5 Creative Ways to Style Your Android TextView

As an Android developer, you know that TextViews are an essential part of any app. They allow you to display text, links, and other content to your users. But beyond just displaying static text, there are many creative ways to style and customize TextViews to make your app stand out.

One easy way to add personality to your app is by using custom fonts. By default, Android apps use the system font, which can be dull and unmemorable. By using a custom font, you can give your app a unique look and feel that will help it stand out.

Another way to style TextViews is by playing with text color, size, and alignment. By using different colors and sizes, you can create a visual hierarchy and balance within your app. For example, you might make headings larger and bolder than the body text, or use color to highlight important information.

TextViews can also be enhanced with shadows and outlines. These effects can make text stand out against busy backgrounds and make it easier to read. Just be sure to use them sparingly, as too many effects can be overwhelming.

HTML tags can also be used within TextViews to add formattings such as links, lists, and bold or italic text. This can be especially useful for displaying content that requires a specific layout, such as a terms and conditions page.

Finally, don’t be afraid to add a little bit of animation to your TextViews. Animating text changes can draw the user’s attention and add a dynamic element to your app. Just be sure to use animations sparingly and in a way that enhances the user experience.

Here I explain 5 Creative Ways to Style Your Android TextViews

1. Use custom fonts to add personality and branding to your app.

2. Experiment with text color, size, and alignment to create visual hierarchy and balance.

3. Add shadows or outlines to make text stand out against backgrounds.

4. Use HTML tags within your text to add links, lists, and another formatting.

5. Animate text changes to draw the user’s attention and add a dynamic element to your app.

Use custom fonts to add personality and branding to your app.

To use custom fonts in your Android app, you will need to add the font files to your project and then apply the font to your TextViews using the Typeface class. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Download or purchase the font files that you want to use. These will typically be in the .ttf or .otf format.
2. Add the font files to your app’s assets folder.
3. In your layout XML file, set the font for a TextView using the android:fontFamily attribute. For example:

   <TextView
       android:layout_width="wrap_content"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:fontFamily="@font/my_custom_font"
       ... />
   

   4. If you want to apply the font programmatically, you can use the Typeface class. First, create a Typeface object by passing in the font file name and the context:

      Typeface typeface = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "fonts/my_custom_font.ttf");
      

      5. Then, call the setTypeface method on your TextView and pass in the Typeface object:

         textView.setTypeface(typeface);
         

You should now see your custom font applied to the TextView. Keep in mind that you will need to obtain the appropriate licenses for any fonts that you use in your app.

Experiment with text color, size, and alignment to create visual hierarchy and balance.

Text color, size, and alignment are important design elements that can help create visual hierarchy and balance within your app. Here are a few ways to experiment with these elements in your Android TextViews:

1. To set the text color, use the android:textColor attribute in your layout XML file, or call the setTextColor the method in your code. For example:

   <TextView
       android:layout_width="wrap_content"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:textColor="#FF0000"
       ... />
   

   textView.setTextColor(Color.parseColor("#FF0000"));
   

   2. To set the text size, use the android:textSize attribute in your layout XML file, or call the setTextSize method in your code. You can use either specific dimension values (e.g. “14sp”) or predefined text size constants (e.g. “normal”).
   3. To set the text alignment, use the android:gravity attribute in your layout XML file, or call the setGravity method in your code. You can use the center, left, right, top, and bottom constants to align the text horizontally or vertically.

   By experimenting with different combinations of text color, size, and alignment, you can create a visual hierarchy and balance within your app. For example, you might use larger, bold text for headings, and smaller, regular-weight text for body copy. You can also use color to highlight important information or create contrast between different sections of your app. Just be sure to use these design elements in a way that enhances the user experience and helps guide the user’s attention.

Add shadows or outlines to make text stand out against backgrounds.

To add shadows or outlines to your Android TextViews, you will need to use the android:shadowColor, android:shadowDx, android:shadowDy, and android:shadowRadius attributes in your layout XML file, or use the setShadowLayer the method in your code.

