Auto Scale TextView Text to Fit within Bounds

Question

I'm looking for an optimal way to resize wrapping text in a TextView so that it will fit within its getHeight and getWidth bounds. I'm not simply looking for a way to wrap the text- I want to make sure it both wraps and is small enough to fit entirely on the screen.

I've seen a few cases on StackOverflow where auto resizing was needed, but they are either very special cases with hack solutions, have no solution, or involve re-drawing the TextView recursively until it is small enough (which is memory intense and forces the user to watch the text shrink step-by-step with every recursion).

But I'm sure somebody out there has found a good solution that doesn't involve what I'm doing: writing several heavy routines that parse and measure the text, resize the text, and repeat until a suitably small size has been found.

What routines does TextView use to wrap the text? Couldn't those be somehow used to predict whether text will be small enough?

tl;dr: is there a best-practice way to auto-resize a TextView to fit, wrapped, in its getHeight and getWidth bounds?

Answer 1

My implementation is a bit more complex, but comes with the following goodies:

• takes the available width and available height into account
• works with single line and multiline labels
• uses ellipsis in case the minimum font size is hit
• since the internal text representation is changed, remembers the originally set text in a separate variable
• ensures that the canvas is always only as big as it needs to be, while it uses all the available height of the parent

/**
 * Text view that auto adjusts text size to fit within the view. If the text
 * size equals the minimum text size and still does not fit, append with an
 * ellipsis.
 * 
 * Based on the original work from Chase Colburn
 * <http://stackoverflow.com/a/5535672/305532>
 *
 * @author Thomas Keller <[e-mail]>
 */
public class AutoResizeTextView extends TextView {

    // in dip
    private static final int MIN_TEXT_SIZE = 20;

    private static final boolean SHRINK_TEXT_SIZE = true;

    private static final char ELLIPSIS = '\u2026';

    private static final float LINE_SPACING_MULTIPLIER_MULTILINE = 0.8f;

    private static final float LINE_SPACING_MULTIPLIER_SINGLELINE = 1f;

    private static final float LINE_SPACING_EXTRA = 0.0f;

    private CharSequence mOriginalText;

    // temporary upper bounds on the starting text size
    private float mMaxTextSize;

    // lower bounds for text size
    private float mMinTextSize;

    // determines whether we're currently in the process of measuring ourselves,
    // so we do not enter onMeasure recursively
    private boolean mInMeasure = false;

    // if the text size should be shrinked or if the text size should be kept
    // constant and only characters should be removed to hit the boundaries
    private boolean mShrinkTextSize;

    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context) {
        this(context, null);
        init(context, null);
    }

    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        this(context, attrs, 0);
        init(context, attrs);
    }

    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
        super(context, attrs, defStyle);
        init(context, attrs);
    }

    private void init(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        // the current text size is used as maximum text size we can apply to
        // our widget
        mMaxTextSize = getTextSize();
        if (attrs != null) {
            TypedArray a = context.obtainStyledAttributes(attrs, R.styleable.AutoResizeTextView);
            mMinTextSize = a.getFloat(R.styleable.AutoResizeTextView_minFontSize, MIN_TEXT_SIZE);
            mShrinkTextSize = a.getBoolean(R.styleable.AutoResizeTextView_shrinkTextSize, SHRINK_TEXT_SIZE);
            a.recycle();
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void setTextSize(float size) {
        mMaxTextSize = size;
        super.setTextSize(size);
    }

    /**
     * Returns the original, unmodified text of this widget
     * 
     * @return
     */
    public CharSequence getOriginalText() {
        // text has not been resized yet
        if (mOriginalText == null) {
            return getText();
        }
        return mOriginalText;
    }

    @Override
    public void setText(CharSequence text, BufferType type) {
        if (!mInMeasure) {
            mOriginalText = text.toString();
        }
        super.setText(text, type);
    }

    @SuppressLint("DrawAllocation")
    @Override
    protected void onMeasure(int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec) {
        mInMeasure = true;
        try {
            int availableWidth = MeasureSpec.getSize(widthMeasureSpec) - getCompoundPaddingLeft()
                    - getCompoundPaddingRight();
            int availableHeight = MeasureSpec.getSize(heightMeasureSpec) - getCompoundPaddingTop()
                    - getCompoundPaddingBottom();

