Lesson 6:

App navigation

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About this lesson
Lesson 6: App navigation
● Multiple activities and intents
● App bar, navigation drawer, and menus
● Fragments
● Navigation in an app
● More custom navigation behavior
● Navigation UI
● Summary

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Multiple activities and
intents

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Multiple screens in an app
Sometimes app functionality may be separated into multiple screens.

Examples:
● View details of a single item (for example, product in a shopping app)
● Create a new item (for example, new email)
● Show settings for an app
● Access services in other apps (for example, photo gallery or browse
documents)

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Intent

Requests an action from another app component, such as another Activity

● An Intent usually has two primary pieces of information:

○ Action to be performed (for example, ACTION_VIEW,
ACTION_EDIT, ACTION_MAIN)
○ Data to operate on (for example, a person’s record in the contacts
database)
● Commonly used to specify a request to transition to another Activity

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Explicit intent

● Fulfills a request using a specific component

● Navigates internally to an Activity in your app
● Navigates to a specific third-party app or another app you've
written

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Explicit intent examples
Navigate between activities in your app:
fun viewNoteDetail() {
val intent = Intent(this, NoteDetailActivity::class.java)
intent.putExtra(NOTE_ID, note.id)
startActivity(intent)
}
Navigate to a specific external app:
fun openExternalApp() {
val intent = Intent("com.example.workapp.FILE_OPEN")
if (intent.resolveActivity(packageManager) != null) {
startActivity(intent)
}
}
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Implicit intent

● Provides generic action the app can perform

● Resolved using mapping of the data type and action to known
components
● Allows any app that matches the criteria to handle the request

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Implicit intent example

fun sendEmail() {
val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND)
intent.type = "text/plain"
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL, emailAddresses)
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "How are you?")

if (intent.resolveActivity(packageManager) != null) {
startActivity(intent)
}
}

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App bar, navigation drawer,
and menus

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App bar

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Navigation drawer

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Menu
Define menu items in XML menu resource (located in res/menu folder)

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<item
android:id="@+id/action_settings"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/action_settings"
app:showAsAction="never" />
</menu>

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More menu options
<menu>
<group android:checkableBehavior="single">
<item
android:id="@+id/nav_home"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_menu_camera"
android:title="@string/menu_home" />
<item
android:id="@+id/nav_gallery"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_menu_gallery"
android:title="@string/menu_gallery" />
<item
android:id="@+id/nav_slideshow"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_menu_slideshow"
android:title="@string/menu_slideshow" />
</group>
</menu>
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 Options menu example
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">

<item android:id="@+id/action_intent"
android:title="@string/action_intent" />

<item
android:id="@+id/action_settings"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/action_settings"
app:showAsAction="never" />
</menu>

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Inflate options menu

override fun onCreateOptionsMenu(menu: Menu): Boolean {

menuInflater.inflate(R.menu.main, menu)
return true
}

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Handle menu options selected
override fun onOptionsItemSelected(item: MenuItem): Boolean {

when (item.itemId) {
R.id.action_intent -> {
val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_WEB_SEARCH)
intent.putExtra(SearchManager.QUERY, "pizza")
if (intent.resolveActivity(packageManager) != null) {
startActivity(intent)
}
}
else -> Toast.makeText(this, item.title, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()
...

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 Fragments

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Fragments for tablet layouts

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Fragment

● Represents a behavior or portion of the UI in an activity

("microactivity")
● Must be hosted in an activity
● Lifecycle tied to host activity's lifecycle
● Can be added or removed at runtime

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Note about fragments

Use the AndroidX version of the Fragment class.

(androidx.fragment.app.Fragment).

Don't use the platform version of the Fragment class

(android.app.Fragment), which was deprecated.

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Navigation within an app

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Navigation component
● Collection of libraries and tooling, including an integrated editor, for
creating navigation paths through an app
● Assumes one Activity per graph with many Fragment
destinations
● Consists of three major parts:
○ Navigation graph
○ Navigation Host (NavHost)
○ Navigation Controller (NavController)

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Add dependencies

In build.gradle, under dependencies:

implementation "androidx.navigation:navigation-fragment-ktx:$nav_version"

implementation "androidx.navigation:navigation-ui-ktx:$nav_version"

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Navigation host (NavHost)

<fragment
android:id="@+id/nav_host"
android:name="androidx.navigation.fragment.NavHostFragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
app:defaultNavHost="true"
app:navGraph="@navigation/nav_graph_name"/>

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Navigation graph
New resource type located in res/navigation
directory
● XML file containing all of your navigation
destinations and actions
● Lists all the (Fragment/Activity) destinations that
can be navigated to
● Lists the associated actions to traverse between
them
● Optionally lists animations for entering or exiting

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Navigation Editor in Android Studio

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Creating a Fragment
● Extend Fragment class
● Override onCreateView()
● Inflate a layout for the Fragment that you have defined in XML

class DetailFragment : Fragment() {

override fun onCreateView(inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?,

savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? {
return inflater.inflate(R.layout.detail_fragment, container, false)
}
}

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Specifying Fragment destinations

● Fragment destinations are denoted by the action tag in the

navigation graph.
● Actions can be defined in XML directly or in the Navigation Editor by
dragging from source to destination.
● Autogenerated action IDs take the form of
action_<sourceFragment>_to_<destinationFragment>.

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Example fragment destination
<fragment
android:id="@+id/welcomeFragment"
android:name="com.example.android.navigation.WelcomeFragment"
android:label="fragment_welcome"
tools:layout="@layout/fragment_welcome" >

<action
android:id="@+id/action_welcomeFragment_to_detailFragment"
app:destination="@id/detailFragment" />

</fragment>

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Navigation Controller (NavController)

NavController manages UI navigation in a navigation host.

