Get screen dimensions in pixels

Question

I created some custom elements, and I want to programmatically place them to the upper right corner (n pixels from the top edge and m pixels from the right edge). Therefore I need to get the screen width and screen height and then set position:

int px = screenWidth - m;
int py = screenHeight - n;

How do I get screenWidth and screenHeight in the main Activity?

Answer 1

If you want the display dimensions in pixels you can use getSize:

Display display = getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay();
Point size = new Point();
display.getSize(size);
int width = size.x;
int height = size.y;

If you're not in an Activity you can get the default Display via WINDOW_SERVICE:

WindowManager wm = (WindowManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WINDOW_SERVICE);
Display display = wm.getDefaultDisplay();

If you are in a fragment and want to acomplish this just use Activity.WindowManager (in Xamarin.Android) or getActivity().getWindowManager() (in java).

Before getSize was introduced (in API level 13), you could use the getWidth and getHeight methods that are now deprecated:

Display display = getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay(); 
int width = display.getWidth();  // deprecated
int height = display.getHeight();  // deprecated

For the use case you're describing however, a margin/padding in the layout seems more appropriate.

Another way is: DisplayMetrics

A structure describing general information about a display, such as its size, density, and font scaling. To access the DisplayMetrics members, initialize an object like this:

DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getMetrics(metrics);

We can use widthPixels to get information for:

"The absolute width of the display in pixels."

Example:

Log.d("ApplicationTagName", "Display width in px is " + metrics.widthPixels);

Answer 2

There are times when you need to know the precise dimensions of the available space for a layout when in an activity's onCreate. After some thought I worked out this way of doing it.

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        startActivityForResult(new Intent(this, Measure.class), 1);
        // Return without setting the layout, that will be done in onActivityResult.
    }

    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult (int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        // Probably can never happen, but just in case.
        if (resultCode == RESULT_CANCELED) {
            finish();
            return;
        }
        int width = data.getIntExtra("Width", -1);
        // Width is now set to the precise available width, and a layout can now be created.            ...
    }
}

public final class Measure extends Activity {
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
       // Create a LinearLayout with a MeasureFrameLayout in it.
        // Just putting a subclass of LinearLayout in works fine, but to future proof things, I do it this way.
        LinearLayout linearLayout = new LinearLayout(this);
        LinearLayout.LayoutParams matchParent = new LinearLayout.LayoutParams(LinearLayout.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LinearLayout.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT);
        MeasureFrameLayout measureFrameLayout = new MeasureFrameLayout(this);
        measureFrameLayout.setLayoutParams(matchParent);
        linearLayout.addView(measureFrameLayout);
        this.addContentView(linearLayout, matchParent);
        // measureFrameLayout will now request this second activity to finish, sending back the width.
    }

    class MeasureFrameLayout extends FrameLayout {
        boolean finished = false;
        public MeasureFrameLayout(Context context) {
            super(context);
        }

        @SuppressLint("DrawAllocation")
        @Override
        protected void onMeasure(int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec) {
            super.onMeasure(widthMeasureSpec, heightMeasureSpec);
            if (finished) {
                return;
            }
            finished = true;
            // Send the width back as the result.
            Intent data = new Intent().putExtra("Width", MeasureSpec.getSize(widthMeasureSpec));
            Measure.this.setResult(Activity.RESULT_OK, data);
            // Tell this activity to finish, so the result is passed back.
            Measure.this.finish();
        }
    }
}

If for some reason you don't want to add another activity to the Android manifest, you can do it this way:

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    static Activity measuringActivity;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        Bundle extras = getIntent().getExtras();
        if (extras == null) {
            extras = new Bundle();
        }
        int width = extras.getInt("Width", -2);
        if (width == -2) {
            // First time in, just start another copy of this activity.
            extras.putInt("Width", -1);
            startActivityForResult(new Intent(this, MainActivity.class).putExtras(extras), 1);
            // Return without setting the layout, that will be done in onActivityResult.
            return;
        }
        if (width == -1) {
            // Second time in, here is where the measurement takes place.
            // Create a LinearLayout with a MeasureFrameLayout in it.
            // Just putting a subclass of LinearLayout in works fine, but to future proof things, I do it this way.
            LinearLayout linearLayout = new LinearLayout(measuringActivity = this);
            LinearLayout.LayoutParams matchParent = new LinearLayout.LayoutParams(LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT);
            MeasureFrameLayout measureFrameLayout = new MeasureFrameLayout(this);
            measureFrameLayout.setLayoutParams(matchParent);
            linearLayout.addView(measureFrameLayout);
            this.addContentView(linearLayout, matchParent);
            // measureFrameLayout will now request this second activity to finish, sending back the width.
        }
    }

    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult (int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        // Probably can never happen, but just in case.
        if (resultCode == RESULT_CANCELED) {
            finish();
            return;
        }
        int width = data.getIntExtra("Width", -3);
        // Width is now set to the precise available width, and a layout can now be created. 
        ...
    }

class MeasureFrameLayout extends FrameLayout {
    boolean finished = false;
    public MeasureFrameLayout(Context context) {
        super(context);
    }

    @SuppressLint("DrawAllocation")
    @Override
    protected void onMeasure(int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec) {
        super.onMeasure(widthMeasureSpec, heightMeasureSpec);
        if (finished) {
            return;
        }
        finished = true;
        // Send the width back as the result.
        Intent data = new Intent().putExtra("Width", MeasureSpec.getSize(widthMeasureSpec));
        MainActivity.measuringActivity.setResult(Activity.RESULT_OK, data);
        // Tell the (second) activity to finish.
        MainActivity.measuringActivity.finish();
    }
}    

Answer 3

I found this did the trick.

