How to change fontFamily of TextView in Android

From android 4.1 / 4.2 / 5.0, the following Roboto font families are available:

android:fontFamily="sans-serif"           // roboto regular
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-light"     // roboto light
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-condensed" // roboto condensed
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-black"     // roboto black
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-thin"      // roboto thin (android 4.2)
android:fontFamily="sans-serif-medium"    // roboto medium (android 5.0)

enter image description here

in combination with

android:textStyle="normal|bold|italic"

this 16 variants are possible:

  • Roboto regular
  • Roboto italic
  • Roboto bold
  • Roboto bold italic
  • Roboto-Light
  • Roboto-Light italic
  • Roboto-Thin
  • Roboto-Thin italic
  • Roboto-Condensed
  • Roboto-Condensed italic
  • Roboto-Condensed bold
  • Roboto-Condensed bold italic
  • Roboto-Black
  • Roboto-Black italic
  • Roboto-Medium
  • Roboto-Medium italic

fonts.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <string name="font_family_light">sans-serif-light</string>
    <string name="font_family_medium">sans-serif-medium</string>
    <string name="font_family_regular">sans-serif</string>
    <string name="font_family_condensed">sans-serif-condensed</string>
    <string name="font_family_black">sans-serif-black</string>
    <string name="font_family_thin">sans-serif-thin</string>
</resources>

Starting from Android-Studio 3.0 its very easy to change font family

Using support library 26, it will work on devices running Android API version 16 and higher

Create a folder font under res directory .Download the font which ever you want and paste it inside font folder. The structure should be some thing like below

Here

Note: As of Android Support Library 26.0, you must declare both sets of attributes ( android: and app: ) to ensure your fonts load on devices running Api 26 or lower.

Now you can change font in layout using

<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:fontFamily="@font/dancing_script"
app:fontFamily="@font/dancing_script"/>

To change Programatically

 Typeface typeface = getResources().getFont(R.font.myfont);
   //or to support all versions use
Typeface typeface = ResourcesCompat.getFont(context, R.font.myfont);
 textView.setTypeface(typeface);  

To change font using styles.xml create a style

 <style name="Regular">
        <item name="android:fontFamily">@font/dancing_script</item>
        <item name="fontFamily">@font/dancing_script</item>
        <item name="android:textStyle">normal</item>
 </style>

and apply this style to TextView

  <TextView
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    style="@style/Regular"/>

you can also Create your own font family

- Right-click the font folder and go to New > Font resource file. The New Resource File window appears.

- Enter the file name, and then click OK. The new font resource XML opens in the editor.

Write your own font family here , for example

<font-family xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <font
        android:fontStyle="normal"
        android:fontWeight="400"
        android:font="@font/lobster_regular" />
    <font
        android:fontStyle="italic"
        android:fontWeight="400"
        android:font="@font/lobster_italic" />
</font-family>

this is simply a mapping of a specific fontStyle and fontWeight to the font resource which will be used to render that specific variant. Valid values for fontStyle are normal or italic; and fontWeight conforms to the CSS font-weight specification

1. To change fontfamily in layout you can write

 <TextView
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:fontFamily="@font/lobster"/>

2. To Change Programmatically

 Typeface typeface = getResources().getFont(R.font.lobster);
   //or to support all versions use
Typeface typeface = ResourcesCompat.getFont(context, R.font.lobster);
 textView.setTypeface(typeface);  

To change font of entire App Add these two lines in AppTheme

 <style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
     <item name="android:fontFamily">@font/your_font</item>
     <item name="fontFamily">@font/your_font</item>
  </style>

See the Documentation , Android Custom Fonts Tutorial For more info


This is the way to set the font programmatically:

TextView tv = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.appname);
Typeface face = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(),
            "fonts/epimodem.ttf");
tv.setTypeface(face);

put the font file in your assets folder. In my case I created a subdirectory called fonts.

