In Android, a TextView is a primary UI element used to display text present in the form of numbers, strings, and paragraphs. However, for a large amount of information to be displayed size adjustment doesn’t work. So in this article, we will show you how to make TextView scrollable on Android. Follow the below steps once the IDE is ready.
TextView Can Be Made Scrollable by Two Methods:
1. By using ScrollView: With the help of ScrollView, you can make a view either vertically or horizontally scrollable.
2. By using the ScrollBar Attribute Present in TextView
Step By Step Implementation
Step 1: Create a New Project in Android Studio
To create a new project in Android Project just refer to this article on How to Create New Project in Android Studio. The code has been given in both Java and Kotlin Programming Language for Android.
Step 2: Working with the activity_main.xml File
Navigate to the app > res > layout > activity_main.xml and add the below code to that file. Below is the code for the activity_main.xml file.
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" tools:context=".MainActivity"> <TextView android:id="@+id/text" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:scrollbars="vertical" app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent" app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent" android:textSize="25dp" /></androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout> |
Step 3: Working with MainActivity File
Navigate to app > java > your app’s package name > MainActivity File (Java or Kotlin) and add the below code to it. Comments are added in the code to get to know in detail.
Java
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;import android.os.Bundle;import android.text.method.ScrollingMovementMethod;import android.widget.TextView; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { // Declaring TextView from the Layout TextView textview; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); // initializing the TextView textview = findViewById(R.id.text); // Creating a string that contains the information to be displayed String para = "JAVA IS A TECHNOLOGY OF CHOICE FOR BUILDING APPLICATIONS" + " USING MANAGED CODES THAT CAN EXECUTE ON MOBILE DEVICES.\n" + "\n" + "Android is an open source software platform and Linux-based" + " operating system for mobile devices. The Android platform " + "allows developers to write managed code using Java to manage " + "and control the Android device. Android applications can be" + " developed by using the Java programming language and the " + "Android SDK. So, familiarity with the basics of the Java " + "programming language is a prerequisite for programming on" + " the Android platform. This article discusses where Java fits" + " in mobile application development and how we can use Java and" + " Android SDK to write applications that can work on Android devices.\n" + "\n" + "THE CHOICE OF JAVA\n" + "\n "+ "What made Java be the technology of choice for mobile development for the" + " Android platform? The Java Programming Language emerged in the mid-1990s;" + " it was created by James Gosling of Sun Microsystems. Incidentally," + " Sun Microsystems was since bought by Oracle." + " Java has been widely popular the world over, " + "primarily because of a vast array of features it provides. " + "Java’s promise of “Write once and run anywhere” was one of the major" + " factors for the success of Java over the past few decades.\n" + "\n" + "Java even made inroads into embedded processors technology as well;" + " the Java Mobile Edition was built for creating applications " + "that can run on mobile devices. All these, added to Java’s meteoric rise," + " were the prime factors that attributed to the decision of adopting " + "Java as the primary development language for building " + "applications that run on Android. Java programs are secure because" + " they run within a sandbox environment. Programs written in Java are compiled " + "into intermediate code known as bytecode. This bytecode is then executed inside" + " the context of the Java Virtual Machine. You can learn more about Java from" + " this link.\n" + "\n" + "USING JAVA FOR BUILDING MOBILE APPLICATIONS\n" + "\n" + "The mobile edition of Java is called Java ME. Java ME is based on Java " + "SE and is supported by most smartphones and tablets. The Java Platform" + " Micro Edition (Java ME) provides a flexible, secure environment for" + " building and executing applications that are targeted at embedded and " + "mobile devices. The applications that are built using Java ME are portable," + " secure, and can take advantage of the native capabilities of the device. " + "Java ME addresses the constraints that are involved in building applications " + "that are targeted at mobile devices. In essence, Java ME addresses the " + "challenge of executing applications on devices " + "that are low on available memory, display, and power.\n" + "\n" + "There are various ways to build applications for Android devices," + " but the recommended approach is to leverage the" + " Java programming language and the Android SDK." + " You can explore more about the Android SDK Manager from here."; // set value to the given TextView textview.setText(para); // to perform the movement action // Moves the cursor or scrolls to the // top or bottom of the document textview.setMovementMethod(new ScrollingMovementMethod()); }} |
Kotlin
import android.os.Bundleimport android.text.method.ScrollingMovementMethodimport android.widget.TextViewimport androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() { // Declaring TextView from the Layout private lateinit var textview: TextView override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) // initializing the TextView textview = findViewById(R.id.text) // Creating a string that contains the information to be displayed val para = """JAVA IS A TECHNOLOGY OF CHOICE FOR BUILDING APPLICATIONS USING MANAGED CODES THAT CAN EXECUTE ON MOBILE DEVICES. Android is an open source software platform and Linux-based operating system for mobile devices. The Android platform allows developers to write managed code using Java to manage and control the Android device. Android applications can be developed by using the Java programming language and the Android SDK. So, familiarity with the basics of the Java programming language is a prerequisite for programming on the Android platform. This article discusses where Java fits in mobile application development and how we can use Java and Android SDK to write applications that can work on Android devices. THE CHOICE OF JAVA What made Java be the technology of choice for mobile development for the Android platform? The Java Programming Language emerged in the mid-1990s; it was created by James Gosling of Sun Microsystems. Incidentally, Sun Microsystems was since bought by Oracle. Java has been widely popular the world over, primarily because of a vast array of features it provides. Java’s promise of “Write once and run anywhere” was one of the major factors for the success of Java over the past few decades. Java even made inroads into embedded processors technology as well; the Java Mobile Edition was built for creating applications that can run on mobile devices. All these, added to Java’s meteoric rise, were the prime factors that attributed to the decision of adopting Java as the primary development language for building applications that run on Android. Java programs are secure because they run within a sandbox environment. Programs written in Java are compiled into intermediate code known as bytecode. This bytecode is then executed inside the context of the Java Virtual Machine. You can learn more about Java from this link. USING JAVA FOR BUILDING MOBILE APPLICATIONS The mobile edition of Java is called Java ME. Java ME is based on Java SE and is supported by most smartphones and tablets. The Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME) provides a flexible, secure environment for building and executing applications that are targeted at embedded and mobile devices. The applications that are built using Java ME are portable, secure, and can take advantage of the native capabilities of the device. Java ME addresses the constraints that are involved in building applications that are targeted at mobile devices. In essence, Java ME addresses the challenge of executing applications on devices that are low on available memory, display, and power. There are various ways to build applications for Android devices, but the recommended approach is to leverage the Java programming language and the Android SDK. You can explore more about the Android SDK Manager from here.""" // set value to the given TextView textview.text = para // to perform the movement action // Moves the cursor or scrolls to the // top or bottom of the document textview.movementMethod = ScrollingMovementMethod() }} |
