Set initial focus in an Android application

Question

In my Android application it automatically focuses the first Button I have in my layout, giving it an orange outline. How can I set the initial focus preferably in XML, and can this be set to nothing?

score 167 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 30 '10 at 10:33

167

You could use the requestFocus tag:

<Button ...>
  <requestFocus />
</Button>

I find it odd though that it auto-focuses one of your buttons, I haven't observed that behavior in any of my views.

answered Apr 30 '10 at 10:33

mxk

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Yeah, it has happened with two of my applications now. I guess I could requestFocus onto a element that doesn't change like a TextView or would this not be allowed? – stealthcopter Apr 30 '10 at 10:58
1

@stealthcopter: can you tell me which Android version you're using. I'm using 2.1 & 2.2, but requestFocus doesn't work. – anticafe Mar 05 '11 at 15:00
Well I've been using it across all versions, but the problem I was having seemed to disappear on it's own so I haven't investigated much. – stealthcopter Mar 06 '11 at 14:58
19

I've tried the XML approach, I've tried the programmatic approach. Yet the EditText retains focus. VERY ANNOYING ! – Someone Somewhere Jul 25 '11 at 21:34
for an EditText, use programmatic method and be sure to use `setFocusableInTouchMode(true);` – Someone Somewhere Jul 25 '11 at 21:58
4

is here: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/layout-resource.html#requestfocus-element – Erik B Apr 27 '12 at 20:43
I have found it when I added a new TextView however this is not seen in xml while typing ctrl +space. – Günay Gültekin Jan 13 '13 at 12:30
@SomeoneSomewhere, see [Stop EditText from gaining focus at Activity startup](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1555109/stop-edittext-from-gaining-focus-at-activity-startup) – Eido95 Jan 26 '17 at 18:49

score 67 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 27 '15 at 04:36

67

@Someone Somewhere, I tried all of the above to no avail. The fix I found is from http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/remove-autofocus-edittext-android . Basically, you need to create an invisible layout just above the problematic Button:

<LinearLayout android:focusable="true"
              android:focusableInTouchMode="true" 
              android:layout_width="0px"
              android:layout_height="0px" >
    <requestFocus />
</LinearLayout>

edited Aug 27 '15 at 04:36

Raju-san

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answered Nov 16 '11 at 05:54

Vince Lasmarias

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I was able to gain focus on an AlertDialog and enabling focusableintouchmode helped me get it right. Essentially, here's how: alert.show(); alert.getButton(AlertDialog.BUTTON_POSITIVE).setFocusableInTouchMode(true);alert.getButton(AlertDialog.BUTTON_NEGATIVE).requestFocus(); – Sagar Hatekar Jan 19 '12 at 15:30
2

Thank you! This was the **only** solution that worked in my case. Although I used it slightly different; I put the focus stuff in a `RelativeLayout` containing the `EditText`. – kaka Sep 27 '12 at 12:49
1

With Android P following changes are coming to the platform: "Views with 0 area (either a width or a height is 0) are no longer focusable. Additionally, activities no longer implicitly assign initial focus in touch-mode. Instead, it is up to you to explicitly request initial focus, if desired." – AustrianDude Jul 04 '18 at 15:29

score 29 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 09 '13 at 08:17

29

Set both :focusable and :focusableInTouchMode to true and call requestFocus. It does the trick.

edited Jan 09 '13 at 08:17

Anders R. Bystrup

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answered Apr 26 '11 at 21:18

Ruivo

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Yes this is the true solution to fix it. Thanks Anders – gokhansari Sep 27 '13 at 12:57

score 25 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 31 '13 at 14:59

25

I found this worked best for me.

In AndroidManifest.xml <activity> element add android:windowSoftInputMode="stateHidden"

This always hides the keyboard when entering the activity.

answered Jul 31 '13 at 14:59

James

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Easy and clean! – SHADOW.NET Nov 08 '18 at 05:25
great... this is very impressive! – gumuruh May 27 '20 at 13:08

score 11 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 02 '12 at 17:15

11

I just add this line of code into onCreate():

this.getWindow().setSoftInputMode(
    WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_ALWAYS_HIDDEN);

Problem solved.

edited Jun 02 '12 at 17:15

Perception

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answered Jun 02 '12 at 14:35

Sam Tang

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score 8 · Answer 6 · edited Feb 15 '13 at 22:59

8

Use the code below,

TableRow _tableRow =(TableRow)findViewById(R.id.tableRowMainBody);
tableRow.requestFocus();

that should work.

edited Feb 15 '13 at 22:59

jcw

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answered Jan 30 '12 at 22:06

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 27 '11 at 06:43

3

@Someone Somewhere I used this to clear focus:

editText.clearFocus();

and it helps

answered Sep 27 '11 at 06:43

Ruobin Wang

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 29 '19 at 11:27

1

android:focusedByDefault="true"

answered Nov 29 '19 at 11:27

TiyebM

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Attribute `focusedByDefault` is only used in API level 26 and higher (current min is 21). – AlexS Nov 20 '20 at 10:25

Set initial focus in an Android application

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