In this article, we will learn how to create android Action Chip programmatically in Kotlin. We will go through various steps that explains how to create Action Chip and add it in kotlin file, use different attributes to customise it etc. in any android application.

Learn to use Different Attributes of Action Chip in XML File to Customize it.

Output

Getting Started

We can define android Action Chip widget as below –

Action Chip provides a component that can be used to perform some action. It offers action related to primary content.

Now, how do we use Action Chip in android application ?

Before we move ahead, we need to setup for viewBinding to access Action Chip in 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.

Since we have a new project, we will modify the xml and class file to use Action Chip programmatically in kotlin. Please follow the steps below.

Download Drawable Resources

Click on link to download drawable resources we need for our project. Then, save it in res/layout folder.

2. Modify Values Folder

Open res/values/strings.xml file. Add below code into it.

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

Other values folders have not been changed. So, we are not going to mention it here.

3. Modify Layout Folder

Open res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Add below code into 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"
    android:padding="10dp"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/label"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginBottom="20dp"
        android:text="Select type"
        android:textSize="16sp"
        android:textStyle="bold"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />

    <com.google.android.material.chip.ChipGroup
        android:id="@+id/chipGroup"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/label"
        app:singleLine="false">

    </com.google.android.material.chip.ChipGroup>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

4. Create XML UI to be inflated dynamically for Action Chip

Now, we need to create an xml ui that will be inflated dynamically in our project.
So, create an xml file, action_chip.xml, in activity_main.xml file. Then, add below code into it –

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<com.google.android.material.chip.Chip xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    style="@style/Widget.MaterialComponents.Chip.Action"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

5. Create Android Action Chip programmatically in Kotlin

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

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipaction

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle
import android.widget.Toast
import com.google.android.material.chip.Chip
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipaction.databinding.ActionChipBinding
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipaction.databinding.ActivityMainBinding

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding

	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
		setContentView(binding.root)

		setupChip()
	}

	private fun setupChip() {
		val nameList =
			arrayListOf("Add Item", "Edit Item", "Delete Item")
		val iconList =
			arrayListOf(R.drawable.ic_add, R.drawable.ic_edit, R.drawable.ic_delete)
		for (i in arrayListOf(0, 1, 2)) {
			val chip = createChip(nameList[i], iconList[i])
			binding.chipGroup.addView(chip)
		}
	}

	private fun createChip(label: String, icon: Int): Chip {
		val chip = ActionChipBinding.inflate(layoutInflater).root
		chip.text = label
		chip.setChipIconResource(icon)

		chip.setOnClickListener {
			Toast.makeText(this, "Clicked on `${label}` chip", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
		}

		return chip
	}
}

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

Now, Let’s check how to use different attributes of Action Chip to customize it dynamically –

Set Id of Action Chip

Follow steps below to set id of Action Chip programmatically –

• Create ids.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code into it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <item type="id" name="actionChip_ID" />
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set id of Action Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  actionChip.id = R.id.actionChip_ID  // Action Chip
  

  Here, we have set id of Action Chip using property access syntax – actionChip.id

Learn to Set ID of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Width and Height of Action Chip

We use layoutParams to set width and height of any View programmatically. In this article, we have added Action Chip in LinearLayout. So, we will define LayoutParams as below –

actionChip.layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT
)

Here, we have set width and height as WRAP_CONTENT. Some of possible values for width and height are –

• WRAP_CONTENT: Sets value of width or height depending on text inside it.
• MATCH_PARENT: Sets value of width of height depending on width or height of parent layout . i.e. width or height of Action Chip will be same as width or height of parent layout.
• Fixed Value: Sets width or height as per value provided.

Learn to Set Width or Height of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Padding of Action Chip

Follow steps below to set padding of Action Chip Dynamically –

• If there is no dimens.xml file, create dimens.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <dimen name="text_padding">16dp</dimen>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set padding of Action Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val padding = resources.getDimension(R.dimen.text_padding).toInt()
  actionChip.setPadding(padding, padding, padding, padding)
  

  Here, we have accessed dimension defined in dimens.xml using getDimension() method. Then, set padding of Action Chip using setPadding() method.

Learn to Set Padding of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Margin of Action Chip

Follow steps below to set margin of Action Chip Dynamically –

• If there is no dimens.xml file, create dimens.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <dimen name="text_margin">16dp</dimen>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set margin of Action Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val margin = resources.getDimension(R.dimen.text_margin).toInt()
  val layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
  	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
  	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT
  )
  layoutParams.setMargins(margin, margin, margin, margin)
  actionChip.layoutParams = layoutParams
  

  Here, we have accessed dimension defined in dimens.xml using getDimension() method. Then, we have defined layoutParams, set margin to layoutParams. After that, set layoutParams to Action Chip.

Learn to Set Margin of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Background of Action Chip

Follow steps below to set background of Action Chip programmatically –

• If there is no colors.xml file, create colors.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <color name="purple_200">#FFBB86FC</color>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set background of Action Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val color = ContextCompat.getColor(this, R.color.purple_200)
  actionChip.setBackgroundColor(color)
  

  Here, we used setBackgroundColor() method to set background color in actionChip.

Learn to Set Background of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Visibility of Action Chip

We can set visibility of Action Chip programmatically as –

actionChip.visibility = View.VISIBLE

Here, we have set visibility of Action Chip using actionChip.visibility attribute. Visibility can be of three types – gone, visible and invisible.
Learn to Set Visibility of Action Chip Using XML Attribute

That’s end of tutorial on Android Action Chip Programmatically in Kotlin With Example.