A simple library for showing app tips on Android.

Tips can be set to be shown after a specific amount of time. They can also have an action button that will execute a provided Runnable and dismiss the tip when pressed.

Demo

Example In-app example
example--1- real_example

How to include

Add the repository to your project build.gradle:

allprojects {
    repositories {
        ...
        maven { url 'https://jitpack.io' }
    }
}

And add the library to your module build.gradle:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.github.tombayley:DropDownTipsList:1.2.0'
}

Usage

XML

Add the following code to your layout:

<com.tombayley.dropdowntipslist.DropDownList
    android:id="@+id/drop_down_list"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:attr_accentColor="@android:color/holo_blue_dark"
    app:attr_primaryTextColor="@android:color/black" />
XML

In the parent viewgroup, add:

android:animateLayoutChanges="true"

Kotlin

The title, description, action button text and action runnable can be set when creating an Item.

setAppearAfter() must also be called with:

  • an initial time (Long) to start "counting down" from (e.g. app install time)
  • a time in hours until the tip item is shown,
  • a preference key which is used to store if an item has been dismissed (so it doesn't show again)
val dropDownList: DropDownList = findViewById(R.id.drop_down_list)
dropDownList.preferences = preferences

val dropDownListItems = LinkedList<DropDownList.Item>()
var item: DropDownList.Item

item = DropDownList.Item(
    title = "Enter a title",
    description = "Enter a description",
    actionText = getString(android.R.string.ok),
    action = Runnable { 
        // ...
    }
)
item.setAppearAfter(appInstallTime, 0, "drop_list_example1")
dropDownListItems.add(item)

item = DropDownList.Item(
    title = "Example Item 2",
    description = "Example Description 2",
    actionText = "Action 2",
    action = Runnable { 
        // ...
    }
)
item.setAppearAfter(appInstallTime, 0, "drop_list_example2")
dropDownListItems.add(item)

item = DropDownList.Item(
    title = "Tip with no action",
    description = "Tip description"
)
item.setAppearAfter(appInstallTime, 12, "drop_list_example2")
dropDownListItems.add(item)

dropDownList.addAll(dropDownListItems)
Kotlin

Customising

XML

XML attributes can be added to the DropDownList view:

Attribute name Type Description
attr_accentColor reference / color Color for number of tips and action button text
attr_primaryTextColor reference / color Color for all other elements. Some elements use a faded version of this color e.g. description text
attr_showAllExpanded boolean Default false. If true, all tips are shown and the header is hidden. Example in "In-app example" gif as the "Tips" activity
attr_keepSpaceIfEmpty boolean Default false. If true, space used by tips view is kept if list is empty

Kotlin

Don't remove the space used by the view if the tips list is empty:

dropDownList.keepSpaceIfEmpty = true
Kotlin

GitHub