Navigation Drawer Example in Android.

By | June 28, 2013

Navigation Drawer

The navigation drawer is a panel that transitions in from the left edge of the screen and displays the app’s main navigation options.
Displaying the navigation drawer

Creating a Navigation Drawer

The user can bring the navigation drawer onto the screen by swiping from the left edge of the screen or by touching the application icon on the action bar.

Dismissing the navigation drawer

When the navigation drawer is expanded, the user can dismiss it in one of four ways:

Touching the content outside the navigation drawer
Swiping to the left anywhere on the screen (including edge swipe from right)
Touching the app icon/title in the action bar
Pressing Back

Navigation Drawer

Now we will see how we can start using this in our code.

At first you have to create a layout for the main page.

activity_main.xml

<!--
 A DrawerLayout is intended to be used as the top-level content view using match_parent 
for both width and height to consume the full space available.
-->
<android .support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/drawer_layout"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" >

    <!--
         As the main content view, the view below consumes the entire
         space available using match_parent in both dimensions.
    -->

    <framelayout android:id="@+id/content_frame"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"></framelayout>

    <!--
         android:layout_gravity="start" tells DrawerLayout to treat
         this as a sliding drawer on the left side for left-to-right
         languages and on the right side for right-to-left languages.
         The drawer is given a fixed width in dp and extends the full height of
         the container. A solid background is used for contrast
         with the content view.
    -->

    <listview android:id="@+id/left_drawer"
        android:layout_width="240dp"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:layout_gravity="start"
        android:background="#111"
        android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
        android:divider="@android:color/transparent"
        android:dividerHeight="0dp"></listview>

</android>

Now the layout for the row in the listitem in the drawer panel

drawer_list_item.xml

<textview xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@android:id/text1"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceListItemSmall"
    android:gravity="center_vertical"
    android:paddingLeft="16dp"
    android:paddingRight="16dp"
    android:textColor="#fff"
    android:background="?android:attr/activatedBackgroundIndicator"
    android:minHeight="?android:attr/listPreferredItemHeightSmall"></textview>

This is the layout for the fragment in which we are showing the contents when the drawer list is clicked.

fragment_planet.xml

<imageview xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/image"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:background="#000000"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:padding="32dp"></imageview>

I am storing an array in the strings.xml.

<resources>
    <string name="app_name">Navigation Drawer Example</string>
    <string -array name="planets_array">
        <item>Mercury</item>
        <item>Venus</item>
        <item>Earth</item>
        <item>Mars</item>
        <item>Jupiter</item>
        <item>Saturn</item>
        <item>Uranus</item>
        <item>Neptune</item>
    </string>
    <string name="drawer_open">Open navigation drawer</string>
    <string name="drawer_close">Close navigation drawer</string>
    <string name="action_websearch">Web search</string>
    <string name="app_not_available">Sorry, there\'s no web browser available</string>
</resources>

Our layout ans string resources are complete.

Now the activity that is holding the drawer and implementing it.
MainActivity.java

package com.coderzheaven.navigationdrawerexample;

import java.util.Locale;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.Fragment;
import android.app.FragmentManager;
import android.app.SearchManager;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.res.Configuration;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.ActionBarDrawerToggle;
import android.support.v4.view.GravityCompat;
import android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuInflater;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.AdapterView;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    private DrawerLayout mDrawerLayout;
    private ListView mDrawerList;
    private ActionBarDrawerToggle mDrawerToggle;

    private CharSequence mDrawerTitle;
    private CharSequence mTitle;
    private String[] mPlanetTitles;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        mTitle = mDrawerTitle = getTitle();
        mPlanetTitles = getResources().getStringArray(R.array.planets_array);
        mDrawerLayout = (DrawerLayout) findViewById(R.id.drawer_layout);
        mDrawerList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.left_drawer);

        // set a custom shadow that overlays the main content when the drawer opens
        mDrawerLayout.setDrawerShadow(R.drawable.drawer_shadow, GravityCompat.START);
        // set up the drawer's list view with items and click listener
        mDrawerList.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<string>(this,
                R.layout.drawer_list_item, mPlanetTitles));
        mDrawerList.setOnItemClickListener(new DrawerItemClickListener());

        // enable ActionBar app icon to behave as action to toggle nav drawer
        getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
        getActionBar().setHomeButtonEnabled(true);

