Create Android SearchView Programmatically in Kotlin

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

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

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin Android SearchView Programmatically in Kotlin With Example

Getting Started

We can define android SearchView widget as below –

SearchView is a widget that provides a way to search element from list.

Now, how do we use SearchView 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 DynamicSearchView. 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 SearchView 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 SearchView 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">DynamicSearchView</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="20dp"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <LinearLayout
        android:id="@+id/rootContainer"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="vertical"
        android:iconifiedByDefault="false"
        android:queryHint="Enter some text..."
        app:layout_constraintStart_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent">
    </LinearLayout>

    <ListView
        android:id="@+id/listView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/rootContainer" />

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Note that LinearLayout has id rootContainer. In Kotlin file, we will create SearchView Dynamically and add it into this LinearLayout having id rootContainer.

We have also defined ListView with id listView . This listView will be used to display list of cities to which we are going to apply filter.

4. Create Android SearchView programmatically in Kotlin

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

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicsearchview

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter
import android.widget.LinearLayout
import android.widget.Toast
import androidx.appcompat.widget.SearchView
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicsearchview.databinding.ActivityMainBinding

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding
	private lateinit var adapter: ArrayAdapter<String>

	val cityList = listOf(
		"America",
		"India",
		"Nepal",
		"China",
		"Sri Lanka",
		"South Africa",
		"Bangladesh",
		"England",
		"Bhutan",
		"Finland",
		"Greenland"
	)

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

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

		setupListView()
		setupSearchView()
	}

	private fun setupListView() {
		adapter = ArrayAdapter(this, android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, cityList)
		binding.listView.adapter = adapter
	}

	private fun setupSearchView() {
		val searchView = SearchView(this)
		searchView.setIconifiedByDefault(false)
		searchView.queryHint = getString(R.string.enter_some_text)
		val layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
			LinearLayout.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LinearLayout.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT
		)
		searchView.layoutParams = layoutParams
		binding.rootContainer.addView(searchView)

		// Set query text listener...
		searchView.setOnQueryTextListener(object : SearchView.OnQueryTextListener,
			android.widget.SearchView.OnQueryTextListener {
			override fun onQueryTextSubmit(p0: String?): Boolean {
				val isMatchFound = cityList.contains(p0)
				val msg = if (isMatchFound) "Found: $p0" else getString(R.string.no_match)
				Toast.makeText(this@MainActivity, msg, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
				return false
			}

			override fun onQueryTextChange(p0: String?): Boolean {
				adapter.filter.filter(p0)
				return false
			}
		})
	}
}

In MainActivity.kt file, following methods are used –

  1. cityList : This contains list of cities we want to display in listView.
  2. setupListView() : In this method, we create an array adapter and set it to listView.
  3. setupSearchView() : In this method, we create a searchView, customise it using attributes and add it to linearLayout having id rootContainer. Then, we set query text listener to searchView.

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

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

Set Id of SearchView

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

    searchView.id = R.id.searchView_ID  // SearchView
    

    Here, we have set id of SearchView using property access syntax – searchView.id

Learn to Set ID of SearchView Using XML Attribute

Set Width and Height of SearchView

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

searchView.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 SearchView 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 SearchView Using XML Attribute

Set Padding of SearchView

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

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

Learn to Set Padding of SearchView Using XML Attribute

Set Margin of SearchView

Follow steps below to set margin of SearchView 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 SearchView 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)
    searchView.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 SearchView.

Learn to Set Margin of SearchView Using XML Attribute

Set Background of SearchView

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

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

Learn to Set Background of SearchView Using XML Attribute

Set Visibility of SearchView

We can set visibility of SearchView programmatically as –

searchView.visibility = View.VISIBLE

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

That’s end of tutorial on android SearchView Programmatically in Kotlin With Example

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