Adding Welcome / Intro screens in your app is a great way of showcasing the major features of the app. Previously I explained about adding a static Splash Screen to your app. In this article we are going to learn how to add an intro slider to your app where user can swipe through few slides before getting into app.
To demonstrate, I am creating a simple app that contains few intro slides with next and skip navigation. The user can navigate through each slide using swipe gesture or using the next button. I’ll also explain how to show the intro only when the app is launched for the first time.
VIDEO DEMO
Here is the final app we are going to build.
Let’s start by creating a new project.
1. Create a new project in Android Studio from File ⇒ New ⇒ New Project. When it prompts you to select the default activity, select Empty Activity and proceed.
2. Open build.gradle and add Dependencies.
dependencies {
implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.1.0'
}
colors.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<color name="colorPrimary">#3F51B5</color>
<color name="colorPrimaryDark">#303F9F</color>
<color name="colorAccent">#FF4081</color>
<!-- Screens background color-->
<color name="bg_screen1">#f64c73</color>
<color name="bg_screen2">#20d2bb</color>
<color name="bg_screen3">#3395ff</color>
<color name="bg_screen4">#c873f4</color>
<!-- dots inactive colors -->
<color name="dot_dark_screen1">#d1395c</color>
<color name="dot_dark_screen2">#14a895</color>
<color name="dot_dark_screen3">#2278d4</color>
<color name="dot_dark_screen4">#a854d4</color>
<!-- dots active colors -->
<color name="dot_light_screen1">#f98da5</color>
<color name="dot_light_screen2">#8cf9eb</color>
<color name="dot_light_screen3">#93c6fd</color>
<color name="dot_light_screen4">#e4b5fc</color>
<array name="array_dot_active">
<item>@color/dot_light_screen1</item>
<item>@color/dot_light_screen2</item>
<item>@color/dot_light_screen3</item>
<item>@color/dot_light_screen4</item>
</array>
<array name="array_dot_inactive">
<item>@color/dot_dark_screen1</item>
<item>@color/dot_dark_screen2</item>
<item>@color/dot_dark_screen3</item>
<item>@color/dot_dark_screen4</item>
</array>
</resources>
3. Open strings.xml located under res ⇒ values and add the below string values. Here I am mentioning a title and description for each slide.
<resources>
<string name="app_name">Intro Slider</string>
<string name="title_activity_welcome">Home Screen</string>
<string name="next">NEXT</string>
<string name="skip">SKIP</string>
<string name="start">GOT IT</string>
<string name="slide_1_title">WelCome To CodeDecode.in</string>
<string name="slide_1_desc">Web and Android app development tutorials for beginner and advanced learners.</string>
<string name="slide_2_title">Event Organizer</string>
<string name="slide_2_desc">Best Event Organizer…!</string>
<string name="slide_3_title">Weather Reports</string>
<string name="slide_3_desc">Get Accurate Weather Information…! </string>
<string name="slide_4_title">Technology Information</string>
<string name="slide_4_desc">Get Latest Technology Information…!</string>
<string name="play_again_desc">To see the welcome slider again, goto Settings -> apps -> welcome slider -> clear data</string>
<string name="play_again">Play Again</string>
</resources>
4. Open dimens.xml located under res ⇒ values and add the below values.
dimens.xml
<resources>
<!-- Default screen margins, per the Android Design guidelines. -->
<dimen name="activity_horizontal_margin">16dp</dimen>
<dimen name="activity_vertical_margin">16dp</dimen>
<dimen name="fab_margin">16dp</dimen>
<dimen name="dots_height">30dp</dimen>
<dimen name="dots_margin_bottom">20dp</dimen>
<dimen name="img_width_height">120dp</dimen>
<dimen name="slide_title">30dp</dimen>
<dimen name="slide_desc">16dp</dimen>
<dimen name="desc_padding">40dp</dimen>
</resources>
5. Also make sure that you have these styles in your styles.xml as the app is crashing because of recent changes in build tools.
styles.xml
<resources>
<!-- Base application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar">
<!-- Customize your theme here. -->
<item name="colorPrimary">@color/colorPrimary</item>
<item name="colorPrimaryDark">@color/colorPrimaryDark</item>
<item name="colorAccent">@color/colorAccent</item>
<item name="windowActionBar">false</item>
<item name="windowNoTitle">true</item>
</style>
<style name="AppTheme.AppBarOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar" />
<style name="AppTheme.PopupOverlay" parent="ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light" />
</resources>
The welcome / intro slider should be shown only once when the app is launched for the very first time. If the user launches the app on second time, he should directly go to main screen. To achieve this, we use SharedPreferences to store a boolean value indicating first time launch.