Rect dim = new Rect();
getWindowVisibleDisplayFrame(dim);

Answer 4

I have a splash screen activity with a LinearLayout as a root view that has match_parent for its width & height. This is the code in the onCreate() method of that activity. I use these measures in all other activities of the app.

int displayWidth = getRawDisplayWidthPreHoneycomb();
int rawDisplayHeight = getRawDisplayHeightPreHoneycomb();
int usableDisplayHeight = rawDisplayHeight - getStatusBarHeight();
pf.setScreenParameters(displayWidth, usableDisplayHeight);

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
    LinearLayout myView = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.splash_view);
    myView.addOnLayoutChangeListener(new OnLayoutChangeListener() {
        @Override
        public void onLayoutChange(View v, int left, int top, int right, int bottom, int oldLeft, int oldTop, int oldRight, int oldBottom) {
            if (left == 0 && top == 0 && right == 0 && bottom == 0) {
                return;
            }
            int displayWidth = Math.min(right, bottom);
            int usableDisplayHeight = Math.max(right, bottom);
            pf.setScreenParameters(displayWidth, usableDisplayHeight);
        }
    });
}

Here are the implementations for the methods you see get called above:

private int getRawDisplayWidthPreHoneycomb() {
    WindowManager windowManager = getWindowManager();
    Display display = windowManager.getDefaultDisplay();
    DisplayMetrics displayMetrics = new DisplayMetrics();
    display.getMetrics(displayMetrics);

    int widthPixels = displayMetrics.widthPixels;
    int heightPixels = displayMetrics.heightPixels;

    return Math.min(widthPixels, heightPixels);
}

private int getRawDisplayHeightPreHoneycomb() {
    WindowManager w = getWindowManager();
    Display d = w.getDefaultDisplay();
    DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
    d.getMetrics(metrics);

    int widthPixels = metrics.widthPixels;
    int heightPixels = metrics.heightPixels;

    return Math.max(widthPixels, heightPixels);
}

public int getStatusBarHeight() {
    int statusBarHeight = 0;

    int resourceId = getResources().getIdentifier("status_bar_height", "dimen", "android");
    if (resourceId > 0) {
        statusBarHeight = getResources().getDimensionPixelSize(resourceId);
    }

    return statusBarHeight;
}

This results in the height and width of the usable display, excluding any type of bars (status bar, navigation bar), for all API versions and different types of devices (phones and tablets).

Answer 5

I have tried all possible "solutions" unsuccessfully and I noticed that Elliott Hughes' "Dalvik Explorer" app always shows correct dimension on any Android device/OS version. I ended up looking at his open source project that can be found here: https://code.google.com/p/enh/

Here's all the relevant code:

WindowManager w = activity.getWindowManager();
Display d = w.getDefaultDisplay();
DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
d.getMetrics(metrics);
// since SDK_INT = 1;
widthPixels = metrics.widthPixels;
heightPixels = metrics.heightPixels;
try {
    // used when 17 > SDK_INT >= 14; includes window decorations (statusbar bar/menu bar)
    widthPixels = (Integer) Display.class.getMethod("getRawWidth").invoke(d);
    heightPixels = (Integer) Display.class.getMethod("getRawHeight").invoke(d);
} catch (Exception ignored) {
}
try {
    // used when SDK_INT >= 17; includes window decorations (statusbar bar/menu bar)
    Point realSize = new Point();
    Display.class.getMethod("getRealSize", Point.class).invoke(d, realSize);
    widthPixels = realSize.x;
    heightPixels = realSize.y;
} catch (Exception ignored) {
}

EDIT: slightly improved version (avoid firing exceptions on non-supported OS version):

WindowManager w = activity.getWindowManager();
Display d = w.getDefaultDisplay();
DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
d.getMetrics(metrics);
// since SDK_INT = 1;
widthPixels = metrics.widthPixels;
heightPixels = metrics.heightPixels;
// includes window decorations (statusbar bar/menu bar)
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 14 && Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < 17)
try {
    widthPixels = (Integer) Display.class.getMethod("getRawWidth").invoke(d);
    heightPixels = (Integer) Display.class.getMethod("getRawHeight").invoke(d);
} catch (Exception ignored) {
}
// includes window decorations (statusbar bar/menu bar)
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 17)
try {
    Point realSize = new Point();
    Display.class.getMethod("getRealSize", Point.class).invoke(d, realSize);
    widthPixels = realSize.x;
    heightPixels = realSize.y;
} catch (Exception ignored) {
}

Answer 6

First load the XML file and then write this code:

setContentView(R.layout.main);      
Display display = getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay();
final int width = (display.getWidth());
final int height = (display.getHeight());

Show width and height according your screen resolution.