Question

I have an XML file with 5 textviews, all with the same textSize. Currently, I define the size like this:

android:textSize="30dp"

However, I want a quick way to apply something like:

android:textSize="text_size"

Where textSize would be a variable I define somewhere, and can use wherever I want in my XML file. I tried defining these variables in the strings.xml file in the Android project, and calling them like this:

android:textSize="@string/text_size"

Where it would be defined like this in strings.xml

<string name="text_size">30dp</string>

It worked fine in Ecplise itself, and showed just fine in the Graphic Layout. But when I tried running the app on my phone, it crashed.

So, is there a way to define variables in my XML layout files? Thanks.

Answer 1

Your idea of putting it in strings.xml is close, but those values need to be set in a dimensions XML file. The documentation is here.

Using your example, you might make a file called res/values/my_dimens.xml. Then put in there

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <dimen name="my_text_size">30dp</dimen>
</resources>

Then to use it in your layout, just set

android:textSize="@dimen/my_text_size"