Android Expandable List View Tutorial

Expandable list view is used to group list data by categories. It has the capability of expanding and collapsing the groups when user touches header.

If you are not aware of list view before please refer to this tutorial Android ListView Tutorial

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Let’s start by creating a new project..

1. Create a new project in the Eclipse IDE from File ⇒ Android Application Project and fill all required details. I left my main activity name as MainActivity.java

2. In order to create an expandable list view, we need three xml layout files. First one is for main listview, 2nd one for list view group item and 3rd one is for list view child item. Open your activity_main.xml and add ExpandableListView element.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:background="#f4f4f4" >

            <ExpandableListView
                android:id="@+id/lvExp"
                android:layout_height="match_parent"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"/>   

</LinearLayout>

3. Create another xml layout for list view group header. I created an xml file named list_group.xml and pasted following code.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="8dp" 
    android:background="#000000">


    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/lblListHeader"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:paddingLeft="?android:attr/expandableListPreferredItemPaddingLeft"
        android:textSize="17dp"
        android:textColor="#f9f93d" />

</LinearLayout>

4.Create one more xml file named list_item.xml for child list item. This will contain simple TextView element.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="55dip"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/lblListItem"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:textSize="17dip"
        android:paddingTop="5dp"
        android:paddingBottom="5dp"
        android:paddingLeft="?android:attr/expandableListPreferredChildPaddingLeft" />

</LinearLayout>

5. I am using a custom adapter class to create list view. Create a new class file called ExpandableListAdapter.java and extend this from BaseExpandableListAdapter. This class provides required methods to render listview.

getGroupView() – Returns view for the list group header
getChildView() – Returns view for list child item

package info.androidhive.expandablelistview;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;

import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.BaseExpandableListAdapter;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class ExpandableListAdapter extends BaseExpandableListAdapter {

	private Context _context;
	private List<String> _listDataHeader; // header titles
	// child data in format of header title, child title
	private HashMap<String, List<String>> _listDataChild;

	public ExpandableListAdapter(Context context, List<String> listDataHeader,
			HashMap<String, List<String>> listChildData) {
		this._context = context;
		this._listDataHeader = listDataHeader;
		this._listDataChild = listChildData;
	}

	@Override
	public Object getChild(int groupPosition, int childPosititon) {
		return this._listDataChild.get(this._listDataHeader.get(groupPosition))
				.get(childPosititon);
	}

	@Override
	public long getChildId(int groupPosition, int childPosition) {
		return childPosition;
	}

	@Override
	public View getChildView(int groupPosition, final int childPosition,
			boolean isLastChild, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {

		final String childText = (String) getChild(groupPosition, childPosition);

		if (convertView == null) {
			LayoutInflater infalInflater = (LayoutInflater) this._context
					.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
			convertView = infalInflater.inflate(R.layout.list_item, null);
		}

		TextView txtListChild = (TextView) convertView
				.findViewById(R.id.lblListItem);

		txtListChild.setText(childText);
		return convertView;
	}

	@Override
	public int getChildrenCount(int groupPosition) {
		return this._listDataChild.get(this._listDataHeader.get(groupPosition))
				.size();
	}

	@Override
	public Object getGroup(int groupPosition) {
		return this._listDataHeader.get(groupPosition);
	}

	@Override
	public int getGroupCount() {
		return this._listDataHeader.size();
	}

	@Override
	public long getGroupId(int groupPosition) {
		return groupPosition;
	}

	@Override
	public View getGroupView(int groupPosition, boolean isExpanded,
			View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
		String headerTitle = (String) getGroup(groupPosition);
		if (convertView == null) {
			LayoutInflater infalInflater = (LayoutInflater) this._context
					.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
			convertView = infalInflater.inflate(R.layout.list_group, null);
		}

		TextView lblListHeader = (TextView) convertView
				.findViewById(R.id.lblListHeader);
		lblListHeader.setTypeface(null, Typeface.BOLD);
		lblListHeader.setText(headerTitle);

		return convertView;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean hasStableIds() {
		return false;
	}

	@Override
	public boolean isChildSelectable(int groupPosition, int childPosition) {
		return true;
	}
}

6. Once you are done with customer adapter, open your MainActivity.java and do the following changes. In the following I created required data needed for list view and passed it to custom adapter.

package info.androidhive.expandablelistview;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnChildClickListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupClickListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupCollapseListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupExpandListener;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

	ExpandableListAdapter listAdapter;
	ExpandableListView expListView;
	List<String> listDataHeader;
	HashMap<String, List<String>> listDataChild;

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

		// get the listview
		expListView = (ExpandableListView) findViewById(R.id.lvExp);

		// preparing list data
		prepareListData();

		listAdapter = new ExpandableListAdapter(this, listDataHeader, listDataChild);

		// setting list adapter
		expListView.setAdapter(listAdapter);
	}

	/*
	 * Preparing the list data
	 */
	private void prepareListData() {
		listDataHeader = new ArrayList<String>();
		listDataChild = new HashMap<String, List<String>>();

		// Adding child data
		listDataHeader.add("Top 250");
		listDataHeader.add("Now Showing");
		listDataHeader.add("Coming Soon..");

		// Adding child data
		List<String> top250 = new ArrayList<String>();
		top250.add("The Shawshank Redemption");
		top250.add("The Godfather");
		top250.add("The Godfather: Part II");
		top250.add("Pulp Fiction");
		top250.add("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly");
		top250.add("The Dark Knight");
		top250.add("12 Angry Men");

		List<String> nowShowing = new ArrayList<String>();
		nowShowing.add("The Conjuring");
		nowShowing.add("Despicable Me 2");
		nowShowing.add("Turbo");
		nowShowing.add("Grown Ups 2");
		nowShowing.add("Red 2");
		nowShowing.add("The Wolverine");

		List<String> comingSoon = new ArrayList<String>();
		comingSoon.add("2 Guns");
		comingSoon.add("The Smurfs 2");
		comingSoon.add("The Spectacular Now");
		comingSoon.add("The Canyons");
		comingSoon.add("Europa Report");

		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(0), top250); // Header, Child data
		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(1), nowShowing);
		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(2), comingSoon);
	}
}

Run your project, you should see following output. (Note: The list view group indicators might change depending upon your android version)

ListView child item click listener

Detecting the child item click can be done by implementing setOnChildClickListener listener on listview.

