Changing AppWidget's background dynamically with a 9 patch drawable

Question

There is no setBackground() method in the RemoteViews class, so I've used the following workaround:

Created a FrameLayout for my app widget with an ImageView as the background view.
Changed the ImageView image using setImageViewResource() method.

Unfortunately, when it comes to 9-patch drawables this method does not work. Also when an ImageView's android:src attribute points to 9-patch - it doesn't work too. Is there any way to change the AppWidget's background image programatically using a 9-patch drawable? Thanks in advance.

EDIT Settings the 9-patch as initial background in the XML:

<ImageView
    android:id="@+id/small_widget_layout_bg"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:background="@drawable/background_lime" />

When I use android:src="@drawable/background_lime" it doesn't stretch the image properly, this code works fine. And the code to change the background from the AppWidgetProvider onUpdate method:

views.setImageViewResource(R.id.small_widget_layout_bg,
                    R.drawable.backgroung_lime);

This does not stretch the image as a 9-patch.

@ReubenScratton, The 9-patch isn't stretched properly, it's just centered and stretched awfully like a simple PNG drawable. — Egor, Feb 27 '12 at 10:50
Are you certain your 9-patch is valid? i.e. draws properly in a normal, in-process context. I'm pretty sure I've done this without issue before... — Reuben Scratton, Feb 27 '12 at 10:52
@ReubenScratton, Yes, the 9-patch is absolutely valid. If I set as an initial background for the app widget in XML - it resizes perfectly. — Egor, Feb 27 '12 at 10:57
Re "initial background", you mean you set it as android:src and it works fine, just not when you change the exact same property via RemoteViews? — Reuben Scratton, Feb 27 '12 at 11:07
@ReubenScratton, Actually, it doesn't work either when I set it as android:src, but when it's set as android:background - it works fine. — Egor, Feb 27 '12 at 11:12
it sounds like it doesnT recognize it as a 9-patch actually, could you post how you set it in the codebehind? — Orkun, Feb 27 '12 at 11:18
Isn't that a general ImageView thing? What happens if you set the ImageView scaleType to "fitXY"? — Reuben Scratton, Feb 27 '12 at 11:19
@ReubenScratton, I've tried it and it works perfectly! Thanks! Please add your comment as an answer so I can accept it. — Egor, Feb 27 '12 at 11:28

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 27 '12 at 12:07

5

This answer was diagnosed in the above comments...

RemoteView doesn't allow access to View.setBackground(), so your workaround of using the android:src property of an ImageView is good, providing that the android:scaleType property is set to fitXY.

ImageView won't stretch it's foreground image unless you tell it to.

edited Feb 27 '12 at 12:07

Orkun

6,998
8
56
103

answered Feb 27 '12 at 11:40

Reuben Scratton

38,595
9
77
86

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:52

Please ignore if u find this trivial or irrelevant, but canT you try (assuming you are dealing with widgets):

Declaring different layouts (xml)for your widget.
Change the remoteView's source (layout.id) instead of trying to make alterations to the selected layout.

AFAIK, this is the most common approach to solving such problems. This is not perfect for two simple things I could note myself:

What do you do if you have n different "states" / "views" in your widget?

But as long as your 9-patch files are also static resources, n is painful but still theoretically manageable.

It s tedious to keep track of the changes in these parallel files.

I'd also love to find an easy way for this one...

This approach may not be an option for you also because it is basically the hard way. But it s an option nonetheless.

Suggestion #2

Have you tried using the method?

public void setInt (int viewId, String methodName, int value)

remoteView.setInt(R.id.viewid, "setBackgroundResource", R.drawable.backgroung_lime);

From another question: Change remoteView ImageView background

This question is concerned with [App Widgets](http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html); Home Screen 'plugins'. `remoteViews` is not the OP's own class. — Julian Fondren, Feb 27 '12 at 11:36
yeah i guess. Did i make it sound like it was a custom class? cos it wasnT the intention. i ll edit. — Orkun, Feb 27 '12 at 11:40
@Zortkun u deserve +1 up vote for your suggestion #2. it solved my problem like a charm :) — Prativa, Dec 18 '12 at 07:32

Changing AppWidget's background dynamically with a 9 patch drawable

2 Answers2