In this article, we will learn how to create android Vertical Divider programmatically in Kotlin. We will go through various steps that explains how to create Vertical Divider and add it in kotlin file, use different attributes to customise it etc. in any android application. For example, how to set text in Vertical Divider programmatically, how to set id of Vertical Divider, how to capitalise text of Vertical Divider dynamically etc. We will get answer to all such questions in this post.

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

Output

Getting Started

We can define android Vertical Divider widget as below –

Vertical Divider is created using View component. View is basic building block of user interface components.

Now, how do we use Vertical Divider in android application ?

Before we move ahead, we need to setup for viewBinding to access Vertical Divider 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 Vertical Divider 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">DynamicVerticalDivider</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"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:id="@+id/rootContainer"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

</LinearLayout>

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

4. Create Android Vertical Divider programmatically in Kotlin

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

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicverticaldivider

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.View
import android.widget.LinearLayout
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicverticaldivider.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)

		setupVerticalDivider()
	}

	private fun setupVerticalDivider() {
		val view = View(this)
		view.layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
			4, LinearLayout.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT
		)
		view.setBackgroundResource(R.color.purple_500)
		binding.rootContainer.addView(view)
	}
}

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

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

Set Id of Vertical Divider

Follow steps below to set id of Vertical Divider 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="verticalDivider_ID" />
  </resources>
  

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

  verticalDivider.id = R.id.verticalDivider_ID  // Vertical Divider
  

  Here, we have set id of Vertical Divider using property access syntax – verticalDivider.id

Learn to Set ID of Vertical Divider Using XML Attribute

Set Width and Height of Vertical Divider

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

verticalDivider.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 Vertical Divider 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 Vertical Divider Using XML Attribute

Set Padding of Vertical Divider

Follow steps below to set padding of Vertical Divider 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 Vertical Divider dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

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

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

Learn to Set Padding of Vertical Divider Using XML Attribute

Set Margin of Vertical Divider

Follow steps below to set margin of Vertical Divider 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 Vertical Divider 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)
  verticalDivider.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 Vertical Divider.

Learn to Set Margin of Vertical Divider Using XML Attribute

Set Background of Vertical Divider

Follow steps below to set background of Vertical Divider 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 Vertical Divider dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

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

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

Learn to Set Background of Vertical Divider Using XML Attribute

Set Visibility of Vertical Divider

We can set visibility of Vertical Divider programmatically as –

verticalDivider.visibility = View.VISIBLE

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

That’s end of tutorial on android Vertical Divider Programmatically in Kotlin With Example.