Does setWidth(int pixels) use dip or px?

Question

Does setWidth(int pixels) use device independent pixel or physical pixel as unit? For example, does setWidth(100) set the a view's width to 100 dips or 100 pxs?

Thanks.

Answer 1

It uses pixels, but I'm sure you're wondering how to use dips instead. The answer is in TypedValue.applyDimension(). Here's an example of how to convert dips to px in code:

// Converts 14 dip into its equivalent px Resources r = getResources(); int px = Math.round(TypedValue.applyDimension(     TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_DIP, 14,r.getDisplayMetrics())); 

Answer 2

The correct way to obtain a constant number of DIPs in code is to create a resources XML file containing dp values a bit like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <resources>     <dimen name="image_width">100dp</dimen>     <dimen name="image_height">75dp</dimen> </resources> 

Then refer to the resource in your code like so:

float width = getResources().getDimension(R.dimen.image_width)); float height = getResources().getDimension(R.dimen.image_height)); 

The float you have returned will be scaled accordingly for the pixel density of the device and so you don't need to keep replicating a conversion method throughout your application.