How do I programmatically change ActionBar menuitem text colour?

Question

I have an actionBar with multiple items, I would like to change the colour of the text when the item is clicked. Is there anyway to do this programmatically? Please provide and example or any resources.

Thanks

  public void catalogClick(MenuItem item){
     //highlight menuitem etc.

  }

Answer 1

To change without defining a style resource, we can use SpannableString.

    @Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
            //To style first menu item
    MenuItem menuItem = menu.getItem(0);
    CharSequence menuTitle = menuItem.getTitle();
    SpannableString styledMenuTitle = new SpannableString(menuTitle);
    styledMenuTitle.setSpan(new ForegroundColorSpan(Color.parseColor("#00FFBB")), 0, menuTitle.length(), 0);
    menuItem.setTitle(styledMenuTitle);

    return super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
}

@Override
public boolean onMenuItemSelected(int featureId, MenuItem item) {

    Toast.makeText(this, item.getTitle() + " clicked!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
    return true;
}

As you format the text style, you will get "Invalid payload item type" exception. To avoid that, override onMenuItemSelected, and use return true or false.

Reference:

Android: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid payload item type

http://vardhan-justlikethat.blogspot.in/2013/02/solution-invalid-payload-item-type.html