            // Do not resize if the view does not have dimensions or there is no
            // text
            if (mOriginalText == null || mOriginalText.length() == 0 || availableWidth <= 0) {
                return;
            }

            TextPaint textPaint = getPaint();

            // start with the recorded max text size
            float targetTextSize = mMaxTextSize;
            String originalText = mOriginalText.toString();
            String finalText = originalText;

            Rect textSize = getTextSize(originalText, textPaint, targetTextSize);
            boolean textExceedsBounds = textSize.height() > availableHeight || textSize.width() > availableWidth;
            if (mShrinkTextSize && textExceedsBounds) {
                // check whether all lines can be rendered in the available
                // width / height without violating the bounds of the parent and
                // without using a text size that is smaller than the minimum
                // text size
                float heightMultiplier = availableHeight / (float) textSize.height();
                float widthMultiplier = availableWidth / (float) textSize.width();
                float multiplier = Math.min(heightMultiplier, widthMultiplier);
                targetTextSize = Math.max(targetTextSize * multiplier, mMinTextSize);

                // measure again
                textSize = getTextSize(finalText, textPaint, targetTextSize);
            }

            // we cannot shrink the height further when we hit the available
            // height, but we can shrink the width by applying an ellipsis on
            // each line
            if (textSize.width() > availableWidth) {
                StringBuilder modifiedText = new StringBuilder();
                String lines[] = originalText.split(System.getProperty("line.separator"));
                for (int i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
                    modifiedText.append(resizeLine(textPaint, lines[i], availableWidth));
                    // add the separator back to all but the last processed line
                    if (i != lines.length - 1) {
                        modifiedText.append(System.getProperty("line.separator"));
                    }
                }
                finalText = modifiedText.toString();

                // measure again
                textSize = getTextSize(finalText, textPaint, targetTextSize);
            }

            textPaint.setTextSize(targetTextSize);
            boolean isMultiline = finalText.indexOf('\n') > -1;
            // do not include extra font padding (for accents, ...) for
            // multiline texts, this will prevent proper placement with
            // Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL
            if (isMultiline) {
                setLineSpacing(LINE_SPACING_EXTRA, LINE_SPACING_MULTIPLIER_MULTILINE);
                setIncludeFontPadding(false);
            } else {
                setLineSpacing(LINE_SPACING_EXTRA, LINE_SPACING_MULTIPLIER_SINGLELINE);
                setIncludeFontPadding(true);
            }

            // according to
            // <http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=22493>
            // we have to add a unicode character to trigger the text centering
            // in ICS. this particular character is known as "zero-width" and
            // does no harm.
            setText(finalText + "\u200B");

            int measuredWidth = textSize.width() + getCompoundPaddingLeft() + getCompoundPaddingRight();
            int measuredHeight = textSize.height() + getCompoundPaddingTop() + getCompoundPaddingBottom();

            // expand the view to the parent's height in case it is smaller or
            // to the minimum height that has been set
            // FIXME: honor the vertical measure mode (EXACTLY vs AT_MOST) here
            // somehow
            measuredHeight = Math.max(measuredHeight, MeasureSpec.getSize(heightMeasureSpec));
            setMeasuredDimension(measuredWidth, measuredHeight);
        } finally {
            mInMeasure = false;
        }
    }

    private Rect getTextSize(String text, TextPaint textPaint, float textSize) {
        textPaint.setTextSize(textSize);
        // StaticLayout depends on a given width in which it should lay out the
        // text (and optionally also split into separate lines).
        // Therefor we calculate the current text width manually and start with
        // a fake (read: maxmimum) width for the height calculation.
        // We do _not_ use layout.getLineWidth() here since this returns
        // slightly smaller numbers and therefor would lead to exceeded text box
        // drawing.
        StaticLayout layout = new StaticLayout(text, textPaint, Integer.MAX_VALUE, Alignment.ALIGN_NORMAL, 1f, 0f, true);
        int textWidth = 0;
        String lines[] = text.split(System.getProperty("line.separator"));
        for (int i = 0; i < lines.length; ++i) {
            textWidth = Math.max(textWidth, measureTextWidth(textPaint, lines[i]));
        }
        return new Rect(0, 0, textWidth, layout.getHeight());
    }

