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Android Switch Tutorial with Examples

  1. Android Switch
  2. Switch Styles
  3. Switch Events

1. Android Switch

In Android, Switch is a user interface control with the two ON/OFF states. Though its features are quite similar to CheckBox and ToggleButton, but different in terms of interface.
Switch is rather similar to CheckBox and ToggleButton in terms of features and usage. All three classes are subclasses of CompoundButton, and the difference lies in their interface.
Image (Icon)
Switch is a subclass of Button, so it allows you to display four icons maximum near the four edges by using the attributes of android:drawableLeft, android:drawableTop, android:drawableRight, android:drawableBottom, android:drawableStart, android:drawableEnd.
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch13"
    android:drawableLeft="@drawable/icon_bus"
    android:drawableTop="@drawable/icon_car"
    android:drawableBottom="@drawable/icon_boat"
    android:text="Switch"
    ... />
android:gravity
The android:gravity attribute is used to set the text display position of a Switch. Its value is a combination of the following values:
Constant in Java
Value
Description
Gravity.LEFT
left
Gravity.CENTER_HORIZONTAL
center_horizontal
Gravity.RIGHT
right
Gravity.CLIP_HORIZONTAL
clip_horizontal
Gravity.FILL_HORIZONTAL
fill_horizontal
Gravity.TOP
top
Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL
center_vertical
Gravity.BOTTOM
bottom
Gravity.CLIP_VERTICAL
clip_vertical
Gravity.FILL_VERTICAL
fill_vertical
Gravity.START
start
Gravity.END
end
Gravity.CENTER
center
Gravity.FILL
fill
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch13"
    android:text="Switch"
    android:gravity="bottom|center"
    ... />
android:switchPadding
The android:switchPadding allows you to set space between the track and the text of the Switch.
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch1"
    android:drawableLeft="@drawable/icon_alarm"
    android:switchPadding="10dp"
    android:text="Alarm"
    ... />
android:layoutDirection = "rtl"
The android:layoutDirection is supported from Android 4.2 (API Level 17), which allows you to set the layout direction of a View. By default the value of this attribute is "ltr" (Left to Right).
In order to use the android:layoutDirection attribute, you need to open the build.gradle (Module: app) file, then modify the value of minSdkVersion and make sure that the new value is equal or greater than 17.
<!-- Layout Direction Default: Left to Right -->
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch41"
    android:switchPadding="5dp"
    android:text="Alarm"
    ... />

<!-- Layout Direction: Right to Left -->
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch42"
    android:layoutDirection="rtl"
    android:switchPadding="5dp"
    android:text="Alarm"
    ... />
textOn/textOff
Android 5.0 (API Level 21) allows textOn/textOff to be displayed corresponding to the ON/OFF states of the Switch.
<!-- textOn/textOff = ON/OFF (Default) -->
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch51"
    android:text="Alarm"

    android:showText="true"
    ... />


<!-- textOn/textOff = Enabled/Disabled -->    
<Switch
    android:id="@+id/switch52"  
    android:text="Alarm"

    android:showText="true"
    android:textOff="Disabled"
    android:textOn="Enabled"
    ... />
toggle()
All 4 classes of ToggleButton, CheckBox, RadioButton, Switch are subclasses of CompoundButton, so they inherit the toggle() method, which is the commonly used method to change their state from ON (Checked) to OFF (Unchecked), and vice versa.
CompoundButton button = (Switch) findViewById(R.id.switch);

button.toggle();

2. Switch Styles

The style attribute is an option of Switch, which allows you to set the style for the Switch. There are several styles available in Android library that may be ready to use.
Note: Currently, there are not many available style(s) in the library, and they are not really different from the default styles. This is such a disappointing thing.
Switch Styles Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textView61"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
        android:layout_marginEnd="16dp"
        android:text="TextAppearance.AppCompat.Widget.Switch"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />

    <Switch
        android:id="@+id/switch61"
        style="@style/TextAppearance.AppCompat.Widget.Switch"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:showText="false"
        android:text="Alarm"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/textView61" />

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textView62"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
        android:layout_marginEnd="16dp"
        android:text="Widget.AppCompat.CompoundButton.Switch"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/switch61" />

    <Switch
        android:id="@+id/switch62"
        style="@style/Widget.AppCompat.CompoundButton.Switch"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:showText="false"
        android:text="Alarm"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/textView62" />

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textView63"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
        android:layout_marginEnd="16dp"
        android:text="Widget.Material.CompoundButton.Switch"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/switch62" />

    <Switch
        android:id="@+id/switch63"
        style="@android:style/Widget.Material.CompoundButton.Switch"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:showText="false"
        android:text="Alarm"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/textView63" />

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textView64"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
        android:layout_marginEnd="16dp"
        android:text="Widget.Material.Light.CompoundButton.Switch"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/switch63" />

    <Switch
        android:id="@+id/switch64"
        style="@android:style/Widget.Material.Light.CompoundButton.Switch"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:showText="false"
        android:text="Alarm"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/textView64" />

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

3. Switch Events

There are quite a few events related to a Switch; however, the following two events are most frequently used:
  • setOnClickListener(View.OnClickListener)
  • setOnCheckedChangeListener(CompoundButton.OnCheckedChangeListener)
On Click Event:
The event happens when the user clicks the Switch. It is the same as the action of the user clicking a Button.
Switch switch1 = (Switch) findViewById(R.id.switch1);

switch1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        boolean checked = ((Switch) v).isChecked();
        if (checked){
            // Your code  
        }
        else{
            // Your code
        }
    }
});
On Checked Change Event:
The event happens when the Switch changes its state due to the user's action or the effect of calling the setChecked(newState) method, etc.
Switch switch1 = (ToggleButton) findViewById(R.id.switch1);

switch1.setOnCheckedChangeListener(new CompoundButton.OnCheckedChangeListener() {
    @Override
    public void onCheckedChanged(CompoundButton buttonView, boolean isChecked) {
        if(isChecked)  {
           // Your code
        } else {
           // Your code
        }
    }
});

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