Question

I am using a TabHost which has 3 tabs. Each tab has a image + text.

spec = tabHost.newTabSpec("MyTasks")
           .setIndicator(Html.fromHtml("<b><H2>My Tasks</H2></b>"),  getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.task ))
               .setContent(intent);    
   tabHost.addTab(spec); 

I want to change image when I select a tab. I used following code to change it …

 TabWidget tw = getTabWidget(); 
   View leftTabView = tw.getChildAt(0); 
   leftTabView.setBackgroundDrawable(getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.tab1_drawable)); 

tab1_drawable is a xml (selector and items for each state). THIS IS SETTING AND CHANGING BACKGROUND NOT THE IMAGE I SET. How can I change it?

Answer 1

Instead of changing the drawable through code, why not use a state-list drawable? Then you’d just specify a different drawable for the tab when it is selected.

Example, ic_tab_tasks.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:drawable="@drawable/ic_tab_tasks_selected"
          android:state_selected="true" />
    <item android:drawable="@drawable/ic_tab_tasks_normal" />
</selector>

Then, when you’re setting the tab indicator’s drawable initially, just use the state-list drawable.