    private String resizeLine(TextPaint textPaint, String line, int availableWidth) {
        checkArgument(line != null && line.length() > 0, "expected non-empty string");
        int textWidth = measureTextWidth(textPaint, line);
        int lastDeletePos = -1;
        StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(line);
        while (textWidth > availableWidth && builder.length() > 0) {
            lastDeletePos = builder.length() / 2;
            builder.deleteCharAt(builder.length() / 2);
            // don't forget to measure the ellipsis character as well; it
            // doesn't matter where it is located in the line, it just has to be
            // there, since there are no (known) ligatures that use this glyph
            String textToMeasure = builder.toString() + ELLIPSIS;
            textWidth = measureTextWidth(textPaint, textToMeasure);
        }
        if (lastDeletePos > -1) {
            builder.insert(lastDeletePos, ELLIPSIS);
        }
        return builder.toString();
    }

    // there are several methods in Android to determine the text width, namely
    // getBounds() and measureText().
    // The latter works for us the best as it gives us the best / nearest
    // results without that our text canvas needs to wrap its text later on
    // again.
    private int measureTextWidth(TextPaint textPaint, String line) {
        return Math.round(textPaint.measureText(line));
    }
}

[revised on 2012-11-21]

• fixed the placement of the ellipsis (off-by-one error)
• reworked text size calculation; now always the full text including line breaks is measured, to fix problems when the addition of the height of two single measured lines just didn't lead to the same result as the measurement of the height of the text as a whole
• instead of looping to find the smallest available text size, just calculate it after the first measurement

Answer 2

Providing this version of top answer rewritten on C# for those who codes on Xamarin.Android. Worked for me well.

 /**
 *               DO WHAT YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
 *                    Version 2, December 2004
 * 
 * Copyright (C) 2004 Sam Hocevar <[e-mail]>
 * 
 * Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim or modified
 * copies of this license document, and changing it is allowed as long
 * as the name is changed.
 * 
 *            DO WHAT YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
 *   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
 * 
 *  0. You just DO WHAT YOU WANT TO.
 */


using System;
using Android.Content;
using Android.Runtime;
using Android.Text;
using Android.Util;
using Android.Widget;
using Java.Lang;

namespace App.GuestGuide.Droid.Controls
{
    public class OnTextResizeEventArgs : EventArgs
    {
        public TextView TextView { get; set; }
        public float OldSize { get; set; }
        public float NewSize { get; set; }
    }

    /// <inheritdoc />
    /// <summary>
    /// Text view that auto adjusts text size to fit within the view.
    /// If the text size equals the minimum text size and still does not
    /// fit, append with an ellipsis.
    /// </summary>
    public class AutoResizeTextView : TextView
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Minimum text size for this text view
        /// </summary>
        public static float MIN_TEXT_SIZE = 10;

        /// <summary>
        /// Our ellipse string
        /// </summary>
        private const string Ellipsis = "...";


        private float _mMaxTextSize;

        private float _mMinTextSize = MIN_TEXT_SIZE;

        /// <summary>
        /// Register subscriber to receive resize notifications
        /// </summary>
        public event EventHandler<OnTextResizeEventArgs> OnTextResize;

        /// <summary>
        /// Flag for text and/or size changes to force a resize
        /// </summary>
        private bool _needsResize;

        /// <summary>
        /// Text size that is set from code. This acts as a starting point for resizing
        /// </summary>
        private float _textSize;

        /// <summary>
        /// Text view line spacing multiplier
        /// </summary>
        private float _spacingMult = 1.0f;

        /// <summary>
        /// Text view additional line spacing
        /// </summary>
        private float _spacingAdd;

