Can I preview the Action Bar in the graphical layout editor?

Question

I've noticed that all of the ApiDemos construct the Action Bar programmatically at runtime. I'd love to be able to see the Action Bar with icons and even tabs from within the graphical layout editor.

Is it possible to preview the Action Bar in the layout editor, or is it necessary to build the Action Bar at runtime vs. declaratively in XML? If so, why this limitation?

I know you can declare Action Bar items in a separate XML file, but I don't see any mechanism documented to connect the action bar items in the menu file to a particular layout. And I don't see any mention of declaring Action Bar tabs inside a layout.

Answer 1

You may need to implement a placeholder for it in your layout builder.

All that because the action bar actually been created in onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) by inflation command.

or just peek a suitable theme...