views between which we will switch using this animator. Here, we have four views Textview, Button, ImageView and TextView in order with position between which animator will switch. Now, we will access this animator in java file to do some operations in it.

4. Access ViewAnimator Widget in java file

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

package com.tutorialwing.viewanimator;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.animation.Animation;
import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.ViewAnimator;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

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

		final ViewAnimator animator = findViewById(R.id.viewAnimator);

		Animation animationIn = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_in_left);
		Animation animationOut = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_out_right);

		animator.setInAnimation(animationIn);
		animator.setOutAnimation(animationOut);

		Button buttonPrev = findViewById(R.id.buttonPrev);
		buttonPrev.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
			@Override
			public void onClick(View v) {
				animator.showPrevious();
			}
		});

		Button buttonNext = findViewById(R.id.buttonNext);
		buttonNext.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
			@Override
			public void onClick(View v) {
				animator.showNext();
			}
		});
	}
}

In MainActivity.java file, we have accessed ViewAnimator defined in xml file. Then, we have set in and out animation in it that are used when current view is replaced by view just after/before it. After that, we have set click listener in button that will switch view in viewAnimator with next or previous item in ViewAnimator.

Since AndroidManifest.xml file is very important in any android application, we are also going to see the content inside this file.

AndroidManifest.xml

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

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest package="com.tutorialwing.viewanimator"
		  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 we run the program, we will get output as shown above.

That’s end of tutorial on Android ViewAnimator widget.