Programming and implementing a custom dialer UI

Question

Every other question here is about ACTION_CALL or ACTION_DIAL or those topics. I get that. I need an intent. But how do you implement your custom dialer? I've searched and searched and I can't find anything regarding this topic. I have it all designed, ready to go, but nothing on how to put it all together.

I thought it would be as simple as adding some elements and styles to layout/activity_main.java but it isn't. Simple tests so far have just made the app crash on load. Like:

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/textView1"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:text="@string/title_two"
    android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<EditText
    android:id="@+id/editText1"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:ems="10"
    android:inputType="phone"
    android:maxLength="11" >
    <requestFocus />
</EditText>

<Button
    android:id="@+id/one"
    android:text="1" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/two"
    android:text="2" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/three"
    android:text="3" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/four"
    android:text="4" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/five"
    android:text="5" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/six"
    android:text="6" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/seven"
    android:text="7" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/eight"
    android:text="8" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/nine"
    android:text="9" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/star"
    android:text="*" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/zero"
    android:text="0" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/pound"
    android:text="#" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/callButton"
    android:text="Call" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/contacts"
    android:text="Con" />
<Button
    android:id="@+id/del"
    android:text="Del" />

I'm sure that's just some kind easy problem I'm running into but I can't even get any buttons added without crashing everything. Then in src/MainActivity.java:

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    Button dialBtn;
    EditText numTxt;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        dialBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
        numTxt = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.editText1);
        dialBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            public void onClick(View v) {
                try {
                    if (numTxt != null && (numTxt.getText().length()==10 ||numTxt.getText().length()==11)) {
                        startActivity(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL, Uri.parse("tel: 8880000000" + numTxt.getText())));
                    }else if(numTxt != null && numTxt.getText().length()==0){
                        Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "You must enter a number to call", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                    }else if(numTxt != null && numTxt.getText().length()<10){
                        Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Please check your number and try again", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                    }
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    Log.e("DialerActivity", "error: " + e.getMessage(), e);
                }
            }
        });
    }
}

The only goal here is to present a dialer to the user. They enter their number, they can see it on the screen like a normal dialer, and then it calls a hardcoded access number for the service, then passes in their dialed number when the eventListener changes to answer.

I will admit I'm new to this so there's a couple of glaring mistakes, I know, I'm just too new to see them. I figured this would be one of the easiest things you could do with Android since there are a million customer dialers out there. I'm not trying to do anything fancy, you have to use the app to use the service, i.e. it's not hanging around in the background with a BroadcastReceiver trying to intercept your outgoing calls and see if you want to use the service. Just a simple dialer app. Where am I going wrong? Some of this code is copied straight from books, online tutorials, just trying to get it to work but a straight copy and paste I can't get working?

Here you can find a custom dialer : github.com/Ali-Rezaei/PadLayout — Ali
– Ali, Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 12:01

D Yao. · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-22 19:30:32Z

1

If that is the actual content of your layout then there are several issues.

Must be .xml file.
must have root element (i.e., you must layout your buttons in a particular kind of layout - linear, relative, etc.) Here's somewhere to get started : http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/declaring-layout.html
every element in a layout xml must have two attributes: android:layout_width and android:layout_height
You must attach a View.OnClickListener to each of your buttons.
You are going to have to lay your buttons out in a specific way. For example, use 3 linear layouts to host 3 lines of number buttons, contained in your main layout.

It looks like you're just getting started so I would recommend taking a look at some basic examples online for building a simple android app.

answered Aug 22, 2012 at 19:30

D Yao.

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3 Comments

o_O Over a year ago

Well I posted the relevant code (I thought) this is inside LinearLayout. I didn't think the <?xml tag was necessary to show here but I can edit the question and include all of it if you think it owuld help.

o_O Over a year ago

I have followed several tutorials, but none of them go into any depth. I have an understanding of all the basics and I have three books and none covers anything to do with using the dialer. This isn't my first app, but I also thought it wouldn't be a difficult app.

o_O Over a year ago

+1 for height and width. I did not know it was mandatory. Also, the LinearLayout wrapper tip was good as well. It now doesn't crash and displays the buttons in three rows when I do android:orientation="horizontal" on the groups. Now on to the onClickListener to see if I get that working. Thanks.

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