Create Android Choice Chip Programmatically in Kotlin

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

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

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin Android Choice Chip Programmatically in Kotlin With Example

Getting Started

We can define android Choice Chip widget as below –

Choice chip provides a way to select one or more choice from list of choices.

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

Creating New Project

Follow steps below to create any android project in Kotlin –

Step Description
1. Open Android Studio (Ignore if already done).
2. Go to File => New => New Project. This will open a new window. Then, under Phone and Tablet section, select Empty Activity. Then, click Next.
3. In next screen, select project name as DynamicChipChoice. Then, fill other required details.
4. Then, clicking on Finish button creates new project.

Newbie in Android ?
Some very important concepts (Recommended to learn before you move ahead)

Before we move ahead, we need to setup for viewBinding to access Choice 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 Choice Chip programmatically in kotlin. Please follow the steps below.

2. Modify Values Folder

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

<resources>
    <string name="app_name">DynamicChipChoice</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_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        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 File for Choice Chip

Now, we will create a ui for choice chip that will be dynamically inflated in xml file.
So, create new file, choice_chip.xml, in res/layout folder. 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.Choice"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

5. Create Android Choice Chip programmatically in Kotlin

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

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipchoice

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle
import com.google.android.material.chip.Chip
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipchoice.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicchipchoice.databinding.ChoiceChipBinding

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("Extra Soft", "Soft", "Medium", "Hard", "Extra Hard")
		for (name in nameList) {
			val chip = createChip(name)
			binding.chipGroup.addView(chip)
		}
	}

	private fun createChip(label: String): Chip {
		val chip = ChoiceChipBinding.inflate(layoutInflater).root
		chip.text = label
		return chip
	}
}

Finally, when you run the application, you will get output as shown above.
Tutorialwing Kotlin Android Choice Chip Programmatically in Kotlin With Example

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

Set Id of Choice Chip

Follow steps below to set id of Choice 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="choiceChip_ID" />
    </resources>
    
  • Now, we can set id of Choice Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

    choiceChip.id = R.id.choiceChip_ID  // Choice Chip
    

    Here, we have set id of Choice Chip using property access syntax – choiceChip.id

Learn to Set ID of Choice Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Width and Height of Choice Chip

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

choiceChip.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 Choice 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 Choice Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Padding of Choice Chip

Follow steps below to set padding of Choice 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 Choice Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –
    val padding = resources.getDimension(R.dimen.text_padding).toInt()
    choiceChip.setPadding(padding, padding, padding, padding)
    

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

Learn to Set Padding of Choice Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Margin of Choice Chip

Follow steps below to set margin of Choice 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 Choice 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)
    choiceChip.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 Choice Chip.

Learn to Set Margin of Choice Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Background of Choice Chip

Follow steps below to set background of Choice 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 Choice Chip dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –
    val color = ContextCompat.getColor(this, R.color.purple_200)
    choiceChip.setBackgroundColor(color)
    

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

Learn to Set Background of Choice Chip Using XML Attribute

Set Visibility of Choice Chip

We can set visibility of Choice Chip programmatically as –

choiceChip.visibility = View.VISIBLE

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

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

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