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TextView styling
Android development
code styling
programming
mobile app design

Set style for TextView programmatically

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iOS & Android

Introduction

Android does not support applying a full XML style to a TextView after creation. The setTextAppearance() method applies text-related style attributes (size, color, typeface), while individual properties like background, padding, and gravity must be set through their own setter methods. For applying a complete style at creation time, use the ContextThemeWrapper constructor approach or MaterialTextView with a style overlay.

Setting Text Appearance

setTextAppearance() applies text-specific attributes from a style resource:

java
1// API 23+ (recommended)
2textView.setTextAppearance(R.style.MyTextAppearance);
3
4// API 1+ (deprecated but still works)
5textView.setTextAppearance(context, R.style.MyTextAppearance);

Define the text appearance in res/values/styles.xml:

xml
1<style name="MyTextAppearance" parent="TextAppearance.AppCompat.Body1">
2    <item name="android:textSize">18sp</item>
3    <item name="android:textColor">#333333</item>
4    <item name="android:textStyle">bold</item>
5    <item name="android:fontFamily">sans-serif-medium</item>
6</style>

setTextAppearance() only applies text attributes — it ignores layout properties like background, padding, and gravity.

Setting Individual Properties

java
1TextView textView = new TextView(context);
2
3// Text size
4textView.setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_SP, 18);
5
6// Text color
7textView.setTextColor(Color.parseColor("#333333"));
8textView.setTextColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.primary));
9
10// Bold, italic, bold-italic
11textView.setTypeface(textView.getTypeface(), Typeface.BOLD);
12textView.setTypeface(textView.getTypeface(), Typeface.ITALIC);
13textView.setTypeface(textView.getTypeface(), Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC);
14
15// Custom font
16Typeface customFont = ResourcesCompat.getFont(context, R.font.roboto_medium);
17textView.setTypeface(customFont);
18
19// Background
20textView.setBackgroundColor(Color.WHITE);
21textView.setBackgroundResource(R.drawable.rounded_background);
22
23// Padding (in pixels)
24textView.setPadding(16, 8, 16, 8);
25
26// Gravity
27textView.setGravity(Gravity.CENTER);
28
29// Line spacing
30textView.setLineSpacing(4f, 1.2f);  // add=4dp, mult=1.2
31
32// Max lines and ellipsis
33textView.setMaxLines(2);
34textView.setEllipsize(TextUtils.TruncateAt.END);

Kotlin Equivalents

kotlin
1val textView = TextView(context).apply {
2    setTextAppearance(R.style.MyTextAppearance)
3    textSize = 18f  // interpreted as SP
4    setTextColor(Color.parseColor("#333333"))
5    typeface = Typeface.DEFAULT_BOLD
6    gravity = Gravity.CENTER
7    setPadding(16, 8, 16, 8)
8    maxLines = 2
9    ellipsize = TextUtils.TruncateAt.END
10}

Applying a Full Style at Creation Time

Use ContextThemeWrapper to apply a complete style when creating the view:

java
1// Define style in styles.xml
2// <style name="CustomTextView">
3//     <item name="android:textSize">20sp</item>
4//     <item name="android:textColor">#FF5722</item>
5//     <item name="android:background">@drawable/bg_rounded</item>
6//     <item name="android:padding">12dp</item>
7// </style>
8
9ContextThemeWrapper wrappedContext = new ContextThemeWrapper(context, R.style.CustomTextView);
10TextView textView = new TextView(wrappedContext, null, 0);

The third parameter (0) tells the constructor not to apply a default style, using only the wrapped theme's style. This is the only way to apply non-text attributes (background, padding) from a style resource programmatically.

Using TextViewCompat

TextViewCompat from AndroidX provides backward-compatible methods:

java
1import androidx.core.widget.TextViewCompat;
2
3// Set text appearance (backward compatible)
4TextViewCompat.setTextAppearance(textView, R.style.MyTextAppearance);
5
6// Auto-size text (API 14+)
7TextViewCompat.setAutoSizeTextTypeWithDefaults(
8    textView,
9    TextViewCompat.AUTO_SIZE_TEXT_TYPE_UNIFORM
10);
11
12// Auto-size with bounds
13TextViewCompat.setAutoSizeTextTypeUniformWithConfiguration(
14    textView,
15    12,   // min text size in SP
16    24,   // max text size in SP
17    1,    // step granularity in SP
18    TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_SP
19);

Applying Spans for Partial Styling

For applying different styles to parts of the text:

java
1SpannableString spannable = new SpannableString("Hello World");
2
3// Bold "Hello"
4spannable.setSpan(new StyleSpan(Typeface.BOLD), 0, 5, Spannable.SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE);
5
6// Red "World"
7spannable.setSpan(new ForegroundColorSpan(Color.RED), 6, 11, Spannable.SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE);
8
9// Larger "Hello"
10spannable.setSpan(new RelativeSizeSpan(1.5f), 0, 5, Spannable.SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE);
11
12textView.setText(spannable);

Material Design Text Styles

With Material Components for Android:

java
1// Use Material text appearances
2textView.setTextAppearance(com.google.android.material.R.style.TextAppearance_MaterialComponents_Headline6);
3textView.setTextAppearance(com.google.android.material.R.style.TextAppearance_MaterialComponents_Body1);
4textView.setTextAppearance(com.google.android.material.R.style.TextAppearance_MaterialComponents_Caption);
5
6// Material 3 (Material You)
7textView.setTextAppearance(com.google.android.material.R.style.TextAppearance_Material3_BodyLarge);

Dynamic Style Switching

java
1public void applyTheme(TextView textView, boolean isDarkMode) {
2    if (isDarkMode) {
3        textView.setTextColor(Color.WHITE);
4        textView.setBackgroundColor(Color.parseColor("#121212"));
5    } else {
6        textView.setTextColor(Color.parseColor("#333333"));
7        textView.setBackgroundColor(Color.WHITE);
8    }
9}
10
11// Or use a style resource
12textView.setTextAppearance(isDarkMode
13    ? R.style.DarkTextAppearance
14    : R.style.LightTextAppearance);

Common Pitfalls

  • setTextAppearance ignores non-text attributes: It only applies textSize, textColor, textStyle, fontFamily, and similar text properties. Background, padding, margins, and layout parameters must be set separately through their own methods.
  • setTextSize() default unit is SP, not DP: textView.setTextSize(18) uses SP (scaled pixels). To use DP or PX, specify the unit: textView.setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_DIP, 18).
  • setTypeface resets the style: Calling textView.setTypeface(newFont) clears bold/italic. To preserve the style, use textView.setTypeface(newFont, Typeface.BOLD) or chain calls: set typeface first, then style.
  • No setStyle() method on View: Android has no view.setStyle(R.style.MyStyle) method. Once a view is created, you cannot apply a full XML style. Use ContextThemeWrapper at creation time or set individual properties afterward.
  • Padding in pixels: setPadding() takes pixel values, not dp. Convert dp to pixels first: int px = (int) (dpValue * context.getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density).

Summary

  • Use setTextAppearance(R.style.X) for text-specific attributes (size, color, typeface)
  • Set individual properties (setTextSize, setTextColor, setTypeface) for fine-grained control
  • Use ContextThemeWrapper to apply a full style at view creation time
  • Use TextViewCompat from AndroidX for backward-compatible features
  • Use SpannableString for mixed styles within a single TextView
  • There is no way to apply a complete XML style to an already-created view
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