CODEWITHSUNDEEP
android
KOTIOS
KOTIOS

Reputation: 11194

xml for multiple screen in android

i am working on 2.2 version of android and xml is designed according to this version Specification of emulator : version 2.2, Built-in : HVGA , Memory : 1024

and now i need this application to be transformed into 4.0 version of Samsung galaxy s3 but the screen are very streched and does not look good

thanks in advance if any help.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 966

Answers (2)

Anup Cowkur
Anup Cowkur

Reputation: 20563

You have to create multiple resources for your app. Android has 4 resolutions (ldpi,mdpi,hdpi and xhdpi) and 4 generalized screen sizes (small, medium, large and extra large). So you have to make 4 layouts (or 3 if you don't plan on supporting tablets, since tablets come under the extra large category) to support the screen sizes.

Here's a general guide:

put layouts for small, medium, large and extra large in your res/ folder as follows: 

res/layout/sample_layout.xml             // default layout
res/layout-small/sample_layout.xml       // layout for small screen size
res/layout-large/sample_layout.xml       // layout for large screen size
res/layout-xlarge/sample_layout.xml      // layout for extra large screen size

you can also use

res/layout-land/sample_layout.xml for landscape orientation for all screen sizes or you can target landscape layouts for specific screen sizes as res/layout-medium-land/sample_layout.xml

note that all the layouts have the same name.

once you have your layouts ready, you need to take care of image resolutions also

once again in your res/ folder add images like this:

res/drawable-ldpi/sample_image.png         // low density
res/drawable-mdpi/sample_image.png         // medium density
res/drawable-hdpi/sample_image.png         // high density
res/drawable-xhdpi/sample_image.png        // extra high density

once again, all the images have the same name.

general guidelines for designing images are:

ldpi is 0.75x dimensions of mdpi
hdpi is 1.5x dimensions of mdpi
xhdpi is 2x dimensinons of mdpi

generally, I design mdpi images for a 320x480 screen and then multiply the dimensions as per the above rules to get images for other resolutions.

Android will automatically select the best combination of layout and image depending on the device. For example, for a high resolution medium size device, layout-medium and high density image will be displayed to the user.

Make sure you create emulators for all these combinations and test your app thoroughly. here's the official docs for more info:

https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html

Upvotes: 5

Ram kiran Pachigolla
Ram kiran Pachigolla

Reputation: 21191

You have to maintain your xml files in 

res/layout/my_layout.xml             // layout for normal screen size ("default")
res/layout-small/my_layout.xml       // layout for small screen size
res/layout-large/my_layout.xml       // layout for large screen size
res/layout-xlarge/my_layout.xml      // layout for extra large screen size
res/layout-xlarge-land/my_layout.xml // layout for extra large in landscape orientation

Check this Supporting Multiple Screens for how to design your layout for supporting multiple screens

and also for images use 

 res/drawable-mdpi/my_icon.png        // bitmap for medium density
 res/drawable-hdpi/my_icon.png        // bitmap for high density
 res/drawable-xhdpi/my_icon.png       // bitmap for extra high density

Upvotes: 0

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