Android: Applying Styles and Themes

      (see also Creating separate Style documents and applying styles to widgets AND defining Themes for Activities or Applications)

3 ways to Apply Styles and Themes (Also 4th way--directly in code not showing)

• OPTION 1: Define the style attributes directly when defining the View -- DOES not separate style from content

  <EditText
      android:inputType="number"
      ... />

   

• OPTION 2: Create a separate style file stored in anyname.xml inside of res/values with the styles defined and then apply to an individual View, by adding the style attribute to a View element in the XML for your layout.
  

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
     <style name="Numbers">
        <item name="android:inputType">number</item>
        ...
     </style>
  
    ....more styles......
  </resources>

  NOW apply it in your layout.xml file

<EditText
    style="@style/Numbers"
    ... />

• OPTION 3: using THEMES to an entire Activity or application, by adding the android:theme attribute to the <activity> or<application> element in the Android manifest.

<application           

        android:icon=“@drawable/icon”

         *******

        android:theme=“@android:style/Theme.Dialog >

        <activity ******

</application>