How to customize individual tabs? (changing background color, indicator color and text color)

Question

In this link : How do I apply a style programmatically?

Kevin Grant gave a explaination to this question my problem with his code is the context part. To be precise :

ctv = new CustomView(context, R.attr.tabStyleAttr);

In this code it says : context cannot be resolved to a variable

I want to apply specific style to tabs and that's why setting theme doesn't work for me. Any alternative to my problem is welcome too of course.

I try to change the background color, indicator color and text color of actionbar tabs.

@Override
public void onTabSelected(ActionBar.Tab tab, FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction) 
{
    CustomView ctv;
    ctv = new CustomView(this, R.attr.tabStyleAttr);        
    tab.setCustomView(ctv);  
    mViewPager.setCurrentItem(tab.getPosition());
}

styles.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <style name="Theme.Ab" parent="@android:style/Theme.Holo.Light">
        <item name="android:actionBarStyle">@style/abStyle</item> 
        <item name="@attr/actionBarTabStyle">@style/tabStyle</item>        
        <item name="android:actionBarTabTextStyle">@style/tabTextColor</item>
    </style>   

    <style name="abStyle" parent="@android:style/Widget.Holo.Light.ActionBar.Solid">
        <item name="android:background">@drawable/ab_solid_style</item>
        <item name="android:backgroundStacked">@drawable/ab_stacked_solid_style</item>
        <item name="android:backgroundSplit">@drawable/ab_bottom_solid_style</item>
        <item name="android:height">100dp</item>
    </style>    

    <style name="tabStyle" parent="@android:style/Widget.Holo.Light.ActionBar.TabView">

        <item name="android:background">@drawable/tab_indicator_ab_style</item>
    </style>

    <style name="tabTextColor" parent="@android:style/Widget.Holo.Light.ActionBar.TabText">
        <item name="android:textColor">@android:color/white</item>
    </style>



</resources>

MainActivity.java (onCreate)

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {       
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        // Create the adapter that will return a fragment for each of the three primary sections
        // of the app.
        mAppSectionsPagerAdapter = new AppSectionsPagerAdapter(getSupportFragmentManager());

        // Set up the action bar.
        final ActionBar actionBar = getActionBar();
        //set custom actionbar
        actionBar.setCustomView(R.layout.titlebar);
        //Displays the custom design in the actionbar
        actionBar.setDisplayShowCustomEnabled(true);
        //Turns the homeIcon a View     
        View homeIcon = findViewById(android.R.id.home);
        //Hides the View (and so the icon)
        ((View)homeIcon.getParent()).setVisibility(View.GONE);

        // Specify that we will be displaying tabs in the action bar.
        actionBar.setNavigationMode(ActionBar.NAVIGATION_MODE_TABS);

        // Set up the ViewPager, attaching the adapter and setting up a listener for when the
        // user swipes between sections.
        mViewPager = (ViewPager) findViewById(R.id.pager);
        mViewPager.setAdapter(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter);

        mViewPager.setOnPageChangeListener(new ViewPager.SimpleOnPageChangeListener()
        {           
            @Override
            public void onPageSelected(int position)
            {
                    // When swiping between different app sections, select the corresponding tab.
                    // We can also use ActionBar.Tab#select() to do this if we have a reference to the Tab.
                    actionBar.setSelectedNavigationItem(position);
            }
        });

        // For each of the sections in the app, add a tab to the action bar.
        for (int i = 0; i < mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getCount(); i++)
        {

            // Create a tab with text corresponding to the page title defined by the adapter.
            // Also specify this Activity object, which implements the TabListener interface, as the
            // listener for when this tab is selected.
            Tab tab = actionBar.newTab().setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(i)).setTabListener(this);            
            actionBar.addTab(tab);
        }
    }

This is what I want to make:

---

As for the new result using Views this happened

MainActivity.java

package com.example.android.effectivenavigation;

import android.app.ActionBar;
import android.app.ActionBar.Tab;
import android.app.FragmentTransaction;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentPagerAdapter;
import android.support.v4.view.ViewPager;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends FragmentActivity implements ActionBar.TabListener
{
    AppSectionsPagerAdapter mAppSectionsPagerAdapter;
    //The viewpager displays on of the section at a time
    ViewPager mViewPager;

