How to override RTL support on a layout in Android

Question

I set android:supportsRtl="true" in the <application> tag in AndroidManifest.xml, but I need to force one of the views to be left-to-right nonetheless, even when the language of the interface is Hebrew or Arabic. How can I force a specific view to be LTR in an RTL application?

Specifically, I want to force some linear layout to go left-to-right instead of the default right-to-left even when the language is right-to-left.

score 23 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 06 '15 at 05:53

23

Generally gravity="left" is enough to force text to be left-to-right. But it didn't help with the direction of a linear layout. The solution was to add android:layoutDirection="ltr".

answered Apr 06 '15 at 05:53

Ilya Kogan

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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 08 '18 at 11:55

4

<LinearLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layoutDirection="ltr">

for letf to right all layout content.

answered Aug 08 '18 at 11:55

Samet ÖZTOPRAK

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score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 12 '19 at 17:59

To complete the answers, aside from XML, layout direction can also be changed programmatically with ViewCompat.setLayoutDirection(view, LayoutDirection.RTL). This API can be used from API 19 and onwards, so If your min sdk version supports API below 19, an if-check needs to be performed:

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) {
            ViewCompat.setLayoutDirection(...)

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 24 '19 at 07:48

3

If you want to force your application to ltr even on rtl languages you don't need layout direction (it works on api>17) you can just set android:supportsRtl to false.

edited Jun 24 '19 at 07:48

adiga

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answered Jun 24 '19 at 07:43

Anice Jahanjoo

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How to override RTL support on a layout in Android

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