after I found out (sadly) that there is no easy way to create a simple border around a View, I was forced to use the 9-patch-image approach to get a border around my View.
So I read the short thing there is on the 9-patch and its easy enough to understand. I started the "Draw 9-patch" application that came with the Android SDK, opened up a very simple image I created in Paint and then... I got stuck.
According to the page (http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/draw9patch.html) I should be able to define those areas where the image can be expanded and so on, just by clicking on the edges ("Click within the 1-pixel perimeter to draw the lines that define the stretchable patches...").
So I try to do just that and absolutely nothing happens. I try to hold down SHIFT when clicking and also do the rigth-mouse-click, and nothing happens. When I move the mouse away from the 1-pixel perimiter I get a grey-and-red "marquee" (stripes).
Bottom line is: nothing happens no matter what I do.
Creating 9 patch background image using Photoshop:Draw the images in a regular way as you use to do in Photoshop. Make the 1px spacing around the image from all sides. And also make sure that the image doesn't have anything in this 1px area & has 100% transparency. Otherwise 9patch image will not work.
In Android Studio, right-click the PNG image you'd like to create a NinePatch image from, then click Create 9-patch file. Type a file name for your NinePatch image, and click OK. Your image will be created with the . 9.
A 9 patch image is a regular png (. PNG) image which is needful for android app developers where they require to wrap any content within a background image without pixelating the background image.
The tool definitely works, but make sure the image you create first does NOT have the .9.png extension. If it does, the draw9patch tool will assume the 1 pixel perimeter of your image is already setup as 9-patch. If you open an image with just a .png extension, the tool will add the 1 pixel perimeter and you will be able to manipulate it as described, and save it as 9-patch when you're done.
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