How to start new activity on button click

In an Android application, how do you start a new activity (GUI) when a button in another activity is clicked, and how do you pass data between these two activities?

Solution 1:

Easy.

Intent myIntent = new Intent(CurrentActivity.this, NextActivity.class);
myIntent.putExtra("key", value); //Optional parameters
CurrentActivity.this.startActivity(myIntent);

Extras are retrieved on the other side via:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    Intent intent = getIntent();
    String value = intent.getStringExtra("key"); //if it's a string you stored.
}

Don't forget to add your new activity in the AndroidManifest.xml:

<activity android:label="@string/app_name" android:name="NextActivity"/>

Solution 2:

Current responses are great but a more comprehensive answer is needed for beginners. There are 3 different ways to start a new activity in Android, and they all use the Intent class; Intent | Android Developers.

1. Using the onClick attribute of the Button. (Beginner)
2. Assigning an OnClickListener() via an anonymous class. (Intermediate)
3. Activity wide interface method using the switch statement. (not-"Pro")

Here's the link to my example if you want to follow along:

1. Using the onClick attribute of the Button. (Beginner)

Buttons have an onClick attribute that is found within the .xml file:

<Button
    android:id="@+id/button1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:onClick="goToAnActivity"
    android:text="to an activity" />

<Button
    android:id="@+id/button2"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:onClick="goToAnotherActivity"
    android:text="to another activity" />

In Java class:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main_activity);
}

public void goToAnActivity(View view) {
    Intent intent = new Intent(this, AnActivity.class);
    startActivity(intent);
}

public void goToAnotherActivity(View view) {
    Intent intent = new Intent(this, AnotherActivity.class);
    startActivity(intent);
}

Advantage: Easy to make on the fly, modular, and can easily set multiple onClicks to the same intent.

Disadvantage: Difficult readability when reviewing.

2. Assigning an OnClickListener() via an anonymous class. (Intermediate)

This is when you set a separate setOnClickListener() to each button and override each onClick() with its own intent.

In Java class:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main_activity);

        Button button1 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
        button1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {
                Intent intent = new Intent(view.getContext(), AnActivity.class);
                view.getContext().startActivity(intent);}
            });

        Button button2 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button2);
        button2.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {
                Intent intent = new Intent(view.getContext(), AnotherActivity.class);
                view.getContext().startActivity(intent);}
            });

Advantage: Easy to make on the fly.

Disadvantage: There will be a lot of anonymous classes which will make readability difficult when reviewing.

3. Activity wide interface method using the switch statement. (not-"Pro")

This is when you use a switch statement for your buttons within the onClick() method to manage all the Activity's buttons.

In Java class:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main_activity);

    Button button1 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
    Button button2 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button2);
    button1.setOnClickListener(this);
    button2.setOnClickListener(this);
}

@Override
public void onClick(View view) {
    switch (view.getId()){
        case R.id.button1:
            Intent intent1 = new Intent(this, AnActivity.class);
            startActivity(intent1);
            break;
        case R.id.button2:
            Intent intent2 = new Intent(this, AnotherActivity.class);
            startActivity(intent2);
            break;
        default:
            break;
    }

Advantage: Easy button management because all button intents are registered in a single onClick() method

For the second part of the question, passing data, please see How do I pass data between Activities in Android application?

Edit: not-"Pro"