        /// <summary>
        /// Add ellipsis to text that overflows at the smallest text size
        /// </summary>
        public bool ShouldAddEllipsis { get; set; }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        /// <summary>
        /// Override the set text size to update our internal reference values
        /// </summary>
        public override float TextSize
        {
            get => base.TextSize;
            set
            {
                base.TextSize = value;
                _textSize = TextSize;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Temporary upper bounds on the starting text size
        /// </summary>
        public float MaxTextSize
        {
            get => _mMaxTextSize;
            // Set the upper text size limit and invalidate the view
            set
            {
                _mMaxTextSize = value;
                RequestLayout();
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Lower bounds for text size
        /// </summary>
        public float MinTextSize
        {
            get => _mMinTextSize;
            //Set the lower text size limit and invalidate the view
            set
            {
                _mMinTextSize = value;
                RequestLayout();
                Invalidate();
            }
        }

        public AutoResizeTextView(Context context) : this(context, null)
        {
        }

        public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, IAttributeSet attrs) : this(context, attrs, 0)
        {
        }

        public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, IAttributeSet attrs, int defStyleAttr) : base(context, attrs, defStyleAttr)
        {
            _textSize = TextSize;
        }

        public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, IAttributeSet attrs, int defStyleAttr, int defStyleRes) : base(context, attrs, defStyleAttr, defStyleRes)
        {
            _textSize = TextSize;
        }

        protected AutoResizeTextView(IntPtr javaReference, JniHandleOwnership transfer) : base(javaReference, transfer)
        {
            _textSize = TextSize;
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        /// <summary>
        /// When text changes, set the force resize flag to true and reset the text size.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="text"></param>
        /// <param name="start"></param>
        /// <param name="lengthBefore"></param>
        /// <param name="lengthAfter"></param>
        protected override void OnTextChanged(ICharSequence text, int start, int lengthBefore, int lengthAfter)
        {
            _needsResize = true;
            // Since this view may be reused, it is good to reset the text size
            ResetTextSize();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        /// <summary>
        /// If the text view size changed, set the force resize flag to true
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="w"></param>
        /// <param name="h"></param>
        /// <param name="oldw"></param>
        /// <param name="oldh"></param>
        protected override void OnSizeChanged(int w, int h, int oldw, int oldh)
        {
            if (w != oldw || h != oldh)
            {
                _needsResize = true;
            }
        }

        public override void SetTextSize([GeneratedEnum] ComplexUnitType unit, float size)
        {
            base.SetTextSize(unit, size);
            _textSize = TextSize;
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        /// <summary>
        /// Override the set line spacing to update our internal reference values
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="add"></param>
        /// <param name="mult"></param>
        public override void SetLineSpacing(float add, float mult)
        {
            base.SetLineSpacing(add, mult);
            _spacingMult = mult;
            _spacingAdd = add;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Reset the text to the original size
        /// </summary>
        public void ResetTextSize()
        {
            if (_textSize > 0)
            {
                base.SetTextSize(ComplexUnitType.Px, _textSize);
                _mMaxTextSize = _textSize;
            }
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        /// <summary>
        /// Resize text after measuring
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="changed"></param>
        /// <param name="left"></param>
        /// <param name="top"></param>
        /// <param name="right"></param>
        /// <param name="bottom"></param>
        protected override void OnLayout(bool changed, int left, int top, int right, int bottom)
        {
            if (changed || _needsResize)
            {
                var widthLimit = (right - left) - CompoundPaddingLeft - CompoundPaddingRight;
                var heightLimit = (bottom - top) - CompoundPaddingBottom - CompoundPaddingTop;
                ResizeText(widthLimit, heightLimit);
            }

            base.OnLayout(changed, left, top, right, bottom);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Resize the text size with default width and height
        /// </summary>
        public void ResizeText()
        {
            var heightLimit = Height - PaddingBottom - PaddingTop;
            var widthLimit = Width - PaddingLeft - PaddingRight;
            ResizeText(widthLimit, heightLimit);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Resize the text size with specified width and height
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="width"></param>
        /// <param name="height"></param>
        public void ResizeText(int width, int height)
        {
            ICharSequence text = null;

            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Text))
            {
                text = new Java.Lang.String(Text);
            }

            // Do not resize if the view does not have dimensions or there is no text
            if (text == null || text.Length() == 0 || height <= 0 || width <= 0 || _textSize == 0)
            {
                return;
            }

            if (TransformationMethod != null)
            {
                text = TransformationMethod.GetTransformationFormatted(text, this);
            }

