Android EdittextPreference Hint (android:hint)

Question

I have a preference screen with an EditTextPreference. How to set a hint

either in xml like

android:hint

or in code like

setHint(int), setHint(CharSequence hint)

on the EditTextPreference like on an EditText field? I assumed that it´s like on the EditText but i didn´t find anything like this. Thanks.

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 13 '12 at 20:03

8

It's exactly the same to set a hint in XML for an EditTextPreference as it is for an EditText:

android:hint="This is my hint"

This gets passed through to the EditText in the dialog.

This behaviour is confirmed here where it says "It is a subclass of DialogPreference and shows the EditText in a dialog. This EditText can be modified either programmatically via getEditText(), or through XML by setting any EditText attributes on the EditTextPreference."

answered Mar 13 '12 at 20:03

HexAndBugs

5,549
2
27
36

I can confirm that it works (CM 7,1). Thanks. This should be marked as the correct answer. – user1139880 Apr 03 '12 at 03:57

oferiko · Answer 2 · 2014-12-31T09:41:52.540

4

this is way better, as the accepted answer will not set a hint on the edittext but will set the text to the EditText (long live the small differene).

To really set a hint, use this code:

YourEditTextPreference.getEditText().setHint(R.string.some_hint);

you may also consider adding a summary so the preference will not be displayed with an empty summary

edited Dec 31 '14 at 09:41

answered Dec 30 '14 at 10:44

oferiko

1,927
2
16
17

Please add some explanation to your answer as well, e.g. as to why it is better. – StuartLC Dec 30 '14 at 11:48
this method has since been deprecated and removed. you can no longer access EditText from the EditTextPreference. – Angel Koh Jun 18 '20 at 07:01

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 13 '19 at 16:02

If you are using the AndroidX preference library, you can assign a hint using an OnBindEditTextListener in your PreferenceFragmentCompat:

@Override
public void onCreatePreferences(Bundle savedInstanceState, String rootKey) {
    PreferenceManager manager = getPreferenceManager();
    EditTextPreference textPref = manager.findPreference("myTextPreference");
    textPref.setOnBindEditTextListener(new EditTextPreference.OnBindEditTextListener() {
        @Override
        public void onBindEditText(@NonNull EditText editText) {
            editText.setHint(R.string.hint);
        }
    });
}

When the input field is empty, the hint should then be displayed as expected.

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 05 '20 at 16:44

Kotlin version (AndroidX preference library):

val editTextPref = findPreference<Preference>("prefKey") as EditTextPreference
editTextPref.setOnBindEditTextListener {
    it.hint = "My hint"
}

Works in emulator with Android 10 (API level 29).

At the same time, the hint specified in xml does not work:

<EditTextPreference
                android:key="prefKey"
                android:title="Title"
                android:hint="My hint"/>

Ovidiu Latcu · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-20T08:31:17.940

0

Use android:summary to give a brief description of your preference.

You can also set this dynamically using setSummary(CharSequence summary) .

EDIT: for giving a 'hint' you could use android:defaultValue .

edited Sep 20 '11 at 08:31

answered Sep 20 '11 at 08:26

Ovidiu Latcu

71,607
15
76
84

i know this, but is there no way to set a hint like on an edittext field? – user944351 Sep 20 '11 at 08:27
i already set the summary dynamically and defaultvalue is not really what i´m looking for, but anyway, thank you. – user944351 Sep 20 '11 at 08:34

score -1 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 18 '20 at 07:00

the way to set "Hints" is to use a summary provider as described in https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/settings/customize-your-settings

the idea is to print a default/hint when the value is null or empty - otherwise, just print out the preference value

val dobPreference: EditTextPreference? = findPreference("key_dob")

dobPreference?.summaryProvider = SummaryProvider<EditTextPreference> { pref ->

    if (pref.text.isNullOrBlank()) {
        "e.g. Enter your DOB in DDMMYYYY format" // the hint if pref is empty
    } else {
        pref.text // your preference value if it is not empty.
    }
}

You are not setting the `android:hint` value in your answer. The `SummaryProvider` is not needed here. — JJD, Sep 12 '20 at 17:06

Android EdittextPreference Hint (android:hint)

6 Answers6