        /* ActionBarDrawerToggle ties together the the proper interactions
        between the sliding drawer and the action bar app icon */
        mDrawerToggle = new ActionBarDrawerToggle(
                this,                  /* host Activity */
                mDrawerLayout,         /* DrawerLayout object */
                R.drawable.ic_drawer,  /* nav drawer image to replace 'Up' caret */
                R.string.drawer_open,  /* "open drawer" description for accessibility */
                R.string.drawer_close  /* "close drawer" description for accessibility */
                ) {
            public void onDrawerClosed(View view) {
                getActionBar().setTitle(mTitle);
                invalidateOptionsMenu(); // creates call to onPrepareOptionsMenu()
            }

            public void onDrawerOpened(View drawerView) {
                getActionBar().setTitle(mDrawerTitle);
                invalidateOptionsMenu(); // creates call to onPrepareOptionsMenu()
            }
        };
        mDrawerLayout.setDrawerListener(mDrawerToggle);

        if (savedInstanceState == null) {
            selectItem(0);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
        inflater.inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
        return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
    }

    /* Called whenever we call invalidateOptionsMenu() */
    @Override
    public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        // If the nav drawer is open, hide action items related to the content view
        boolean drawerOpen = mDrawerLayout.isDrawerOpen(mDrawerList);
        menu.findItem(R.id.action_websearch).setVisible(!drawerOpen);
        return super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
         // The action bar home/up action should open or close the drawer.
         // ActionBarDrawerToggle will take care of this.
        if (mDrawerToggle.onOptionsItemSelected(item)) {
            return true;
        }
        // Handle action buttons
        switch(item.getItemId()) {
        case R.id.action_websearch:
            // create intent to perform web search for this planet
            Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_WEB_SEARCH);
            intent.putExtra(SearchManager.QUERY, getActionBar().getTitle());
            // catch event that there's no activity to handle intent
            if (intent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
                startActivity(intent);
            } else {
                Toast.makeText(this, R.string.app_not_available, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            }
            return true;
        default:
            return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
        }
    }

    /* The click listner for ListView in the navigation drawer */
    private class DrawerItemClickListener implements ListView.OnItemClickListener {
        @Override
        public void onItemClick(AdapterView< ?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
            selectItem(position);
        }
    }

    private void selectItem(int position) {
        // update the main content by replacing fragments
        Fragment fragment = new PlanetFragment();
        Bundle args = new Bundle();
        args.putInt(PlanetFragment.ARG_PLANET_NUMBER, position);
        fragment.setArguments(args);

        FragmentManager fragmentManager = getFragmentManager();
        fragmentManager.beginTransaction().replace(R.id.content_frame, fragment).commit();

        // update selected item and title, then close the drawer
        mDrawerList.setItemChecked(position, true);
        setTitle(mPlanetTitles[position]);
        mDrawerLayout.closeDrawer(mDrawerList);
    }

    @Override
    public void setTitle(CharSequence title) {
        mTitle = title;
        getActionBar().setTitle(mTitle);
    }

    /**
     * When using the ActionBarDrawerToggle, you must call it during
     * onPostCreate() and onConfigurationChanged()...
     */

    @Override
    protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
        // Sync the toggle state after onRestoreInstanceState has occurred.
        mDrawerToggle.syncState();
    }

    @Override
    public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
        super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
        // Pass any configuration change to the drawer toggls
        mDrawerToggle.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
    }

    /**
     * Fragment that appears in the "content_frame", shows a planet
     */
    public static class PlanetFragment extends Fragment {
        public static final String ARG_PLANET_NUMBER = "planet_number";

        public PlanetFragment() {
            // Empty constructor required for fragment subclasses
        }

        @Override
        public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
                Bundle savedInstanceState) {
            View rootView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_planet, container, false);
            int i = getArguments().getInt(ARG_PLANET_NUMBER);
            String planet = getResources().getStringArray(R.array.planets_array)[i];

            int imageId = getResources().getIdentifier(planet.toLowerCase(Locale.getDefault()),
                            "drawable", getActivity().getPackageName());
            ((ImageView) rootView.findViewById(R.id.image)).setImageResource(imageId);
            getActivity().setTitle(planet);
            return rootView;
        }
    }
}

Please leave your valuable comments below.

You can download the complete source code from here.

6 thoughts on “Navigation Drawer Example in Android.

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  2. Pingback: SlidingDrawer in Android, A simple example.

  3. Surendra

    What if i have display .xml file while clicking instead of images?

    Reply
  4. Knut

    Hey,

    Could you please show me how to get the back-button to navigate to the previous fragment. Currently it’s just exiting the app. Spent hours trying to figure this out, any help would be appriciated!

    Thanks

    Reply
    1. James Post author

      While adding fragment just do a addtoBackStack(“optional_string_key_for_frag) to the transaction. Then you can go to prev fragment by hitting the back button.

      Reply

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