            // Get the text view's paint object
            var textPaint = Paint;
            // Store the current text size
            var oldTextSize = textPaint.TextSize;
            // If there is a max text size set, use the lesser of that and the default text size
            var targetTextSize = _mMaxTextSize > 0 ? System.Math.Min(_textSize, _mMaxTextSize) : _textSize;

            // Get the required text height
            var textHeight = GetTextHeight(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);

            // Until we either fit within our text view or we had reached our min text size, incrementally try smaller sizes
            while (textHeight > height && targetTextSize > _mMinTextSize)
            {
                targetTextSize = System.Math.Max(targetTextSize - 2, _mMinTextSize);
                textHeight = GetTextHeight(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);
            }

            // If we had reached our minimum text size and still don't fit, append an ellipsis
            if (ShouldAddEllipsis && targetTextSize == _mMinTextSize && textHeight > height)
            {
                // Draw using a static layout
                // modified: use a copy of TextPaint for measuring
                var paint = new TextPaint(textPaint);
                // Draw using a static layout
                var layout = new StaticLayout(text, paint, width, Layout.Alignment.AlignNormal, _spacingMult, _spacingAdd, false);

                // Check that we have a least one line of rendered text
                if (layout.LineCount > 0)
                {
                    // Since the line at the specific vertical position would be cut off,
                    // we must trim up to the previous line
                    var lastLine = layout.GetLineForVertical(height) - 1;
                    // If the text would not even fit on a single line, clear it
                    if (lastLine < 0)
                    {
                        Text = string.Empty;
                    }
                    // Otherwise, trim to the previous line and add an ellipsis
                    else
                    {
                        var start = layout.GetLineStart(lastLine);
                        var end = layout.GetLineEnd(lastLine);
                        var lineWidth = layout.GetLineWidth(lastLine);
                        var ellipseWidth = textPaint.MeasureText(Ellipsis);

                        // Trim characters off until we have enough room to draw the ellipsis
                        while (width < lineWidth + ellipseWidth)
                        {
                            lineWidth = textPaint.MeasureText(text.SubSequence(start, --end + 1));
                        }

                        Text = text.SubSequence(0, end) + Ellipsis;
                    }
                }
            }

            // Some devices try to auto adjust line spacing, so force default line spacing
            // and invalidate the layout as a side effect
            SetTextSize(ComplexUnitType.Px, targetTextSize);
            SetLineSpacing(_spacingAdd, _spacingMult);

            var notifyArgs = new OnTextResizeEventArgs
            {
                TextView = this,
                NewSize = targetTextSize,
                OldSize = oldTextSize
            };

            // Notify the listener if registered
            OnTextResize?.Invoke(this, notifyArgs);

            // Reset force resize flag
            _needsResize = false;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Set the text size of the text paint object and use a static layout to render text off screen before measuring
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="source"></param>
        /// <param name="paint"></param>
        /// <param name="width"></param>
        /// <param name="textSize"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        private int GetTextHeight(ICharSequence source, TextPaint paint, int width, float textSize)
        {
            // modified: make a copy of the original TextPaint object for measuring
            // (apparently the object gets modified while measuring, see also the
            // docs for TextView.getPaint() (which states to access it read-only)
            // Update the text paint object
            var paintCopy = new TextPaint(paint)
            {
                TextSize = textSize
            };

            // Measure using a static layout
            var layout = new StaticLayout(source, paintCopy, width, Layout.Alignment.AlignNormal, _spacingMult, _spacingAdd, true);

            return layout.Height;
        }
    }
}

Answer 3

I combined some of the above suggestions to make one that scales up and down, with bisection method. It also scales within the width.

