How can I display a list view in an Android Alert Dialog?

Used below code to display custom list in AlertDialog

AlertDialog.Builder builderSingle = new AlertDialog.Builder(DialogActivity.this);
builderSingle.setIcon(R.drawable.ic_launcher);
builderSingle.setTitle("Select One Name:-");

final ArrayAdapter<String> arrayAdapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(DialogActivity.this, android.R.layout.select_dialog_singlechoice);
arrayAdapter.add("Hardik");
arrayAdapter.add("Archit");
arrayAdapter.add("Jignesh");
arrayAdapter.add("Umang");
arrayAdapter.add("Gatti");

builderSingle.setNegativeButton("cancel", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                dialog.dismiss();
            }
        });

builderSingle.setAdapter(arrayAdapter, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                String strName = arrayAdapter.getItem(which);
                AlertDialog.Builder builderInner = new AlertDialog.Builder(DialogActivity.this);
                builderInner.setMessage(strName);
                builderInner.setTitle("Your Selected Item is");
                builderInner.setPositiveButton("Ok", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                            @Override
                            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog,int which) {
                                dialog.dismiss();
                            }
                        });
                builderInner.show();
            }
        });
builderSingle.show();

According to the documentation, there are three kinds of lists that can be used with an AlertDialog:

  1. Traditional single-choice list
  2. Persistent single-choice list (radio buttons)
  3. Persistent multiple-choice list (checkboxes)

I will give an example of each below.

Traditional single-choice list

The way to make a traditional single-choice list is to use setItems.

enter image description here

Java version

// setup the alert builder
AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
builder.setTitle("Choose an animal");

// add a list
String[] animals = {"horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat"};
builder.setItems(animals, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        switch (which) {
            case 0: // horse
            case 1: // cow
            case 2: // camel
            case 3: // sheep
            case 4: // goat
        }
    }
});

// create and show the alert dialog
AlertDialog dialog = builder.create();
dialog.show();

There is no need for an OK button because as soon as the user clicks on a list item control is returned to the OnClickListener.

Kotlin version

// setup the alert builder
val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(context)
builder.setTitle("Choose an animal")

// add a list
val animals = arrayOf("horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat")
builder.setItems(animals) { dialog, which ->
    when (which) {
        0 -> { /* horse */ }
        1 -> { /* cow   */ }
        2 -> { /* camel */ }
        3 -> { /* sheep */ }
        4 -> { /* goat  */ }
    }
}

// create and show the alert dialog
val dialog = builder.create()
dialog.show()

Radio button list

enter image description here

The advantage of the radio button list over the traditional list is that the user can see what the current setting is. The way to make a radio button list is to use setSingleChoiceItems.

Java version

// setup the alert builder
AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
builder.setTitle("Choose an animal");

// add a radio button list
String[] animals = {"horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat"};
int checkedItem = 1; // cow
builder.setSingleChoiceItems(animals, checkedItem, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // user checked an item
    }
});

// add OK and Cancel buttons
builder.setPositiveButton("OK", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // user clicked OK
    }
});
builder.setNegativeButton("Cancel", null);

// create and show the alert dialog
AlertDialog dialog = builder.create();
dialog.show();

I hard coded the chosen item here, but you could keep track of it with a class member variable in a real project.

Kotlin version

// setup the alert builder
val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(context)
builder.setTitle("Choose an animal")

// add a radio button list
val animals = arrayOf("horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat")
val checkedItem = 1 // cow
builder.setSingleChoiceItems(animals, checkedItem) { dialog, which ->
    // user checked an item
}


// add OK and Cancel buttons
builder.setPositiveButton("OK") { dialog, which ->
    // user clicked OK
}
builder.setNegativeButton("Cancel", null)

// create and show the alert dialog
val dialog = builder.create()
dialog.show()

Checkbox list

enter image description here

The way to make a checkbox list is to use setMultiChoiceItems.

