Question

I have a ListView with custom_row , every row has a textView1 and a textView2 , the list has now 2 records , and i have a button that is not on the list.
When i click the button i want to get the text from textView2 of the 2 records.
Is it possible?

Answer 1

I would take a shortcut, you ListView is being populated by an Adapter that uses a dataset. This dataset can be almost any datastructure such as Array, ArrayList, etc.

The layout you define, such as custom_row in you case only defines the structure of your view i.e. “where” items will show within on item on the list.

On the other hand, it is still your responsibility to tell the ListView “what” to show within the textView1 and textView2. You do this using the Adapter which connects the ListView to the dataset. More often than not, the ListView is a one-to-one mapping of the dataset i.e. the first item on the list is the first item in you dataset (I don’t know what you are using for only two items, might be an array).

The ListView calls getCount() on the Adapter to find out how many total views there will be. It then call getView() for each view to be shown on the screen. It is in this method that you define what will actually show in a single view on the list (your custom_row).

Now you would know which entry of the dataset is supposed to populate which view in the ListView so you can just read it off there. For example, if your getView() does:

textView2.setText(getItem(position).getSomeTextField());

And the original dataset is an ArrayList named listDataSet

You could just do listDataSet.get(2).getSomeTextField()

NOTE: You will have to manage the scope of the dataset so that it’s visible from wherever you are calling.