EDIT: If you wonder where is your assets folder see this question


I had to parse /system/etc/fonts.xml in a recent project. Here are the current font families as of Lollipop:

╔════╦════════════════════════════╦═════════════════════════════╗
║    ║ FONT FAMILY                ║ TTF FILE                    ║
╠════╬════════════════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║  1 ║ casual                     ║ ComingSoon.ttf              ║
║  2 ║ cursive                    ║ DancingScript-Regular.ttf   ║
║  3 ║ monospace                  ║ DroidSansMono.ttf           ║
║  4 ║ sans-serif                 ║ Roboto-Regular.ttf          ║
║  5 ║ sans-serif-black           ║ Roboto-Black.ttf            ║
║  6 ║ sans-serif-condensed       ║ RobotoCondensed-Regular.ttf ║
║  7 ║ sans-serif-condensed-light ║ RobotoCondensed-Light.ttf   ║
║  8 ║ sans-serif-light           ║ Roboto-Light.ttf            ║
║  9 ║ sans-serif-medium          ║ Roboto-Medium.ttf           ║
║ 10 ║ sans-serif-smallcaps       ║ CarroisGothicSC-Regular.ttf ║
║ 11 ║ sans-serif-thin            ║ Roboto-Thin.ttf             ║
║ 12 ║ serif                      ║ NotoSerif-Regular.ttf       ║
║ 13 ║ serif-monospace            ║ CutiveMono.ttf              ║
╚════╩════════════════════════════╩═════════════════════════════╝

Here is the parser (based off FontListParser):

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;

import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserException;

import android.util.Xml;

/**
 * Helper class to get the current font families on an Android device.</p>
 * 
 * Usage:</p> {@code List<SystemFont> fonts = FontListParser.safelyGetSystemFonts();}</p>
 */
public final class FontListParser {

    private static final File FONTS_XML = new File("/system/etc/fonts.xml");

    private static final File SYSTEM_FONTS_XML = new File("/system/etc/system_fonts.xml");

    public static List<SystemFont> getSystemFonts() throws Exception {
        String fontsXml;
        if (FONTS_XML.exists()) {
            fontsXml = FONTS_XML.getAbsolutePath();
        } else if (SYSTEM_FONTS_XML.exists()) {
            fontsXml = SYSTEM_FONTS_XML.getAbsolutePath();
        } else {
            throw new RuntimeException("fonts.xml does not exist on this system");
        }
        Config parser = parse(new FileInputStream(fontsXml));
        List<SystemFont> fonts = new ArrayList<>();

        for (Family family : parser.families) {
            if (family.name != null) {
                Font font = null;
                for (Font f : family.fonts) {
                    font = f;
                    if (f.weight == 400) {
                        break;
                    }
                }
                SystemFont systemFont = new SystemFont(family.name, font.fontName);
                if (fonts.contains(systemFont)) {
                    continue;
                }
                fonts.add(new SystemFont(family.name, font.fontName));
            }
        }

        for (Alias alias : parser.aliases) {
            if (alias.name == null || alias.toName == null || alias.weight == 0) {
                continue;
            }
            for (Family family : parser.families) {
                if (family.name == null || !family.name.equals(alias.toName)) {
                    continue;
                }
                for (Font font : family.fonts) {
                    if (font.weight == alias.weight) {
                        fonts.add(new SystemFont(alias.name, font.fontName));
                        break;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        if (fonts.isEmpty()) {
            throw new Exception("No system fonts found.");
        }

        Collections.sort(fonts, new Comparator<SystemFont>() {

            @Override
            public int compare(SystemFont font1, SystemFont font2) {
                return font1.name.compareToIgnoreCase(font2.name);
            }

        });

        return fonts;
    }

    public static List<SystemFont> safelyGetSystemFonts() {
        try {
            return getSystemFonts();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            String[][] defaultSystemFonts = {
                    {
                            "cursive", "DancingScript-Regular.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "monospace", "DroidSansMono.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif", "Roboto-Regular.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif-light", "Roboto-Light.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif-medium", "Roboto-Medium.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif-black", "Roboto-Black.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif-condensed", "RobotoCondensed-Regular.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "sans-serif-thin", "Roboto-Thin.ttf"
                    }, {
                            "serif", "NotoSerif-Regular.ttf"
                    }
            };
            List<SystemFont> fonts = new ArrayList<>();
            for (String[] names : defaultSystemFonts) {
                File file = new File("/system/fonts", names[1]);
                if (file.exists()) {
                    fonts.add(new SystemFont(names[0], file.getAbsolutePath()));
                }
            }
            return fonts;
        }
    }