    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {       
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        // Create the adapter that will return a fragment for each of the three primary sections
        // of the app.
        mAppSectionsPagerAdapter = new AppSectionsPagerAdapter(getSupportFragmentManager());

        // Set up the action bar.
        final ActionBar actionBar = getActionBar();
        //set custom actionbar
        actionBar.setCustomView(R.layout.titlebar);
        //Displays the custom design in the actionbar
        actionBar.setDisplayShowCustomEnabled(true);
        //Turns the homeIcon a View     
        View homeIcon = findViewById(android.R.id.home);
        //Hides the View (and so the icon)
        ((View)homeIcon.getParent()).setVisibility(View.GONE);


        // Specify that we will be displaying tabs in the action bar.
        actionBar.setNavigationMode(ActionBar.NAVIGATION_MODE_TABS);

        // Set up the ViewPager, attaching the adapter and setting up a listener for when the
        // user swipes between sections.
        mViewPager = (ViewPager) findViewById(R.id.pager);
        mViewPager.setAdapter(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter);

        mViewPager.setOnPageChangeListener(new ViewPager.SimpleOnPageChangeListener()
        {           
            @Override
            public void onPageSelected(int position)
            {
                    // When swiping between different app sections, select the corresponding tab.
                    // We can also use ActionBar.Tab#select() to do this if we have a reference to the Tab.
                    actionBar.setSelectedNavigationItem(position);
            }
        });
       /*final Tab firstTab = actionBar.newTab()
                .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(0))
                .setTabListener(this)
                .setCustomView(R.id.nieuws_tab_layout);
        /*final Tab secondTab = actionBar.newTab()
                 .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(1))
                 .setCustomView(R.id.nieuws_tab_layout);
        final Tab thirdTab = actionBar.newTab()
                .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(2))
                .setCustomView(R.id.nieuws_tab_layout);

        actionBar.addTab(firstTab);
        actionBar.addTab(secondTab);
        actionBar.addTab(thirdTab);*/

        // For each of the sections in the app, add a tab to the action bar.
        for (int i = 0; i < mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getCount(); i++)
        {
            if(i == 0)
            {
                final View firstCustomView = new CustomView(this);
                //firstCustomView.setBackgroundColor(Color.BLUE);
                Tab tab = actionBar.newTab().setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(i)).setTabListener(this).setCustomView(R.layout.nieuws_tab_layout);
                actionBar.addTab(tab);
            }
            else
            {
            // Create a tab with text corresponding to the page title defined by the adapter.
            // Also specify this Activity object, which implements the TabListener interface, as the
            // listener for when this tab is selected.
            Tab tab = actionBar.newTab().setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(i)).setTabListener(this);            
            actionBar.addTab(tab);
            }
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onTabUnselected(ActionBar.Tab tab, FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction) 
    {
    }

    @Override
    public void onTabSelected(ActionBar.Tab tab, FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction) 
    {
        //CustomView ctv;
        //ctv = new CustomView(context, R.attr.tabStyleAttr);
        // When the given tab is selected, switch to the corresponding page in the ViewPager.
        //LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater) getSystemService(LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
        //View tabView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.nieuws_tab_layout, null);
        //tabView.setBackgroundColor(0xFF00FF00);
        //tab.setCustomView(tabView);  
        mViewPager.setCurrentItem(tab.getPosition());
    }

    @Override
    public void onTabReselected(ActionBar.Tab tab, FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction)
    {
    }

    public static class AppSectionsPagerAdapter extends FragmentPagerAdapter 
    {
        public AppSectionsPagerAdapter(FragmentManager fm)
        {
            super(fm);
        }

        @Override
        public Fragment getItem(int i) 
        {
            switch (i)
            {
                case 0:
                    // The first section of the app is the most interesting -- it offers
                    // a launchpad into the other demonstrations in this example application.
                    return new LaunchpadSectionFragment();

                default:
                    // The other sections of the app are dummy placeholders.
                    Fragment fragment = new DummySectionFragment();
                    Bundle args = new Bundle();
                    args.putInt(DummySectionFragment.ARG_SECTION_NUMBER, i + 1);
                    fragment.setArguments(args);
                    return fragment;
            }
        }

        @Override
        public int getCount()
        {
            return 3;
        }

