Android: how to make keyboard enter button say "Search" and handle its click?

Question

I can't figure this out. Some apps have an EditText (textbox) with the help of which, when you touch it and it brings up the on-screen keyboard, the keyboard has a "Search" button instead of an enter key.

I want to implement this. How can I implement that Search button and detect the press of the Search button?

Edit: found how to implement the Search button; in XML, android:imeOptions="actionSearch" or in Java, EditTextSample.setImeOptions(EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_SEARCH);. But how do I handle the user pressing that Search button? Does it have something to do with android:imeActionId?

Note that imeOptions might not work on some devices. See [this](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4470018/alternative-of-action-done-button-in-htc-desire) and [this](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3886677/imeoptions-on-htc-devices). — Ermolai, Mar 15 '13 at 08:31

score 1023 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 17 '23 at 10:32

1023

In the layout set your input method options to search.

<EditText
    android:imeOptions="actionSearch" 
    android:inputType="text" />

In the java add the editor action listener.

editText.setOnEditorActionListener(new TextView.OnEditorActionListener() {
    @Override
    public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId, KeyEvent event) {
        if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_SEARCH) {
            performSearch();
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }
});

In kotlin use below:

 editText.setOnEditorActionListener { _, actionId, _ ->
        if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_SEARCH) {
          performSearch()
        }
        true
      }

edited Feb 17 '23 at 10:32

valerybodak

4,195
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answered Jul 08 '10 at 15:44

Robby Pond

73,164
16
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119

what if we want to get the keys on which the user clicks, like a,b,c? – ozmank Nov 15 '11 at 13:36
87

On os 2.3.6 it doesn't work until I put android:inputType="text" attribute. – thanhbinh84 Dec 30 '11 at 15:03
Shouldn't both of those TextView's say EditText instead? – Carol Mar 02 '12 at 21:01
43

android:inputType="text" was also required for me on Android 2.3.5 and 4.0.4 – ccyrille Jun 14 '12 at 17:22
I found if the keyboard is in Swype mode, search button doesn't appear, at least for Galaxy SII (2.3.4) – IronBlossom May 08 '13 at 06:58
1

I think you need to add a listener as well to the text edit otherwise the keyboard does not appear properly just by the `actionSearch` IME option in the layout file. – redDragonzz Sep 11 '13 at 03:37
6

@Carol `EditText` is a sub class of `TextView`. – howettl Sep 19 '13 at 17:21
Probably better is even android:inputType="textFilter". (Which seems to work for me on 2.3.7) – Patrick Boos Jan 15 '14 at 06:51
14

android:inputType="text" is also required for 4.4.0 - 4.4.2 (Android Kitkat). – Ansh Jan 21 '14 at 13:06
13

Yup, android:inputType="text" is still needed in 5.0 :) – lionelmessi Dec 30 '15 at 19:32
1

I also had to add `android:singleLine="true"` for the search icon to appear. – Jyotman Singh Aug 02 '16 at 10:10
Have not tried with inputtype text, but it works fine with inputtype numberdecimal – MortenSickel Aug 29 '16 at 11:43
2

android:inputType="text" was also required for me on 7.0 (Android Nougat) – Ognev Zair May 06 '17 at 08:55
1

Yes, android:inputType="text" is still required – Rakesh P. Apr 23 '21 at 10:11

score 29 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 10 '20 at 07:44

29

Hide keyboard when user clicks search. Addition to Robby Pond answer

private void performSearch() {
    editText.clearFocus();
    InputMethodManager in = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
    in.hideSoftInputFromWindow(editText.getWindowToken(), 0);
    //...perform search
}

edited Dec 10 '20 at 07:44

Arpit Anand

347
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answered Mar 16 '17 at 08:50

kaMChy

441
5
9

score 15 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 19 '18 at 10:33

15

In xml file, put imeOptions="actionSearch" and inputType="text", maxLines="1":

<EditText
    android:id="@+id/search_box"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:hint="@string/search"
    android:imeOptions="actionSearch"
    android:inputType="text"
    android:maxLines="1" />

edited Feb 19 '18 at 10:33

Vladimir Markeev

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answered Nov 29 '16 at 13:15

Braj Bhushan Singh

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score 12 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 28 '18 at 06:02

In Kotlin

evLoginPassword.setOnEditorActionListener { _, actionId, _ ->
    if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_DONE) {
        doTheLoginWork()
    }
    true
}

Partial Xml Code

 <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="vertical">
       <android.support.design.widget.TextInputLayout
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"

            android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:paddingLeft="24dp"
            android:paddingRight="24dp">

            <EditText
                android:id="@+id/evLoginUserEmail"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                android:hint="@string/email"
                android:inputType="textEmailAddress"
                android:textColor="@color/black_54_percent" />
        </android.support.design.widget.TextInputLayout>

        <android.support.design.widget.TextInputLayout
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:paddingLeft="24dp"
            android:paddingRight="24dp">

            <EditText
                android:id="@+id/evLoginPassword"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                android:hint="@string/password"
                android:inputType="textPassword"
                android:imeOptions="actionDone"
                android:textColor="@color/black_54_percent" />
        </android.support.design.widget.TextInputLayout>
</LinearLayout>

iAmSauravSharan · Answer 5 · 2020-06-30T06:59:48.210

This answer is for TextInputEditText :

In the layout XML file set your input method options to your required type. for example done.

<com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout
        android:id="@+id/textInputLayout"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content">

        <com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputEditText
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:imeOptions="actionGo"/>

</com.google.android.material.textfield.TextInputLayout>

Similarly, you can also set imeOptions to actionSubmit, actionSearch, etc

In the java add the editor action listener.

TextInputLayout textInputLayout = findViewById(R.id.textInputLayout);

textInputLayout.getEditText().setOnEditorActionListener(new 

    TextView.OnEditorActionListener() {
        @Override
        public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId, KeyEvent event) {
            if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_GO) {
                performYourAction();
                return true;
            }
            return false;
        }
    });

If you're using kotlin :

textInputLayout.editText.setOnEditorActionListener { _, actionId, _ ->
    if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_GO) {
        performYourAction()
    }
    true
}

It would be helpful for Android/Kotlin newbies to know where this snippet should go, and within what context it should be ... — dsaronin, Jun 25 '20 at 01:39
If you are a total newbie I would suggest putting these code snippets into your onCreate method or onCreateView method of your activity or fragment. — iAmSauravSharan, Jun 25 '20 at 13:38
thank you. I found the answer and put in in onCreate() in activity. The other part of my question had to do with context, as "testInputLayout" was unclear. my solution was: findViewById( R.id.search_request_layout ).editText?.setOnEditorActionListener { _, actionId, _ -> // do something } — dsaronin, Jun 26 '20 at 16:57

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 07 '19 at 04:25

by XML:

 <EditText
        android:id="@+id/search_edit"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:hint="@string/search"
        android:imeOptions="actionSearch"
        android:inputType="text" />

By Java:

 editText.clearFocus();
    InputMethodManager in = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
    in.hideSoftInputFromWindow(searchEditText.getWindowToken(), 0);

Android: how to make keyboard enter button say "Search" and handle its click?

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