Adding a button below the list on Android

Question

So, I tried to add a button under the list in android, the problem is that the button does not appear.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <AbsoluteLayout android:id="@+id/widget0" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> <ListView android:id="@+id/messagelist" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_x="0px" android:layout_y="0px"> </ListView> <Button android:id="@+id/addbutton" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="Button" android:layout_x="0px" android:layout_y="379px"> </Button> </AbsoluteLayout> 

Answer 1

AbsoluteLayout is deprecated. Instead, I would suggest using LinearLayout:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout android:id="@+id/widget0" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> <ListView android:id="@+id/messagelist" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="0dp" android:layout_weight="1"> </ListView> <Button android:id="@+id/addbutton" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="Button"> </Button> </LinearLayout> 

I also suggest reading the developer docs in layouts for a good introduction.

Answer 2

The sample Demos API has an example of such a layout. The following page links to samples:

http://developer.android.com/resources/samples/index.html

Locate the LinearLayout9.java file and the corresponding linear_layout9.xml layout file. For convenience, I inserted them here:

LinearLayout9.java:

 /* * Copyright (C) 2007 The Android Open Source Project * * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. * You may obtain a copy of the License at * * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 * * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and * limitations under the License. */ package com.example.android.apis.view; import com.example.android.apis.R; import android.app.Activity; import android.os.Bundle; import android.widget.ListView; import android.widget.ArrayAdapter; /** * Demonstrates how the layout_weight attribute can shrink an element too big * to fit on screen. */ public class LinearLayout9 extends Activity { @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.linear_layout_9); ListView list = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.list); list.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, AutoComplete1.COUNTRIES)); } } 

linear_layout9.xml:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!-- Copyright (C) 2007 The Android Open Source Project Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. --> <!-- Demonstrates a simple linear layout. The layout fills the screen, with the children stacked from the top. --> <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent"> <ListView android:id="@+id/list" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_weight="1.0" /> <Button android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="@string/linear_layout_9_button" /> </LinearLayout>