        @Override
        public CharSequence getPageTitle(int position) 
        {
            switch(position)
            {
                case 0:
                {
                    return "Tab1";
                }
                case 1:
                {
                    return "Tab2";
                }
                case 2:
                {
                    return "Tab3";
                }
                default:
                {
                    return "Section " + (position + 1);
                }
            }
        }
    }
    public static class LaunchpadSectionFragment extends Fragment
    {
        @Override
        public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            View rootView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_section_launchpad, container, false);

            // Demonstration of a collection-browsing activity.
            rootView.findViewById(R.id.demo_collection_button).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener()
            {
                @Override
                public void onClick(View view) 
                {
                    Intent intent = new Intent(getActivity(), CollectionDemoActivity.class);
                    startActivity(intent);
                }
            });

            // Demonstration of navigating to external activities.
            rootView.findViewById(R.id.demo_external_activity).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener()
            {
                @Override
                public void onClick(View view)
                {
                    // Create an intent that asks the user to pick a photo, but using
                    // FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET, ensures that relaunching
                    // the application from the device home screen does not return
                    // to the external activity.
                    Intent externalActivityIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_PICK);
                    externalActivityIntent.setType("image/*");
                    externalActivityIntent.addFlags(
                    Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET);
                    startActivity(externalActivityIntent);
                }
            });
            return rootView;
        }
    }

    /**
     * A dummy fragment representing a section of the app, but that simply displays dummy text.
     */
    public static class DummySectionFragment extends Fragment
    {
        public static final String ARG_SECTION_NUMBER = "section_number";

        @Override
        public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState)
        {
            View rootView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_section_dummy, container, false);
            Bundle args = getArguments();
            ((TextView) rootView.findViewById(android.R.id.text1)).setText(getString(R.string.dummy_section_text, args.getInt(ARG_SECTION_NUMBER)));
            return rootView;
        }
    }
    public class CustomView extends View
    {
        public CustomView(Context context)
        {
            super(context, null);
        }
    } 
}

tab_layout.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

  <TextView
              android:id="@+id/nieuws_tab_layout"
              android:layout_width="match_parent"
              android:layout_height="wrap_content"              
              android:text="@string/nieuws"
              android:gravity="center_vertical"
              android:layout_marginTop="15dp"
              android:textColor="@android:color/white"
              android:textStyle="bold"
              android:background="@android:color/black"
              />
</LinearLayout>

Answer 1

Just set your custom view at the tab creation time, something like:

final Tab firstTab = actionBar.newTab()
                              .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(0))
                              .setCustomView(R.id.custom_tab_view_red);
final Tab secondTab = actionBar.newTab()
                               .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(1))
                               .setCustomView(R.id.custom_tab_view_blue);
// etc

actionBar.addTab(firstTab);
actionBar.addTab(secondTab);
// etc

in inCreate().

You'll also have to define Views corresponding to the above ids in your xml layout file (and not styles).

Or, if you want to create the view directly:

final View firstCustomView = new CustomView(this);
firstCustomView.setBackgroundColor(Color.BLUE);  // or with drawable or resource
final Tab firstTab = actionBar.newTab()
                              .setText(mAppSectionsPagerAdapter.getPageTitle(0))
                              .setCustomView(firstCustomView);
actionBar.addTab(firstTab);
// then same for other tabs, just with another color

---

Leaving the below information for reference:

To define one such view, you need to specify it an Android Context. This is usually the Activity where the tabs will be displayed. Supposing that you initialize your tabs in an Activity, simply pass the Activity instance as a Context:

ctv = new CustomView(this, R.attr.tabStyleAttr);

if from inside the Activity, or for example:

ctv = new CustomView(getActivity(), R.attr.tabStyleAttr);

if from inside a Fragment, etc.

As for setting a specific style for action bar tabs, no need to go create a custom view programmatically as you're trying to. Read up a little about the action bar first, then check the example they provide. As you can see, you'll be able to specify the tab style in xml:

In your manifest file, you can apply the theme to your entire app:

<application android:theme="@style/CustomActionBarTheme" ... />

Or to individual activities:

<activity android:theme="@style/CustomActionBarTheme" ... />

for example.

For a complete example matching perfectly your use case, see this Android doc article: https://developer.android.com/training/basics/actionbar/styling.html#CustomTabs . Notice the usage of state-lists to achieve the "when selected style".