Change background color of selected item on a ListView

I want to know on how I can change the background color of the selected item on my listView. I only want to change the specific item clicked by the user, meaning if the user clicks another item it will be the one which is highlighted. Well since I want it to keep simple as possible and use the default android listview I used this code instead:

record_list.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> adapterView, View view, int i, long l) {
                try{
                    for (int ctr=0;ctr<=record_items.length;ctr++){
                        if(i==ctr){
                            record_list.getChildAt(ctr).setBackgroundColor(Color.CYAN);
                        }else{
                            record_list.getChildAt(ctr).setBackgroundColor(Color.WHITE);
                        }
                    }
                }
                catch (Exception e){
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
                Log.v("Selected item",record_list.getItemAtPosition(i));
            }
        });

Ok this one is working but the problem is that it's slow. Now I want to know if there's any other way around that I can do which will give the same output as I made.

I tried using record_list.getSelectedView().setBackgroundColor(Color.CYAN); but it gives me a null pointer exception.

I also tried the selector.xml but it also didn't do the trick. Furthermore, there is one properties here on ListView which is called listSelector. It's a drawable as said by the documentation "Drawable used to indicate the currently selected item in the list." I also believe that this should do the trick and yes it do the trick on my emulator but not on my galaxy tab. I also tried the other methods but nothing works as I wanted it to be.

You can keep track the position of the current selected element:

    OnItemClickListener listViewOnItemClick = new OnItemClickListener() {

        @Override
        public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> adapter, View arg1, int position, long id) {
                mSelectedItem = position;
                mAdapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
        }
    };

And override the getView method of your adapter:

    @Override
    public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
        final View view = View.inflate(context, R.layout.item_list, null);

        if (position == mSelectedItem) {
            // set your color
        }

        return view;
    }

For me it did the trick.

You can use a selector. Change the colors values and modify the below according to your needs.

bkg.xml in drawable folder

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:state_pressed="true" 
    android:drawable="@drawable/pressed" />
<item  android:state_focused="false" 
    android:drawable="@drawable/normal" />
</selector>

pressed.xml in drawable folder

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> 
<solid android:color="#FF1A47"/>  // color   
<stroke android:width="3dp"
        android:color="#0FECFF"/> // border
<padding android:left="5dp"
         android:top="5dp"
         android:right="5dp"
         android:bottom="5dp"/> 
<corners android:bottomRightRadius="7dp" // for rounded corners
         android:bottomLeftRadius="7dp" 
         android:topLeftRadius="7dp"
         android:topRightRadius="7dp"/> 
</shape>

normal.xml in drawable folder

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> 
<solid android:color="#FFFFFF"/>    
<stroke android:width="3dp"
        android:color="#0FECFF" />

<padding android:left="5dp"
         android:top="5dp"
         android:right="5dp"
         android:bottom="5dp"/> 
<corners android:bottomRightRadius="7dp"
         android:bottomLeftRadius="7dp" 
         android:topLeftRadius="7dp"
         android:topRightRadius="7dp"/> 
</shape>

Set the background drawable to listview custom layout to be inflated for each row

I recommend using a custom listview with a custom adapter.

  android:background="@drawable/bkg"     

If you have not used a custom adapter you can set the listselector to listview as below

   android:listSelector="@drawable/bkg" 

Define variable

private ListView mListView;

Initialize variable

mListView = (ListView)findViewById(R.id.list_view);

OnItemClickListener of listview

   mListView.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {

		@Override
		public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> adpterView, View view, int position,
				long id) {
			for (int i = 0; i < mListView.getChildCount(); i++) {
				if(position == i ){
					mListView.getChildAt(i).setBackgroundColor(Color.BLUE);		
				}else{
					mListView.getChildAt(i).setBackgroundColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
				}
			}
		}
	});

Build and run the project - Done

If you want to have the item remain highlighted after you have clicked it, you need to manually set it as being selected in the onItemClick listener

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16189651/android-listview-selected-item-stay-highlighted:

myList.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
    public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {   
	    view.setSelected(true); // <== Will cause the highlight to remain
		//... do more stuff		        		     
    }});

This assumes you have a state_selected item in your selector:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">  
  <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_pressed="true" android:drawable="@color/red" />
  <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_focused="true" android:drawable="@color/red" />
  <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_selected="true" android:drawable="@color/red" />
  <item android:drawable="@color/white" />
</selector>

Method 1:

Update ListView in the your xml layout activity/fragment:

<ListView
   ...
   android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
   android:listSelector="@android:color/darker_gray"
/>
      

That's it, you're done!

