How to preview xml drawable?

Question

I'm working on pretty complex xml drawable and i was wondering if there is any tool/plugins which allow me to preview my drawable ?

I'm looking for something similar to the "Graphical layout" tab available for layout.

For example if i have something like this :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <item android:left="0dp" android:right="0dp"> 
        <shape android:shape="rectangle">

            <gradient android:angle="-90" android:startColor="#2B2B2B"
                android:endColor="#000000" />

        </shape>
    </item>
    <item android:top="1sp" android:bottom="26sp" > 
        <shape android:shape="rectangle">
            <solid android:color="#10ffffff"/>
    </shape>

    </item>
</layer-list>

How can i preview the shape and gradient ? And i'm probably dreaming , but is there any graphical tools to build a drawable ?

Bessem Mouelhi · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-28T18:31:57.587

86

In Android Studio do this: View -> Tool Windows -> Preview

edited May 28 '15 at 18:31

answered May 17 '15 at 10:01

Bessem Mouelhi

876
7
6

Would it be obvious for Android users to know which tool you are referring to? – qwerty_so May 17 '15 at 11:09
@grunk I recommend to accept this answer as correct. – Amio.io Aug 21 '15 at 10:32

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 05 '13 at 22:55

9

Android Studio has support for this starting with version 0.3.2: http://tools.android.com/recent/androidstudio032released

answered Dec 05 '13 at 22:55

Jarett Millard

5,275
4
38
48

score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 15 '17 at 13:21

6

Click on PREVIEW on the right side of the window.

edited Feb 15 '17 at 13:21

venkatvb

673
1
9
23

answered Mar 23 '16 at 18:43

Amit Garg

490
4
10

score 5 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 24 '13 at 15:42

5

In Eclipse Create new layout with root LinearLayout. Open Outline view. In properties table find View.Background. Press button ... Now you can chose Color and Drawable resources and there is small preview.

Preview in Eclipse

answered Sep 24 '13 at 15:42

degratnik

800
2
8
18

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 13 '14 at 00:43

2

Another possibility:

Just create a new layout "test", goto graphical layout, create a button inside (or any view), and assign the drawable to the button's background. The drawable is rendered (its normal state).

answered Mar 13 '14 at 00:43

rupps

9,183
4
53
87

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 15 '17 at 13:38

2

Android Studio 2X

View -> Tool Windows -> Preview
Or click on Preview on the right side

answered Mar 15 '17 at 13:38

Igor Wojda

1,739
18
23

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 22 '19 at 13:30

2

Android Studio offers a nice plugin named

"Vector Drawable Thumbnails"

This adds a nice overview over all vector drawables in your project. Just have a look at the side bar and open the view. You will get a thumbnail table of them.

answered Feb 22 '19 at 13:30

Tobias Reich

4,414
2
42
77

score 1 · Answer 8 · edited Apr 17 '20 at 11:11

1

One way to preview the resources is by using the Resource Manager in Android Studio. It's visible as a separate tab:

PrintScreen

edited Apr 17 '20 at 11:11

Zoe

23,712
16
99
132

answered Apr 17 '20 at 10:51

3888

11
3

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 02 '18 at 11:44

0

If you would like to preview selector you can find tabs with states on Preview Panel

answered Feb 02 '18 at 11:44

yoAlex5

13,571
5
105
98

how do you get this states tabs? currently they is no visible way of getting those – desgraci Oct 23 '19 at 12:52

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Apr 06 '21 at 16:27

0

The Preview options mentioned in previous answers aren't there in Android Studio 4.0. Look for this segmented control in the top-right of the editor tab instead.

answered Apr 06 '21 at 16:27

alex bird

104
4

How to preview xml drawable?

10 Answers10