    /* Parse fallback list (no names) */
    public static Config parse(InputStream in) throws XmlPullParserException, IOException {
        try {
            XmlPullParser parser = Xml.newPullParser();
            parser.setInput(in, null);
            parser.nextTag();
            return readFamilies(parser);
        } finally {
            in.close();
        }
    }

    private static Alias readAlias(XmlPullParser parser) throws XmlPullParserException, IOException {
        Alias alias = new Alias();
        alias.name = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "name");
        alias.toName = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "to");
        String weightStr = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "weight");
        if (weightStr == null) {
            alias.weight = 0;
        } else {
            alias.weight = Integer.parseInt(weightStr);
        }
        skip(parser); // alias tag is empty, ignore any contents and consume end tag
        return alias;
    }

    private static Config readFamilies(XmlPullParser parser) throws XmlPullParserException,
            IOException {
        Config config = new Config();
        parser.require(XmlPullParser.START_TAG, null, "familyset");
        while (parser.next() != XmlPullParser.END_TAG) {
            if (parser.getEventType() != XmlPullParser.START_TAG) {
                continue;
            }
            if (parser.getName().equals("family")) {
                config.families.add(readFamily(parser));
            } else if (parser.getName().equals("alias")) {
                config.aliases.add(readAlias(parser));
            } else {
                skip(parser);
            }
        }
        return config;
    }

    private static Family readFamily(XmlPullParser parser) throws XmlPullParserException,
            IOException {
        String name = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "name");
        String lang = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "lang");
        String variant = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "variant");
        List<Font> fonts = new ArrayList<Font>();
        while (parser.next() != XmlPullParser.END_TAG) {
            if (parser.getEventType() != XmlPullParser.START_TAG) {
                continue;
            }
            String tag = parser.getName();
            if (tag.equals("font")) {
                String weightStr = parser.getAttributeValue(null, "weight");
                int weight = weightStr == null ? 400 : Integer.parseInt(weightStr);
                boolean isItalic = "italic".equals(parser.getAttributeValue(null, "style"));
                String filename = parser.nextText();
                String fullFilename = "/system/fonts/" + filename;
                fonts.add(new Font(fullFilename, weight, isItalic));
            } else {
                skip(parser);
            }
        }
        return new Family(name, fonts, lang, variant);
    }

    private static void skip(XmlPullParser parser) throws XmlPullParserException, IOException {
        int depth = 1;
        while (depth > 0) {
            switch (parser.next()) {
            case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
                depth++;
                break;
            case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
                depth--;
                break;
            }
        }
    }

    private FontListParser() {

    }

    public static class Alias {

        public String name;

        public String toName;

        public int weight;
    }

    public static class Config {

        public List<Alias> aliases;

        public List<Family> families;

        Config() {
            families = new ArrayList<Family>();
            aliases = new ArrayList<Alias>();
        }

    }

    public static class Family {

        public List<Font> fonts;

        public String lang;

        public String name;

        public String variant;

        public Family(String name, List<Font> fonts, String lang, String variant) {
            this.name = name;
            this.fonts = fonts;
            this.lang = lang;
            this.variant = variant;
        }

    }

    public static class Font {

        public String fontName;

        public boolean isItalic;

        public int weight;

        Font(String fontName, int weight, boolean isItalic) {
            this.fontName = fontName;
            this.weight = weight;
            this.isItalic = isItalic;
        }

    }

    public static class SystemFont {

        public String name;

        public String path;

        public SystemFont(String name, String path) {
            this.name = name;
            this.path = path;
        }

    }
}

Feel free to use the above class in your project. For example, you could give your users a selection of font families and set the typeface based on their preference.

A small incomplete example:

final List<FontListParser.SystemFont> fonts = FontListParser.safelyGetSystemFonts();
String[] items = new String[fonts.size()];
for (int i = 0; i < fonts.size(); i++) {
    items[i] = fonts.get(i).name;
}

new AlertDialog.Builder(this).setSingleChoiceItems(items, -1, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        FontListParser.SystemFont selectedFont = fonts.get(which);
        // TODO: do something with the font
        Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), selectedFont.path, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
    }
}).show();

Android doesn't allow you to set custom fonts from the XML layout. Instead, you must bundle the specific font file in your app's assets folder, and set it programmatically. Something like:

TextView textView = (TextView) findViewById(<your TextView ID>);
Typeface typeFace = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "<file name>");
textView.setTypeface(typeFace);

Note that you can only run this code after setContentView() has been called. Also, only some fonts are supported by Android, and should be in a .ttf (TrueType) or .otf (OpenType) format. Even then, some fonts may not work.

This is a font that definitely works on Android, and you can use this to confirm that your code is working in case your font file isn't supported by Android.

Android O Update: This is now possible with XML in Android O, based on Roger's comment.