Bold words in a string of strings.xml in Android

I have a long text in one of the strings at strings.xml. I want to make bold and change the color of some words in that text.

How can I do it?

Solution 1:

You could basically use html tags in your string resource like:

<resource>
    <string name="styled_welcome_message">We are <b><i>so</i></b> glad to see you.</string>
</resources>

And use Html.fromHtml or use spannable, check the link I posted.

Old similar question: Is it possible to have multiple styles inside a TextView?

Solution 2:

Use html tag inside string resources :-

<resources>
<string name="string_resource_name"><![CDATA[<b> Your text </b>]]> </string>
</resources>

And get bold text from string resources like :-

private Spanned getSpannedText(String text) {
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
            return Html.fromHtml(text, Html.FROM_HTML_MODE_COMPACT);
        } else {
            return Html.fromHtml(text);
        }
    }


 String s = format(context.getResources().getString(R.string.string_resource_name));
 textView.setText(getSpannedText(s));

Solution 3:

As David Olsson has said, you can use HTML in your string resources:

<resource>
    <string name="my_string">A string with <i>actual</i> <b>formatting</b>!</string>
</resources>

Then if you use getText(R.string.my_string) rather than getString(R.string.my_string) you get back a CharSequence rather than a String that contains the formatting embedded.

Solution 4:

In kotlin, you can create extensions functions on resources (activities|fragments |context) that will convert your string to an html span

e.g.

fun Resources.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int): Spanned = getString(id).toHtmlSpan()

fun Resources.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = getString(id, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

fun Resources.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int): Spanned = getQuantityString(id, quantity).toHtmlSpan()

fun Resources.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = getQuantityString(id, quantity, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

fun String.toHtmlSpan(): Spanned = if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
    Html.fromHtml(this, Html.FROM_HTML_MODE_LEGACY)
} else {
    Html.fromHtml(this)
}

Usage

//your strings.xml
<string name="greeting"><![CDATA[<b>Hello %s!</b><br>]]>This is newline</string>

//in your fragment or activity
resources.getHtmlSpannedString(R.string.greeting, "World")

EDIT even more extensions

fun Context.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int): Spanned = getString(id).toHtmlSpan()

fun Context.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = getString(id, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

fun Context.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity).toHtmlSpan()

fun Context.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()


fun Activity.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int): Spanned = getString(id).toHtmlSpan()

fun Activity.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = getString(id, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

fun Activity.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity).toHtmlSpan()

fun Activity.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()


fun Fragment.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int): Spanned = getString(id).toHtmlSpan()

fun Fragment.getHtmlSpannedString(@StringRes id: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = getString(id, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

fun Fragment.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity).toHtmlSpan()

fun Fragment.getQuantityHtmlSpannedString(@PluralsRes id: Int, quantity: Int, vararg formatArgs: Any): Spanned = resources.getQuantityString(id, quantity, *formatArgs).toHtmlSpan()

Solution 5:

Strings.xml

<string name="my_text"><Data><![CDATA[<b>Your text</b>]]></Data></string>

To set

textView.setText(Html.fromHtml(getString(R.string.activity_completed_text)));