6. Create a class named PrefManager.java and do the below changes. isFirstTimeLaunch() returns true if the app is launched for the first time.
PrefManager.java
package com.codedecode.introsliderandroid;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
class PrefManager {
private SharedPreferences pref;
private SharedPreferences.Editor editor;
// Shared preferences file name
private static final String PREF_NAME = "codedecode";
private static final String IS_FIRST_TIME_LAUNCH = "IsFirstTimeLaunch";
PrefManager(Context context) {
// shared pref mode
int PRIVATE_MODE = 0;
pref = context.getSharedPreferences(PREF_NAME, PRIVATE_MODE);
editor = pref.edit();
}
void setFirstTimeLaunch(boolean isFirstTime) {
editor.putBoolean(IS_FIRST_TIME_LAUNCH, isFirstTime);
editor.commit();
}
boolean isFirstTimeLaunch() {
return pref.getBoolean(IS_FIRST_TIME_LAUNCH, true);
}
}
Now it’s time to create the layouts required for the slider. In total I am keeping 4 slides for the intro screen. So we need four separate layouts for four slide. The layout of each slide remains the same except the images, text and colors. Alternatively you can create separate Fragment for each slide to have more control over the UI elements displayed in the slide.
7. So quickly create four xml layouts named welcome_side1.xml,welcome_side2.xml, welcome_side3.xml and welcome_side4.xml under res ⇒ layouts.
welcome_slide1.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="@color/bg_screen1">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:layout_height="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:src="@drawable/logo" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/slide_1_title"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_title"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:text="@string/slide_1_desc"
android:textAlignment="center"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_desc" />
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout>
welcome_slide2.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="@color/bg_screen2">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:layout_height="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:src="@drawable/calendar" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/slide_2_title"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_title"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:text="@string/slide_2_desc"
android:textAlignment="center"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_desc" />
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout>
welcome_slide3.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="@color/bg_screen3">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:layout_height="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:src="@drawable/cloud" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/slide_3_title"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_title"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:text="@string/slide_3_desc"
android:textAlignment="center"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_desc" />
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout>
welcome_slide4.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="@color/bg_screen4">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerInParent="true"
android:gravity="center_horizontal"
android:orientation="vertical">
<ImageView
android:layout_width="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:layout_height="@dimen/img_width_height"
android:src="@drawable/computer" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/slide_4_title"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_title"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/desc_padding"
android:text="@string/slide_4_desc"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textSize="@dimen/slide_desc" />
</LinearLayout>
</RelativeLayout>
8. Once the layouts are ready, create a new activity named WelcomeActivity.java for the welcome slider. Right Click on package New ⇒ Activity ⇒ Empty Activity.
9. Open activity_welcome.xml and modify the code as below. Here I am adding ViewPager for slider, LinearLayout for bottom dots and two buttons for Skip and Next navigation.
activity_welcome.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:showIn="@layout/activity_welcome">
<androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager
android:id="@+id/view_pager"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />
<LinearLayout
android:id="@+id/layoutDots"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="@dimen/dots_height"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="@dimen/dots_margin_bottom"
android:gravity="center"
android:orientation="horizontal" />
<View
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="1dp"
android:alpha=".5"
android:layout_above="@id/layoutDots"
android:background="@android:color/white" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/btn_next"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:background="@null"
android:text="@string/next"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:layout_alignParentEnd="true" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/btn_skip"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:background="@null"
android:text="@string/skip"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:layout_alignParentStart="true" />
</RelativeLayout>
10. Open WelcomeActivity.java and modify the code as below. Here I have taken care of few things
- Check for the fist time app launch using prefManager.isFirstTimeLaunch() method. If it returns true, MainActivity will be launched skipping the intro activity.
- Made the notification bar transparent, so that the view background color can be seen through.
- Created a PagerAdapter for the ViewPager and inflated all the layouts we created earlier.
- Added click event listener to Skip and Next buttons. If next button is clicked, next slide will be shown. If Skip button is clicked, main activity will be launched directly.