● Specifying a destination path only names the action, but it
doesn’t execute it.
● To follow a path, use NavController.

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 Example NavController

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {

...
val navController = findNavController(R.id.myNavHostFragment)
}
fun navigateToDetail() {
navController.navigate(R.id.action_welcomeFragment_to_detailFragment)
}
}

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More custom navigation
behavior

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Passing data between destinations
Using Safe Args:
● Ensures arguments have a valid type
● Lets you provide default values
● Generates a <SourceDestination>Directions class with methods for
every action in that destination
● Generates a class to set arguments for every named action
● Generates a <TargetDestination>Args class providing access to the
destination's arguments

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Setting up Safe Args
In the project build.gradle file:
buildscript {
repositories {
google()
}
dependencies {
classpath "androidx.navigation:navigation-safe-args-gradle-plugin:$nav_version"
}
}

In the app's or module's build.gradle file:

apply plugin: "androidx.navigation.safeargs.kotlin"

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Sending data to a Fragment

1. Create arguments the destination fragment will expect.

2. Create action to link from source to destination.
3. Set the arguments in the action method on
<Source>FragmentDirections.
4. Navigate according to that action using the Navigation Controller.
5. Retrieve the arguments in the destination fragment.

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Destination arguments
<fragment
android:id="@+id/multiplyFragment"
android:name="com.example.arithmetic.MultiplyFragment"
android:label="MultiplyFragment" >
<argument
android:name="number1"
app:argType="float"
android:defaultValue="1.0" />
<argument
android:name="number2"
app:argType="float"
android:defaultValue="1.0" />
</fragment>

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 Supported argument types
Type Type Syntax Supports Default Supports Null
app:argType=<type> Values Values
Integer "integer" Yes No

Float "float" Yes No

Long "long" Yes No

Boolean "boolean" Yes ("true" or "false") No

String "string" Yes Yes
Array above type + "[]" Yes (only "@null") Yes
(for example, "string[]" "long[]")

Enum Fully qualified name of the enum Yes No

Resource reference "reference" Yes No
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Supported argument types: Custom classes

Type Type Syntax Supports Default Supports Null

app:argType=<type> Values Values

Serializable Fully qualified class name Yes (only "@null") Yes

Parcelable Fully qualified class name Yes (only "@null") Yes

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Create action from source to destination

In nav_graph.xml:
<fragment
android:id="@+id/fragment_input"
android:name="com.example.arithmetic.InputFragment">

<action
android:id="@+id/action_to_multiplyFragment"
app:destination="@id/multiplyFragment" />

</fragment>

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Navigating with actions
In InputFragment.kt:
override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState)
binding.button.setOnClickListener {
val n1 = binding.number1.text.toString().toFloatOrNull() ?: 0.0
val n2 = binding.number2.text.toString().toFloatOrNull() ?: 0.0

val action = InputFragmentDirections.actionToMultiplyFragment(n1, n2)

view.findNavController().navigate(action)
}
}

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Retrieving Fragment arguments
class MultiplyFragment : Fragment() {
val args: MultiplyFragmentArgs by navArgs()
lateinit var binding: FragmentMultiplyBinding
override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState)
val number1 = args.number1
val number2 = args.number2
val result = number1 * number2
binding.output.text = "${number1} * ${number2} = ${result}"
}

}
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Navigation UI

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Menus revisited

override fun onOptionsItemSelected(item: MenuItem): Boolean {

val navController = findNavController(R.id.nav_host_fragment)
return item.onNavDestinationSelected(navController) ||
super.onOptionsItemSelected(item)

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DrawerLayout for navigation drawer
<androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout
android:id="@+id/drawer_layout" ...>

<fragment
android:name="androidx.navigation.fragment.NavHostFragment"
android:id="@+id/nav_host_fragment" ... />

<com.google.android.material.navigation.NavigationView
android:id="@+id/nav_view"
app:menu="@menu/activity_main_drawer" ... />

</androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout>

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Finish setting up navigation drawer
Connect DrawerLayout to navigation graph:

val appBarConfiguration = AppBarConfig(navController.graph, drawer)

Set up NavigationView for use with a NavController:

val navView = findViewById<NavigationView>(R.id.nav_view)
navView.setupWithNavController(navController)

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Understanding the back stack
State 1 State 2 State 3

Activity 3

Activity 2 Activity 2 Activity 2

Activity 1 Activity 1 Activity 1

Back stack Back stack Back stack

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Fragments and the back stack
State 1 State 2 State 3

Fragment 2

Fragment 1 Fragment 1 Fragment 1

Activity 2 Activity 2 Activity 2

Activity 1 Activity 1 Activity 1

Back stack Back stack Back stack

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 Summary

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Summary
In Lesson 6, you learned how to:
● Use explicit and implicit intents to navigate between Activities
● S
tructure apps using fragments instead of putting all UI code in the Activity
● Handle navigation with NavGraph, NavHost, and NavController
● Use Safe Args to pass data between fragment destinations
● Use NavigationUI to hook up top app bar, navigation drawer, and bottom n
avigation
● Android keeps a back stack of all the destinations you’ve visited, with eac
h new destination being pushed onto the stack.
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Learn more
● Principles of navigation
● Navigation component
● Pass data between destinations
● NavigationUI

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Pathway

Practice what you’ve learned by

completing the pathway:
Lesson 6: App navigation

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