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In this video we'll add some meta-data and finally see the widget!
We just left off with needing
to update our manifest
0:00
to include our app WidgetProvider.
0:03
So let's head over to a manifest and
get to work.
0:05
Inside the application tags,
let's add a new receiver element and
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specify WidgetProvider as the name,
receiver and widgetProvider.
0:12
Then let's close the starting tag and
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next inside the receiver element
we need to add an intent filter.
0:20
And inside the intent filter,
we need to add an action
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with the name android.appwidget.action.,
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in all caps, APPWIDGET_UPDATE.
0:36
You can just copy and
paste it in from the teacher's notes.
0:40
The purpose of this intent
filter is to make sure that our
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app WidgetProvider will
receive it's update events.
0:45
All the other events
are sent automatically, so
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this is the only one
that we need to specify.
0:51
Next to finish out our manifest entry,
we need to add a metadata element
0:54
pointing to the resource that
contains this widget's information.
0:58
So, under the intent filter,
let's add a new metadata element, and
1:02
then let's add a name attribute, and let's
set this = android.appwidget.provider.
1:07
Next, we need to specify
the Android:resource resource, so
1:16
let's add that in there, and then let's
leave it as an empty string for now.
1:21
And that's all we need from our metadata
element, so let's close that out.
1:25
To finish off our widget, we just need to
provide an app WidgetProvider info object
1:29
as the resource here.
1:33
An app WidgetProvider info object
just specifies some basic features
1:34
of our widget, like how frequently it will
update, and what size it should start as.
1:39
Luckily, Android's got an easy way for
us to create one of these in XML.
1:44
Over in the project pane, let's start by
creating a new resource directory for
1:49
XML files.
1:54
New, Android resource directory,
and as the resource type,
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click xml, and then hit OK.
2:01
Then, let's add a new XML resource
file to our new directory, and
2:04
name it widget_info.
2:11
Next, since this isn't going
to be a preference screen,
2:14
let's change this element
to be appwidget-provider.
2:18
But before we move on, I want you to know
that this is still an app WidgetProvider
2:22
info object, not an appwidget-provider
as the tag would lead you to believe.
2:27
Also, let's get rid of the ending
tag as we won't be needing it.
2:32
Okay, so
inside our appwidget-provider info,
2:38
there's a few attributes about our
widget that we need to specify.
2:41
The first of these are the minWidth and
minHeight attributes,
2:44
these are basically just the default
width and height of a widget.
2:48
But since widgets are placed on a grid, we
can't always get exactly the size we want.
2:52
So we just set a minimum and Android makes
sure that we don't go smaller than that.
2:57
Let's set our minWidth and
minHeight to 50dp.
3:01
Next, let's specify
the updatePeriodMillis attribute,
3:06
and give it a value of 3 million and
600,000.
3:11
This specifies how frequently
our appwidget-provider will
3:15
receive calls to on update.
3:20
So, right now on update would
be triggered about once an hour.
3:22
Also, note that the fastest this is
allowed to go is once every 30 minutes.
3:27
The next attribute we need to
specify is initial layout and
3:32
we just need to set it equal to the layout
for our widget, so @layout/widget.
3:38
Next comes the resize mode,
3:45
here we specify how a user will
be allowed to resize the widget.
3:48
We're going to let users resize the widget
both horizontally and vertically.
3:52
So let's set this equal to horizontal, and
then a vertical pipe, and then vertical.
3:56
Finally, we need to specify
the widget category, and
4:02
since we're making a home screen widget,
let's just pick home_screen.
4:06
Now that we've conquered our widget info,
let's head back to our manifest and
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plug this in for
the resource at xml/widget_info.
4:15
We're all ready to run our app and
see if the widget works but
4:22
before we do that, let's make a quick
change to our run debug configuration.
4:25
Since we don't have an activity, we
shouldn't be trying to launch an activity.
4:30
So let's change Launch options
from Launch, Default Activity,
4:35
to Launch Nothing,
then let's hit OK and run the app.
4:40
Once the app is installed,
long press on a space on your home screen,
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pick the widgets option and
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then scroll down to list widget and
then add it to your home screen.
4:54
And there it is, a beautiful blue
square and if we long press on it,
5:03
we can resize it too, awesome.
5:08
We've covered a ton about widgets, and
5:13
we even got a working widget at this point
but there's still a bunch more to cover.
5:15
In the next video,
we'll add some interactions to our widget.
5:20
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