If you want a programmatic way to handle this then use method 2...

Method 2:

If you're using a ListFragment you can override onListItemClick(), using the view to set the colour. Save the current View selected to reset the colour of the last selection.

Please note, this only works on listviews that fit on one screen, as the view is recycled.

public class MyListFragment extends ListFragment {
    View previousSelectedItem;
...
    @Override
    public void onListItemClick(ListView parent, View v, int position, long id) {
        super.onListItemClick(parent, v, position, id);
        if (previousSelectedItem!=null) {
            previousSelectedItem.setBackgroundColor(Color.WHITE);
        }
        previousSelectedItem=v;
        v.setBackgroundColor(Color.BLUE);
    }
}

For those wondering what EXACTLY needs to be done to keep rows selected even as you scroll up down. It's the state_activated The rest is taken care of by internal functionality, you don't have to worry about toggle, and can select multiple items. I didn't need to use notifyDataSetChanged() or setSelected(true) methods.

Add this line to your selector file, for me drawable\row_background.xml

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

    <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_pressed="true" android:drawable="@android:color/holo_blue_light" />
    <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_focused="true" android:drawable="@android:color/holo_blue_bright" />
    <item android:state_enabled="true" android:state_selected="true" android:drawable="@android:color/holo_blue_light" />
    <item android:state_activated="true" android:drawable="@android:color/holo_blue_light" />

    <item android:drawable="@android:color/transparent"/>
</selector>

Then in layout\custom_row.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:padding="10dip"
        android:background="@drawable/row_background"
        android:orientation="vertical">
  <TextView
        android:id="@+id/line1"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content" />
</LinearLayout>

---

For more information, I'm using this with ListView Adapter, using myList.setChoiceMode(ListView.CHOICE_MODE_MULTIPLE_MODAL); and myList.setMultiChoiceModeListener(new MultiChoiceModeListener()...

from this example: http://www.androidbegin.com/tutorial/android-delete-multiple-selected-items-listview-tutorial/

Also, you (should) use this structure for your list-adapter coupling: List myList = new ArrayList();

instead of: ArrayList myList = new ArrayList();

Explanation: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2279030/type-list-vs-type-arraylist-in-java

First you can create selector xml file like below in your drawable folder drawable/list_item_selector.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <item android:state_activated="true">
      <shape android:shape="rectangle">
        <solid android:color="#333333" />
        <padding android:left="5dp" android:right="5dp" />
      </shape></item>
    <item><shape android:shape="rectangle">
            <solid android:color="#222222" />
        </shape></item>

</selector>

And then in your listview specify background as

android:background="@drawable/list_item_selector"

Simplest way I've found:

in your activity XML add these lines:

<ListView 
... 
android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
android:listSelector="#666666"
/>

or programatically set these properties:

listView.setSelector(Drawable selector)
listView.setSelector(int resourceId)

My particular example:

   <ListView
            android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
            android:listSelector="#666666"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:id="@+id/listView"/>

thanks to AJG: https://stackoverflow.com/a/25131125/1687010

I'm also doing the similar thing: highlight the selected list item's background (change it to red) and set text color within the item to white.

I can think out a "simple but not efficient" way: maintain a selected item's position in the custom adapter, and change it in the ListView's OnItemClickListener implement:

// The OnItemClickListener implementation
@Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
    mListViewAdapter.setSelectedItem(position);
}

// The custom Adapter
private int mSelectedPosition = -1;
public void setSelectedItem (int itemPosition) {
    mSelectedPosition = itemPosition;
    notifyDataSetChanged();
}

Then update the selected item's background and text color in getView() method.

