Android Studio - view both Text and Design preview of layout - android-studio

In Android Studio, how can I view both the text and design preview of an XML layout side by side.
I could see it by default when I installed Studio, but now that is gone,
and I'm not sure why. I can only see or the other.
How do I re-enable it?

Open your [whatever].xml. At the bottom you'll see Design and Text. Select Text. If you still can't see the actual layout, only xml, then select "Preview" which is located at the right of the window, between Gradle and Maven Projects.

Click on preview while text is selected.

At first, select your desired .xml layout from the Project tab then use Code, Split and Design buttons to switch between the views. (Android Studio 3.6)
Code - Display only XML part
Split- Display XML and design both
Design- Only design part

It appears that in Android 3.6.1, the buttons to select Design, Split, or Code have been placed in the upper right of the XML layout screen.

Select any one from the top right options to change the view of your Code and Design

You can split the tab by right-clicking on the tab and selecting either Split Horizontally or Split Vertically. Then, you can select the Design tab on one and the Text tab on the other.

Related

Why does Android Studio never show layout decorations when I open it?

As you can see in the image below, every time I open a project in Android Studio, the layout decorations option is deselected. How can I have it selected for default?
look on the top left of constraintLayout that you currently open, click on the eye icon and then click Show Layout Decorations. then you will be able to see it. but i don't know how to access it.
I think is not possible. I never see about that the solution

Android Studio - How to change layout

In Eclipse, I can right - click on my layout (say LinearLayout) and click on Change Layout
In Android Studio, I dont see anything like that. I do see Morphing but that will now show up at all times. For example, if you create simple HalloWorld with RelativeLayout, if you right click on that Layout while in Graphical mode, Morphing will not show.
If you right click on a widget in that layout, Morphing shows but to change widget type, not layout type.
If you want to change the Layout, you can do Two things:
OPTION 1
1. Simply click into your Xml file and select the "Text" option at the bottom on your screen
2.Change to layout
OPTION 2
1.Just drag another layout in Design and put your items in it, delete your old layout PS. you can have layouts in other layouts
Hope I helped!
In Android Studio 3.6.3 the easiest way to change the Layout is to right-click on the layout in your Component Tree and click Convert view….
The other option is to delete this layout and create new activity layout with type you want to be.
You also can use AbsoluteLayout, just change RelativeLayout to AbsoluteLayout in activity_main.xml. With AbsoluteLayout you're more "free"

Switching TabHost Tabs in Android Studio UI Designer

How can I switch between the tabs of a TabHost in the UI Designer for inserting content? Is there a keyboard shortcut or something else
I found a way to visualise any tab using TabHost in the UI Designer. Is probably not the best way, but it works.
1. Go to the Component Tree, where you have all the elements of the UI.
2. Inside the FrameLayout that TabHost automatically creates for you, there are the tabs.
3. If you change the order of the tabs just drag and dropping in the Component Tree, you get to see the one that is placed in the first position.
UPDATE:
According to this answer there is no way to change the tabs of a TabHost. That question refers to IntelliJ; I don't know if it applies to Android Studio.
Also, it seems that TabHost has been replaced by FragmentActivity and ActionBar. See Android how can i replace the deprecated tabhost? for a discussion.
It is defined as "Select next Tab in multi-editor file" in Settings -> Keymap.
On Windows it seems to default to CRTL+SHIFT+RIGHT/LEFT or ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT/LEFT. On my Mac it defaults to CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT/LEFT.
Note that Studio doesn't allow the default Keymap to be edited so you will first need to copy the default and give it a new name.
Also see Shortcut to switch between design and text in android studio.
By mouse, select the FrameLayout then long left click on any space in it.

How re-enable design palette in Android Studio

I recently made the switch to Android Studio as my default IDE for Android development. When designing my UI I normally use the palette in the design view to assist in arranging the widget on the preview screen.Recently something weird happened, It just disappeared and I can't seem to re-enable it. Normally I would see the little Palette button on the side but now its gone. When I open another project I see the palette but not show this current project I'm working on.
When I open another project in Android Studio I see the palette tab.
I've just figured this out! If you double click on your .xml file tab at the top it will maximize the designer window. Then on the left you can drag the window to shrink and it will reveal the palette. Then just click on the tab on the left to open the project window.
try the Design/Text tabs in the lower left of the layout window
The palette can be shrunk to 0 width. This can be expanded by hovering next to the left edge of the design window, and finding the right-most expand position.
If you have only the designer and the properties showing and the Properties is on the right, you can get the palette back by switching to a left or right view.
Right click on the .xml file tab. Select "split vertically". This will open another Design that shows the palette again.
Android Studio 2.3.3, and the answer I was looking for:
Window -> Restore Default Layout (Shift+F12)
First Close All The Tabs Then Open res->layout->activity_main.xml
you will able to see design tab at activity_main.xml
Try to switch between Design/Text tabs at the bottom left of the editor.
You must have something in the layout resource highlighted. I also had to compile without an error.
My solution was traversing
src->main->res-layout->content_main.xml
then open content_main.xml
You have to be in the 'Design' tab (as opposed to the 'Text' tab) at the bottom of the middle window (the one that shows the phone).

What is this "pull down" icon in Visual Studio 2012 text editor used for?

The icon below shows at the top of the vertical scrollbar in Visual Studio 2012's text editor. When I drag it down, another page shows behind the current visible page. It looks like a copy of it. (I am using dark theme)
What is it used for? I don't know what the feature is called, therefore I couldn't search for it. I am not sure if it's native to VS 2012 or it's from one of the VS add-ons I am using.
Sometimes the icon disappears. Why?
It's for split viewing of a file. So you can view part of the file and edit another part.
It's a common feature in advanced text editors.

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