Here’s an example of how to use these attributes in a layout XML file to add a shadow to a TextView:

<TextView
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:shadowColor="#000000"
    android:shadowDx="2"
    android:shadowDy="2"
    android:shadowRadius="2"
    ... />

To add an outline, or stroke, to the text, you can use the same attributes, but set the android:shadowColor to the color of the outline and set the android:shadowRadius to a larger value.

Here’s an example of how to use the setShadowLayer method in code to add a shadow to a TextView:

textView.setShadowLayer(2, 2, 2, Color.BLACK);

Keep in mind that shadows and outlines can make text more difficult to read, so use them sparingly and only when they enhance the design of your app.

Use HTML tags within your text to add links, lists, and another formatting.

To use HTML tags within an Android TextView, you will need to use the setText method and pass in a Spanned object created from the HTML string. You can use the HtmlCompat.fromHtml method to create the Spanned object from an HTML string.

Here’s an example of how to use HTML tags to add a link to a TextView:

String htmlString = "Click <a href='https://www.example.com'>here</a> to visit the example website.";
Spanned spanned = HtmlCompat.fromHtml(htmlString, HtmlCompat.FROM_HTML_MODE_LEGACY);
textView.setText(spanned);

You can also use other HTML tags such as <b>, <i>, <u>, and <li> to format the text. For example:

String htmlString = "This is a <b>bold</b> text. This is an <i>italic</i> text. This is an <u>underlined</u> text.";
Spanned spanned = HtmlCompat.fromHtml(htmlString, HtmlCompat.FROM_HTML_MODE_LEGACY);
textView.setText(spanned);

String htmlString = "<ul><li>Item 1</li><li>Item 2</li><li>Item 3</li></ul>";
Spanned spanned = HtmlCompat.fromHtml(htmlString, HtmlCompat.FROM_HTML_MODE_LEGACY);
textView.setText(spanned);

Keep in mind that using HTML tags within a TextView may not be the most efficient way to format text, as the HTML string needs to be parsed and converted to a Spanned object. In cases where you need to display large amounts of formatted text, it may be better to use a web view or a third-party library such as MarkdownView.

Animate text changes to draw the user’s attention and add a dynamic element to your app.

To animate text changes in an Android TextView, you can use the ObjectAnimator class from the Android Animation library. The ObjectAnimator class allows you to animate any object’s property, including the text of a TextView.

Here’s an example of how to use ObjectAnimator to animate the text of a TextView:

1. Add the androidx.interpolator.view.animation:interpolator-library dependency to your app’s build.gradle file.
2. In your code, create an ObjectAnimator object and pass in the TextView and the property you want to animate (in this case, “text”). Set the start and end values for the animation.

   ObjectAnimator animator = ObjectAnimator.ofObject(textView, "text", new TypeEvaluator<CharSequence>() {
       @Override
       public CharSequence evaluate(float fraction, CharSequence startValue, CharSequence endValue) {
           return endValue.subSequence(0, (int) (endValue.length() * fraction));
       }
   }, "Start Text", "End Text");
   

   3. Set any additional animation properties such as duration, interpolator, and repeat mode.

      animator.setDuration(1000);
      animator.setInterpolator(new AccelerateDecelerateInterpolator());
      animator.setRepeatMode(ValueAnimator.REVERSE);
      animator.setRepeatCount(ValueAnimator.INFINITE);
      

      4. Start the animation by calling the start method.

         animator.start();
         

         That’s it! You should now see the text of the TextView animating between the start and end values. Just be sure to use animations sparingly and in a way that enhances the user experience.

In conclusion, there are many creative ways to style and customize Android TextViews. From custom fonts and color to shadows and animation, the possibilities are endless. Experiment with these techniques to add personality and uniqueness to your app.

for more information, you can Visit Here. if you want to read our other posts you can check our blog section