Change CheckBox checked with animation in RecyclerView

Question

If the user clicks on a CheckBox, it runs a very nice animation (on Lollipop).

However if i invoke myCheckBox.toggle() programatically, it does not run the animation, but immediately shows the new state. Is there a way to run the smooth animation when changing the checked state programatically?

EDIT: it turned out it does not run the animation when this is a RecyclerView item. It runs otherwise...

EDIT2: the problem lies in the item animator. It seems it kills of all other animations before starting its own. I guess this exact line causes the problem.

Answer 1

To solve this, you have to disable the default change animation, which kills all the other animations on the list items views. Please note this will remove the default cross-fade.

((SimpleItemAnimator) RecyclerView.getItemAnimator()).setSupportsChangeAnimations(false);

Answer 2

I know the question is a year old, but maybe we can get the discussion going again. RecyclerView still kills animation as of yet, and as I couldn't find any easy answer to this question I will gave it a try.

It is possible to animate inside the list using a Handler for the MainThread.

Handler mainHandler = new Handler(mContext.getMainLooper());
mainHandler.post(new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        holder.mCheckBox.toggle();
     }
});

This may be an overkill but works for any kind of animation, even inside onBindViewHolder. I strongly suggest checking if the animation should play beforehand, or it will play even when scrolling.