/**
 *               DO WHAT YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
 *                    Version 2, December 2004
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2004 Sam Hocevar <[e-mail]>
 *
 * Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim or modified
 * copies of this license document, and changing it is allowed as long
 * as the name is changed.
 *
 *            DO WHAT YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
 *   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
 *
 *  0. You just DO WHAT YOU WANT TO.
 */

import android.content.Context;
import android.text.Layout.Alignment;
import android.text.StaticLayout;
import android.text.TextPaint;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
import android.util.TypedValue;
import android.widget.TextView;

/**
 * Text view that auto adjusts text size to fit within the view. If the text
 * size equals the minimum text size and still does not fit, append with an
 * ellipsis.
 * 
 * @author Chase Colburn
 * @since Apr 4, 2011
 */
public class AutoResizeTextView extends TextView {

    // Minimum text size for this text view
    public static final float MIN_TEXT_SIZE = 10;

    // Minimum text size for this text view
    public static final float MAX_TEXT_SIZE = 128;

    private static final int BISECTION_LOOP_WATCH_DOG = 30;

    // Interface for resize notifications
    public interface OnTextResizeListener {
        public void onTextResize(TextView textView, float oldSize, float newSize);
    }

    // Our ellipse string
    private static final String mEllipsis = "...";

    // Registered resize listener
    private OnTextResizeListener mTextResizeListener;

    // Flag for text and/or size changes to force a resize
    private boolean mNeedsResize = false;

    // Text size that is set from code. This acts as a starting point for
    // resizing
    private float mTextSize;

    // Temporary upper bounds on the starting text size
    private float mMaxTextSize = MAX_TEXT_SIZE;

    // Lower bounds for text size
    private float mMinTextSize = MIN_TEXT_SIZE;

    // Text view line spacing multiplier
    private float mSpacingMult = 1.0f;

    // Text view additional line spacing
    private float mSpacingAdd = 0.0f;

    // Add ellipsis to text that overflows at the smallest text size
    private boolean mAddEllipsis = true;

    // Default constructor override
    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context) {
        this(context, null);
    }

    // Default constructor when inflating from XML file
    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        this(context, attrs, 0);
    }

    // Default constructor override
    public AutoResizeTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
        super(context, attrs, defStyle);
        mTextSize = getTextSize();
    }

    /**
     * When text changes, set the force resize flag to true and reset the text
     * size.
     */
    @Override
    protected void onTextChanged(final CharSequence text, final int start,
            final int before, final int after) {
        mNeedsResize = true;
        // Since this view may be reused, it is good to reset the text size
        resetTextSize();
    }

    /**
     * If the text view size changed, set the force resize flag to true
     */
    @Override
    protected void onSizeChanged(int w, int h, int oldw, int oldh) {
        if (w != oldw || h != oldh) {
            mNeedsResize = true;
        }
    }

    /**
     * Register listener to receive resize notifications
     * 
     * @param listener
     */
    public void setOnResizeListener(OnTextResizeListener listener) {
        mTextResizeListener = listener;
    }

    /**
     * Override the set text size to update our internal reference values
     */
    @Override
    public void setTextSize(float size) {
        super.setTextSize(size);
        mTextSize = getTextSize();
    }

    /**
     * Override the set text size to update our internal reference values
     */
    @Override
    public void setTextSize(int unit, float size) {
        super.setTextSize(unit, size);
        mTextSize = getTextSize();
    }

    /**
     * Override the set line spacing to update our internal reference values
     */
    @Override
    public void setLineSpacing(float add, float mult) {
        super.setLineSpacing(add, mult);
        mSpacingMult = mult;
        mSpacingAdd = add;
    }

    /**
     * Set the upper text size limit and invalidate the view
     * 
     * @param maxTextSize
     */
    public void setMaxTextSize(float maxTextSize) {
        mMaxTextSize = maxTextSize;
        requestLayout();
        invalidate();
    }

    /**
     * Return upper text size limit
     * 
     * @return
     */
    public float getMaxTextSize() {
        return mMaxTextSize;
    }

    /**
     * Set the lower text size limit and invalidate the view
     * 
     * @param minTextSize
     */
    public void setMinTextSize(float minTextSize) {
        mMinTextSize = minTextSize;
        requestLayout();
        invalidate();
    }

    /**
     * Return lower text size limit
     * 
     * @return
     */
    public float getMinTextSize() {
        return mMinTextSize;
    }

    /**
     * Set flag to add ellipsis to text that overflows at the smallest text size
     * 
     * @param addEllipsis
     */
    public void setAddEllipsis(boolean addEllipsis) {
        mAddEllipsis = addEllipsis;
    }

