Android transparent overlay without View

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

We’re not going to use ViewOverlay here. We’ll use Dialog instead. The overlay does not show on button click. What I did was let the overlay appear when the activity is loaded. First, create the XML file for the contents of that dialog overlay. \app\src\main\res\layout\popup_content.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:background="#78000000"
android:padding="@dimen/activity_margin"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">
<TextView
android:textColor="#ffffff"
android:text="This is your dialog with transparent background."
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/btn_close_overlay"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="@color/colorPrimary"
android:textColor="#ffffff"
android:text="Dismiss"/>
</LinearLayout>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

android:orientation="vertical"

android:background="#78000000"

android:padding="@dimen/activity_margin"

android:layout_width="match_parent"

android:layout_height="match_parent">

<TextView

android:textColor="#ffffff"

android:text="This is your dialog with transparent background."

android:layout_width="wrap_content"

android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

<Button

android:id="@+id/btn_close_overlay"

android:layout_width="wrap_content"

android:layout_height="wrap_content"

android:background="@color/colorPrimary"

android:textColor="#ffffff"

android:text="Dismiss"/>

</LinearLayout>

Then add the following code into your activity’s Java […]

Android app dev: background image sizes for different screen sizes

January 19, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

Here are the recommended background image sizes in pixels for Android app development: xxxhdpi: 1280×1920 px xxhdpi: 960×1600 px xhdpi: 640×960 px hdpi: 480×800 px mdpi: 320×480 px ldpi: 240×320 px …as suggested in this StackOverflow page: Android: Background Image Size (in Pixel) which Support All Devices

Android ImageView has unwanted padding: layout troubleshooting

January 19, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

If you use ImageView in your android app layout and you get that unwanted padding around the image, here’s an Android XML attribute that helped me solved the layout issue:

<ImageView
  (...)
  android:adjustViewBounds="true" />

<ImageView

(...)

android:adjustViewBounds="true" />

Add android:adjustViewBounds=”true” attribute to your ImageView XML tag and you’ll probably see the unwanted padding go away. According to the ImageView docs: android:adjustViewBounds Set […]

Android app dev: image sizes for variety of screen sizes

January 18, 2016May 25, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

As a mobile app developer, we need to consider various screen sizes for a wide range of Android devices. Here’s a quick note of recommended image sizes for Android app icons: 36×36 for low-density (LDPI) 48×48 for medium-density (MDPI) 72×72 for high-density (HDPI) 96×96 for extra high-density (XHDPI) 180×180 for extra extra high-density (XXHDPI) 192×192 […]

Laravel 5 Folder Structure, Before and After

January 8, 2016January 7, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

Hey! 🙂 This is a page I’m preparing quickly for developers who are used to the folder structure of Laravel 4 and older, just to serve as reference on where we can find things in Laravel 5 now. If like me, you are new to Laravel 5 but have developed apps using older Laravel versions, […]

Charlotte – anime review

January 6, 2016January 8, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

This would be a shorter than usual anime review from me. Just some random thoughts about Charlotte anime. I usually watch the anime series that my office friends and my boyfriend recommend. My boyfriend didn’t like Charlotte that much, but I watched it anyway because it’s one of the series I copied from a friend. […]

Get started: Android Studio app development on Windows 7 (Tested on LG G3 phone)

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 Catzie Leave a comment

You can still follow this tutorial if you’re using another version of Windows or if you’re using another Android device. You don’t strictly have to use a Windows 7 computer and an LG G3 phone. 🙂 Being a web developer and a frequent user of Android devices, I’ve always been curious about Android app development. […]

Steins;Gate anime review

December 31, 2015 Catzie Leave a comment

I just finished watching all episodes of the anime Steins;Gate and I LOVED it! It’s about “mad scientist” Okabe Rintarou and his lab mates, who accidentally discovered/invent a “Phone Microwave” that could send messages to the past. Their experiments and curiosity led into consequences that they couldn’t handle. Art in Steins;Gate anime I like the […]

Tuna Patties: recipe for low carb diet

December 21, 2015December 20, 2015 Catzie Leave a comment

THIS is probably the best so far low carb recipe that I’ve tried! These tuna patties are very tasty and satisfying, and you don’t even have to buy fresh tuna fish. They taste amazing even with canned tuna. Tastes Ingredients: 425 grams canned tuna, drained 3 beaten eggs 1/4 cup red onion, minced 18 pcs […]

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower: recipe for low carb diet

December 20, 2015 Catzie Leave a comment

This is a low carb version of mashed potato. I adapted the “Better than Potatoes” Cheesy Cauliflower Puree recipe from ibreatheimhungry.com. Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower (mine weighed 192 grams after cleaning and trimming) 3 Tbsp heavy cream (I used Anchor brand) 28 grams butter 1.5 oz cheddar cheese salt and pepper to taste Procedures: Clean […]