// Listview on child click listener
		expListView.setOnChildClickListener(new OnChildClickListener() {

			@Override
			public boolean onChildClick(ExpandableListView parent, View v,
					int groupPosition, int childPosition, long id) {
				Toast.makeText(
						getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition)
								+ " : "
								+ listDataChild.get(
										listDataHeader.get(groupPosition)).get(
										childPosition), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT)
						.show();
				return false;
			}
		});

Listening when group is expanded

You may want to execute some lines of code when the listview group is expanded. For this you can use setOnGroupExpandListener which triggers an event when listview group expanded.

		// Listview Group expanded listener
		expListView.setOnGroupExpandListener(new OnGroupExpandListener() {

			@Override
			public void onGroupExpand(int groupPosition) {
				Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition) + " Expanded",
						Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
			}
		});

Listening when group is collapsed

Implementing setOnGroupCollapseListener will trigger an event when listview group is collapsed.

		// Listview Group collasped listener
		expListView.setOnGroupCollapseListener(new OnGroupCollapseListener() {

			@Override
			public void onGroupCollapse(int groupPosition) {
				Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition) + " Collapsed",
						Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

			}
		});

Complete Code

Here is the final code for MainActivity.java

package info.androidhive.expandablelistview;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnChildClickListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupClickListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupCollapseListener;
import android.widget.ExpandableListView.OnGroupExpandListener;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

	ExpandableListAdapter listAdapter;
	ExpandableListView expListView;
	List<String> listDataHeader;
	HashMap<String, List<String>> listDataChild;

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

		// get the listview
		expListView = (ExpandableListView) findViewById(R.id.lvExp);

		// preparing list data
		prepareListData();

		listAdapter = new ExpandableListAdapter(this, listDataHeader, listDataChild);

		// setting list adapter
		expListView.setAdapter(listAdapter);

		// Listview Group click listener
		expListView.setOnGroupClickListener(new OnGroupClickListener() {

			@Override
			public boolean onGroupClick(ExpandableListView parent, View v,
					int groupPosition, long id) {
				// Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
				// "Group Clicked " + listDataHeader.get(groupPosition),
				// Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
				return false;
			}
		});

		// Listview Group expanded listener
		expListView.setOnGroupExpandListener(new OnGroupExpandListener() {

			@Override
			public void onGroupExpand(int groupPosition) {
				Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition) + " Expanded",
						Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
			}
		});

		// Listview Group collasped listener
		expListView.setOnGroupCollapseListener(new OnGroupCollapseListener() {

			@Override
			public void onGroupCollapse(int groupPosition) {
				Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition) + " Collapsed",
						Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

			}
		});

		// Listview on child click listener
		expListView.setOnChildClickListener(new OnChildClickListener() {

			@Override
			public boolean onChildClick(ExpandableListView parent, View v,
					int groupPosition, int childPosition, long id) {
				// TODO Auto-generated method stub
				Toast.makeText(
						getApplicationContext(),
						listDataHeader.get(groupPosition)
								+ " : "
								+ listDataChild.get(
										listDataHeader.get(groupPosition)).get(
										childPosition), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT)
						.show();
				return false;
			}
		});
	}

	/*
	 * Preparing the list data
	 */
	private void prepareListData() {
		listDataHeader = new ArrayList<String>();
		listDataChild = new HashMap<String, List<String>>();

		// Adding child data
		listDataHeader.add("Top 250");
		listDataHeader.add("Now Showing");
		listDataHeader.add("Coming Soon..");

		// Adding child data
		List<String> top250 = new ArrayList<String>();
		top250.add("The Shawshank Redemption");
		top250.add("The Godfather");
		top250.add("The Godfather: Part II");
		top250.add("Pulp Fiction");
		top250.add("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly");
		top250.add("The Dark Knight");
		top250.add("12 Angry Men");

		List<String> nowShowing = new ArrayList<String>();
		nowShowing.add("The Conjuring");
		nowShowing.add("Despicable Me 2");
		nowShowing.add("Turbo");
		nowShowing.add("Grown Ups 2");
		nowShowing.add("Red 2");
		nowShowing.add("The Wolverine");

		List<String> comingSoon = new ArrayList<String>();
		comingSoon.add("2 Guns");
		comingSoon.add("The Smurfs 2");
		comingSoon.add("The Spectacular Now");
		comingSoon.add("The Canyons");
		comingSoon.add("Europa Report");

		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(0), top250); // Header, Child data
		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(1), nowShowing);
		listDataChild.put(listDataHeader.get(2), comingSoon);
	}
}

Ravi Tamada

Hi there! I am Founder at androidhive and programming enthusiast. My skills includes Android, iOS, PHP, Ruby on Rails and lot more. If you have any idea that you would want me to develop? Let’s talk: [email protected]