// The custom Adapter
@Override
public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
    ...
    if (position == mSelectedPosition) {
        // customize the selected item's background and sub views
        convertView.setBackgroundColor(YOUR_HIGHLIGHT_COLOR);
        textView.setTextColor(TEXT_COLOR);
    } else {
        ...
    }
}

After searching for a while, I found that many people mentioned about to set android:listSelector="YOUR_SELECTOR". After tried for a while, I found the simplest way to highlight selected ListView item's background can be done with only two lines set to the ListView's layout resource:

android:choiceMode="singleChoice"
android:listSelector="YOUR_COLOR"

There's also other way to make it work, like customize activatedBackgroundIndicator theme. But I think that would be a much more generic solution since it will affect the whole theme.

View updateview;// above oncreate method
listView.setChoiceMode(ListView.CHOICE_MODE_SINGLE);


listView.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
         if (updateview != null) 
            updateview.setBackgroundColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
         updateview = view;   

         view.setBackgroundColor(Color.CYAN);
     }
});

use the below xml as listitem background it will solve all the issues. The selected will be highlighted though you scrolled down.

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

Thanks, Nagendra

I know this is a old question, but i give a simple solution for this need (without loops!):

//On your adapter create a variable:
private View lastSelectedItem;

//Define the folowing method:
private void toggleBackgroundItem(View view) {
    if (lastSelectedItem != null) {
        lastSelectedItem.setBackgroundColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
    }
    view.setBackgroundColor(getResources().getColor(R.color.colorPrimaryDark));
    lastSelectedItem = view;

}
//finally invoque the method onItemClick
lvSac.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener()

{
    @Override
    public void onItemClick (AdapterView < ? > adapterView, View view,int i, long l){

    toggleBackgroundItem(view);
}
}

In a ListView set:

android:choiceMode="singleChoice"

Create a selector for a background (drawable/selector_gray.xml):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:drawable="@color/gray" android:state_checked="true" />
    <item android:drawable="@color/white" />
</selector>

Add an item for a list:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<TextView
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:padding="5dp"
    android:background="@drawable/selector_gray"
    android:textColor="@color/colorPrimary"
    tools:text="Your text" />

In a ViewHolder you can inflate this item.

assume you want one item to be clicked each time. Then this code works well. Let's take the listview name as stlist

stList.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener() {
        @Override
        // here i overide the onitemclick method in onitemclick listener
            public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view,
                                int position, long id) {

            //color change
            //selected item colored

            for(int i=0; i<stList.getAdapter().getCount();i++)
            {
                stList.getChildAt(i).setBackgroundColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
            }

            parent.getChildAt(position).setBackgroundColor(Color.GRAY);
  
    });

This is a simple method that can handle selection even if the list is long as well:

public View getView(final int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    Holder holder=new Holder();
    View rowView;
    rowView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.list_item, null);
    //Handle your items.
    //StringHolder.mSelectedItem is a public static variable.
    if(getItemId(position)==StringHolder.mSelectedItem){
        rowView.setBackgroundColor(Color.LTGRAY);

    }else{
        rowView.setBackgroundColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
    }
    return rowView;
}

And then in your onclicklistener:

list.setOnItemClickListener(new AdapterView.OnItemClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> adapterView, View view, int i, long l) {
            StringHolder.mSelectedItem = catagoryAdapter.getItemId(i-1);
            catagoryAdapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
.....

nameofList.getChildAt(position).setBackgroundColor(RED);

worked for me

It's very simple. In the constructor of the "OnItemClick" use the parameter "view" which is the second one that represents the listView or GridView's items's view and it becomes the new item's view made by the adapterView it self. So to set new color ONLY to the SELECTED ITEM itself do as the following:

public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> adapterView, View view, int i, long l){ //view is instead of the view like textView , ImageView, or whatever view.setBackgroundColor(Color.green); }

If you do any different codes to set new color, you will face awkward behaviours like the green color will be applied to the unclicked item.