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

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

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

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

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin ViewSwitcher Output

Getting Started

We can define android ViewSwitcher widget as below –

Android ViewSwitcher is a viewAnimator that are used to switch between two views. You may use viewFactory to create views or add your custom view to create views.

Now, how do we use ViewSwitcher 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 ViewSwitcher 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 ViewSwitcher in Kotlin

Follow steps below to use ViewSwitcher in newly created project –

• Download Drawable Resources Needed

  We may need images, stored in res/drawable folder, that are needed in the application. These drawable images will be used by viewSwitcher in the application.

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

  <resources>
      <string name="app_name">ViewSwitcher</string>
      <string name="next">Next</string>
      <string name="no_image">No Image</string>
  </resources>
  

• Open res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Then, add below code in 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">
  
      <Button
          android:id="@+id/btnNext"
          android:layout_width="wrap_content"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_gravity="center"
          android:layout_margin="20dp"
          android:text="@string/next"/>
  
      <ViewSwitcher
          android:id="@+id/viewSwitcher"
          android:layout_width="match_parent"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content">
  
          <ImageView
              android:id="@+id/image1"
              android:layout_width="wrap_content"
              android:layout_height="wrap_content"
              android:layout_gravity="center"
              android:contentDescription="@string/no_image"
              android:src="@drawable/pomegranate"/>
  
          <ImageView
              android:id="@+id/image2"
              android:layout_width="wrap_content"
              android:layout_height="wrap_content"
              android:layout_gravity="center"
              android:contentDescription="@string/no_image"
              android:src="@drawable/zespri_kiwi"/>
  
      </ViewSwitcher>
  
  </LinearLayout>
  

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

  package com.tutorialwing.viewswitcher
  
  import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
  import android.os.Bundle
  import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils
  import com.tutorialwing.viewswitcher.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)
  
  		setupViewSwitcher()
  	}
  
  	private fun setupViewSwitcher() {
  		val viewSwitcher = binding.viewSwitcher
  		val inAnim = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_in_left)
  		viewSwitcher.inAnimation = inAnim
  
  		val out = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, android.R.anim.slide_out_right)
  		viewSwitcher.outAnimation = out
  
  		binding.btnNext.setOnClickListener {
  			viewSwitcher.showNext()
  		}
  	}
  }
  

  In MainActivity.kt file, we have accessed viewSwitcher widget. Then, we have set in and out animations in it. At last, we have set a click listener to show next view in the viewSwitcher whenever button is clicked.

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

Tutorialwing Kotlin ViewSwitcher Output

Different Attributes of ViewSwitcher in XML

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

Set Id of ViewSwitcher

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 ViewSwitcher using android:id attribute like below –

    <ViewSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/viewSwitcher_ID"
        />

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

Set Width of ViewSwitcher

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

    <ViewSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/viewSwitcher_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 ViewSwitcher Dynamically

Set Height of ViewSwitcher

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

    <ViewSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/viewSwitcher_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 ViewSwitcher Dynamically

Set Padding of ViewSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Margin of ViewSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Background of ViewSwitcher

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

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

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

Set Visibility of ViewSwitcher

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

    <ViewSwitcher
        android:id="@+id/viewSwitcher_ID"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:visibility="gone"
        />

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

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

Different Attributes of Android ViewSwitcher Widget

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

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

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

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

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

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