WelcomeActivity.java
package com.codedecode.introsliderandroid;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.text.Html;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.view.Window;
import android.view.WindowManager;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.LinearLayout;
import android.widget.TextView;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import androidx.viewpager.widget.PagerAdapter;
import androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager;
public class WelcomeActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private ViewPager viewPager;
private LinearLayout dotsLayout;
private int[] layouts;
private Button btnSkip, btnNext;
private PrefManager prefManager;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Checking for first time launch - before calling setContentView()
prefManager = new PrefManager(this);
if (!prefManager.isFirstTimeLaunch()) {
launchHomeScreen();
finish();
}
// Making notification bar transparent
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 21) {
getWindow().getDecorView().setSystemUiVisibility(View.SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_LAYOUT_STABLE | View.SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_LAYOUT_FULLSCREEN);
}
setContentView(R.layout.activity_welcome);
viewPager = findViewById(R.id.view_pager);
dotsLayout = findViewById(R.id.layoutDots);
btnSkip = findViewById(R.id.btn_skip);
btnNext = findViewById(R.id.btn_next);
// layouts of all welcome sliders
// add few more layouts if you want
layouts = new int[]{
R.layout.welcome_slide1,
R.layout.welcome_slide2,
R.layout.welcome_slide3,
R.layout.welcome_slide4};
// adding bottom dots
addBottomDots(0);
// making notification bar transparent
changeStatusBarColor();
MyViewPagerAdapter myViewPagerAdapter = new MyViewPagerAdapter();
viewPager.setAdapter(myViewPagerAdapter);
viewPager.addOnPageChangeListener(viewPagerPageChangeListener);
btnSkip.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
launchHomeScreen();
}
});
btnNext.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
// checking for last page
// if last page home screen will be launched
int current = getItem(+1);
if (current < layouts.length) {
// move to next screen
viewPager.setCurrentItem(current);
} else {
launchHomeScreen();
}
}
});
}
private void addBottomDots(int currentPage) {
TextView[] dots = new TextView[layouts.length];
int[] colorsActive = getResources().getIntArray(R.array.array_dot_active);
int[] colorsInactive = getResources().getIntArray(R.array.array_dot_inactive);
dotsLayout.removeAllViews();
for (int i = 0; i < dots.length; i++) {
dots[i] = new TextView(this);
dots[i].setText(Html.fromHtml("•"));
dots[i].setTextSize(35);
dots[i].setTextColor(colorsInactive[currentPage]);
dotsLayout.addView(dots[i]);
}
if (dots.length > 0)
dots[currentPage].setTextColor(colorsActive[currentPage]);
}
private int getItem(int i) {
return viewPager.getCurrentItem() + i;
}
private void launchHomeScreen() {
prefManager.setFirstTimeLaunch(false);
startActivity(new Intent(WelcomeActivity.this, MainActivity.class));
finish();
}
// viewpager change listener
ViewPager.OnPageChangeListener viewPagerPageChangeListener = new ViewPager.OnPageChangeListener() {
@Override
public void onPageSelected(int position) {
addBottomDots(position);
// changing the next button text 'NEXT' / 'GOT IT'
if (position == layouts.length - 1) {
// last page. make button text to GOT IT
btnNext.setText(getString(R.string.start));
btnSkip.setVisibility(View.GONE);
} else {
// still pages are left
btnNext.setText(getString(R.string.next));
btnSkip.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
}
@Override
public void onPageScrolled(int arg0, float arg1, int arg2) {
}
@Override
public void onPageScrollStateChanged(int arg0) {
}
};
/**
* Making notification bar transparent
*/
private void changeStatusBarColor() {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
Window window = getWindow();
window.addFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_DRAWS_SYSTEM_BAR_BACKGROUNDS);
window.setStatusBarColor(Color.TRANSPARENT);
}
}
/**
* View pager adapter
*/
public class MyViewPagerAdapter extends PagerAdapter {
MyViewPagerAdapter() {
}
@Override
public Object instantiateItem(ViewGroup container, int position) {
LayoutInflater layoutInflater = (LayoutInflater) getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
View view = layoutInflater.inflate(layouts[position], container, false);
container.addView(view);
return view;
}
@Override
public int getCount() {
return layouts.length;
}
@Override
public boolean isViewFromObject(View view, Object obj) {
return view == obj;
}
@Override
public void destroyItem(ViewGroup container, int position, Object object) {
View view = (View) object;
container.removeView(view);
}
}
}
11. Finally open AndroidManifest.xml and make WelcomeActivity as launcher activity. So that it will be shown as the first screen in the app.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.codedecode.introsliderandroid">
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
<activity android:name="com.codedecode.introsliderandroid.WelcomeActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.codedecode.introsliderandroid.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_welcome"
android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.NoActionBar"/>
</application>
</manifest>
Run the app and play with awesomely looking intro sliders 🙂
Happy Coding 🙂
