Question

I have MenuItem defined this way:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/menu_starred"
        android:icon="@drawable/btn_star"
        android:title="@string/description_star"
        android:checkable="true"
        android:checked="true"
        android:orderInCategory="1"
        android:showAsAction="always" />
</menu>

and btn_star.xml defined this way:

<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item 
        android:state_checked="false" 
        android:drawable="@drawable/btn_star_off_normal" />
    <item 
        android:state_checked="true"
        android:drawable="@drawable/btn_star_on_normal" />
</selector>

When I create an options menu using this, however, the icon is never shown in its checked state, even if the MenuItem‘s isChecked() property is true.

I’m using the ActionBarSherlock control, however, I’m getting the same result if I simply create a normal options menu and call setChecked(true). It still displays the btn_star_off drawable regardless of the checked state of the item.

The onOptionsItemSelected() method is being called correctly, and I can successfully change the checked property:

@Override
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
        if(item.isCheckable()) {
            item.setChecked(!item.isChecked());
        }
        return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}

Setting a breakpoint here shows the isChecked property being changed, but the icon itself is not updated to reflect the correct state.

Is there something I’m missing here? Am I doing this incorrectly? I can’t figure out why this wouldn’t be working correctly.

Answer 1

According to the official document at http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/menus.html

Note: Menu items in the Icon Menu (from the Options Menu) cannot
display a checkbox or radio button. If you choose to make items in the
Icon Menu checkable, you must manually indicate the checked state by
swapping the icon and/or text each time the state changes.

Hope it helps.