Create a transparent dialog on top of activity

Question

Background

I'm trying to put a layer on top of the current activity which would have explanation of what is going on on the current screen, similar to what occurs on contact+ app .

I know there are some solutions for this (like the showCase library and the superToolTips library ) , and I also know that I can create a view and set it on top by adding it to the window of the activity , but I need put a whole dialog layer on top.

Problem

No matter what I try, each solution doesn't work the way I need it to work.

in short , what I need is:

full screen dialog.
no change (not visual and not logical) to the action bar, notification bar, and content of the activity behind, meaning that everything behind the dialog stays the same it was shown a moment before the dialog was shown.
be transparent except for the views I use for the dialog, which should be shown normally.

what I've tried

Sadly, I've always got only a part of the things I needed.

here's my code:

styles.xml:

<style name="full_screen_dialog"> <item name="android:windowFrame">@null</item> <item name="android:windowIsFloating">true</item> <item name="android:windowContentOverlay">@null</item> <item name="android:windowAnimationStyle">@android:style/Animation.Dialog</item> <item name="android:windowSoftInputMode">stateUnspecified|adjustPan</item> </style>

MainActivity.java:

... final Dialog dialog = new Dialog(this, R.style.full_screen_dialog); dialog.requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE); dialog.setContentView(R.layout.floating_tutorial); dialog.getWindow().setLayout(LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT); dialog.getWindow().setFormat(PixelFormat.TRANSLUCENT); dialog.show();

This code will put the layout on top of the activity, but sadly it doesn't have any transparency , even though I've set it . The layout I've used is very simple which is why I don't post it.

Question

what am I missing ? what should be done to fix the code?

how can I make the dialog both transparent, full screen AND that it won't change the action bar and notifications bar.

Working solution

EDIT: after finding a good solution, here's the working code:

@Override protected void onCreate(final Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); final Dialog dialog = new Dialog(this); dialog.requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE); dialog.setContentView(R.layout.floating_tutorial); final Window window = dialog.getWindow(); window.setLayout(WindowManager.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, WindowManager.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT); window.clearFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_DIM_BEHIND); window.setBackgroundDrawable(new ColorDrawable(Color.TRANSPARENT)); dialog.show(); }

Brilliant well written, did not have to read anything, just reach the end of the question and there is the answer.. thanks — Siddharth
– Siddharth, Commented Jun 27, 2014 at 4:27
This dialog I want to display at the center of the screen....how can I do it? — Ravikumar Yadav
– Ravikumar Yadav, Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 4:44
Got it.... window.setLayout(WindowManager.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT, WindowManager.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT); — Ravikumar Yadav
– Ravikumar Yadav, Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 4:47
@androiddeveloper WindowManager.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, WindowManager.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT); with this dialog appearing at top.But with wrap content it appears at center — Ravikumar Yadav
– Ravikumar Yadav, Commented Sep 24, 2015 at 4:37

guilin 桂林 · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-12 14:05:39Z

56

Just change the background color of your Dialog:

dialog.getWindow().setBackgroundDrawable(new ColorDrawable(Color.TRANSPARENT));

Edit:

This prevents the dim effect:

dialog.getWindow().clearFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_DIM_BEHIND);

edited Oct 12, 2015 at 14:05

guilin 桂林

17.5k31 gold badges99 silver badges148 bronze badges

answered Aug 20, 2013 at 14:53

Steve Benett

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7 Comments

android developer Over a year ago

easy and short solution. it worked. however, for some reason the screen get darkened when the dialog is shown. please tell me how to change it (customize and/or disable it).

android developer Over a year ago

oops deleted my comment. if you delete yours, i will delete mine... :) anyway, thank you. it worked perfectly.

Steve Benett Over a year ago

@androiddeveloper np :) this is really annoying customizing because it's well hidden in the framework

android developer Over a year ago

which of the things i've written i don't need anymore? i think full_screen_dialog isn't needed. are there more?

Steve Benett Over a year ago

The only code which looks suspicous to me is the dialog.getWindow().setFormat(PixelFormat.TRANSLUCENT);

|

Javier Rodriguez · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-30 03:34:22Z

Just add this, it really works!

<item name="android:windowIsTranslucent">true</item> <item name="android:windowCloseOnTouchOutside">true</item> <item name="android:windowBackground">@android:drawable/alert_dark_frame</item> <item name="android:windowContentOverlay">@null</item> <item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item> <item name="android:windowIsFloating">true</item> <item name="android:backgroundDimEnabled">false</item>

This was a long time ago. I don't even remember this question.
this can be useful for other people, you are not the only person who might want to implement such a window

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