Java version

// setup the alert builder
AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
builder.setTitle("Choose some animals");

// add a checkbox list
String[] animals = {"horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat"};
boolean[] checkedItems = {true, false, false, true, false};
builder.setMultiChoiceItems(animals, checkedItems, new DialogInterface.OnMultiChoiceClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which, boolean isChecked) {
        // user checked or unchecked a box
    }
});

// add OK and Cancel buttons
builder.setPositiveButton("OK", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // user clicked OK
    }
});
builder.setNegativeButton("Cancel", null);

// create and show the alert dialog
AlertDialog dialog = builder.create();
dialog.show();

Here I hard coded the the which items in the list were already checked. It is more likely that you would want to keep track of them in an ArrayList<Integer>. See the documentation example for more details. You can also set the checked items to null if you always want everything to start unchecked.

Kotlin version

// setup the alert builder
val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(context)
builder.setTitle("Choose some animals")

// add a checkbox list
val animals = arrayOf("horse", "cow", "camel", "sheep", "goat")
val checkedItems = booleanArrayOf(true, false, false, true, false)
builder.setMultiChoiceItems(animals, checkedItems) { dialog, which, isChecked ->
    // user checked or unchecked a box
}

// add OK and Cancel buttons
builder.setPositiveButton("OK") { dialog, which ->
    // user clicked OK
}
builder.setNegativeButton("Cancel", null)

// create and show the alert dialog
val dialog = builder.create()
dialog.show()

Notes

  • For the context in the code above, don't use getApplicationContext() or you will get an IllegalStateException (see here for why). Instead, get a reference to the activity context, such as with this.
  • You can also populate the list items from a database or another source using setAdapter or setCursor or passing in a Cursor or ListAdapter into the setSingleChoiceItems or setMultiChoiceItems.
  • If the list is longer than will fit on the screen then the dialog will automatically scroll it. If you have a really long list, though, I'm guessing that you should probably make a custom dialog with a RecyclerView.
  • To test all of the examples above I just had a simple project with a single button than showed the dialog when clicked:

    import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
    
    public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    
        Context context;
    
        @Override
        protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
            super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
            setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
            context = this;
        }
    
        public void showAlertDialogButtonClicked(View view) {
    
            // example code to create alert dialog lists goes here
        }
    }
    

Related

  • Android Alert Dialog with one, two, and three buttons enter image description here
  • How to implement a custom AlertDialog View enter image description here

You can use a custom dialog.

Custom dialog layout. list.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" 
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content">
    <ListView
        android:id="@+id/lv"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="fill_parent"/>
</LinearLayout>

In your activity

Dialog dialog = new Dialog(Activity.this);
       dialog.setContentView(R.layout.list)

ListView lv = (ListView ) dialog.findViewById(R.id.lv);
dialog.setCancelable(true);
dialog.setTitle("ListView");
dialog.show();

Edit:

Using alertdialog

String names[] ={"A","B","C","D"};
AlertDialog.Builder alertDialog = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this);
LayoutInflater inflater = getLayoutInflater();
View convertView = (View) inflater.inflate(R.layout.custom, null);
alertDialog.setView(convertView);
alertDialog.setTitle("List");
ListView lv = (ListView) convertView.findViewById(R.id.lv);
ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,names);
lv.setAdapter(adapter);
alertDialog.show();

custom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ListView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/listView1"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent" >

</ListView>

Snap

enter image description here


final CharSequence[] items = {"A", "B", "C"};

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
builder.setTitle("Make your selection");
builder.setItems(items, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int item) {
        // Do something with the selection
        mDoneButton.setText(items[item]);
    }
});
AlertDialog alert = builder.create();
alert.show();

Use the "import android.app.AlertDialog;" import and then you write

    String[] items = {"...","...."};             
    AlertDialog.Builder build = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
    build.setItems(items, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
            //do stuff....
        }
    }).create().show();