    /**
     * Return flag to add ellipsis to text that overflows at the smallest text
     * size
     * 
     * @return
     */
    public boolean getAddEllipsis() {
        return mAddEllipsis;
    }

    /**
     * Reset the text to the original size
     */
    public void resetTextSize() {
        if (mTextSize > 0) {
            super.setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, mTextSize);
            // mMaxTextSize = mTextSize;
        }
    }

    /**
     * Resize text after measuring
     */

    @Override
    protected void onLayout(boolean changed, int left, int top, int right,
            int bottom) {
        if (changed || mNeedsResize) {
            int widthLimit = (right - left) - getCompoundPaddingLeft()
                    - getCompoundPaddingRight();
            int heightLimit = (bottom - top) - getCompoundPaddingBottom()
                    - getCompoundPaddingTop();
            resizeText(widthLimit, heightLimit);
        }
        super.onLayout(changed, left, top, right, bottom);
    }

    /**
     * Resize the text size with default width and height
     */
    public void resizeText() {

        // Height and width with a padding as a percentage of height
        int heightLimit = getHeight() - getPaddingBottom() - getPaddingTop();
        int widthLimit = getWidth() - getPaddingLeft() - getPaddingRight();
        resizeText(widthLimit, heightLimit);
    }

    /**
     * Resize the text size with specified width and height
     * 
     * @param width
     * @param height
     */
    public void resizeText(int width, int height) {
        CharSequence text = getText();

        // Do not resize if the view does not have dimensions or there is no
        // text
        if (text == null || text.length() == 0 || height <= 0 || width <= 0
                || mTextSize == 0) {
            return;
        }

        // Get the text view's paint object
        TextPaint textPaint = getPaint();

        // Store the current text size
        float oldTextSize = textPaint.getTextSize();

        // Bisection method: fast & precise
        float lower = mMinTextSize;
        float upper = mMaxTextSize;
        int loop_counter = 1;
        float targetTextSize = (lower + upper) / 2;
        int textHeight = getTextHeight(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);
        int textWidth = getTextWidth(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);

        while (loop_counter < BISECTION_LOOP_WATCH_DOG && upper - lower > 1) {
            targetTextSize = (lower + upper) / 2;
            textHeight = getTextHeight(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);
            textWidth = getTextWidth(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);
            if (textHeight > (height) || textWidth > (width))
                upper = targetTextSize;
            else
                lower = targetTextSize;
            loop_counter++;
        }

        targetTextSize = lower;
        textHeight = getTextHeight(text, textPaint, width, targetTextSize);

        // If we had reached our minimum text size and still don't fit, append
        // an ellipsis
        if (mAddEllipsis && targetTextSize == mMinTextSize
                && textHeight > height) {
            // Draw using a static layout
            // modified: use a copy of TextPaint for measuring
            TextPaint paintCopy = new TextPaint(textPaint);
            paintCopy.setTextSize(targetTextSize);
            StaticLayout layout = new StaticLayout(text, paintCopy, width,
                    Alignment.ALIGN_NORMAL, mSpacingMult, mSpacingAdd, false);
            // Check that we have a least one line of rendered text
            if (layout.getLineCount() > 0) {
                // Since the line at the specific vertical position would be cut
                // off,
                // we must trim up to the previous line
                int lastLine = layout.getLineForVertical(height) - 1;
                // If the text would not even fit on a single line, clear it
                if (lastLine < 0) {
                    setText("");
                }
                // Otherwise, trim to the previous line and add an ellipsis
                else {
                    int start = layout.getLineStart(lastLine);
                    int end = layout.getLineEnd(lastLine);
                    float lineWidth = layout.getLineWidth(lastLine);
                    float ellipseWidth = paintCopy.measureText(mEllipsis);

                    // Trim characters off until we have enough room to draw the
                    // ellipsis
                    while (width < lineWidth + ellipseWidth) {
                        lineWidth = paintCopy.measureText(text.subSequence(
                                start, --end + 1).toString());
                    }
                    setText(text.subSequence(0, end) + mEllipsis);
                }
            }
        }

        // Some devices try to auto adjust line spacing, so force default line
        // spacing
        // and invalidate the layout as a side effect
        setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, targetTextSize);
        setLineSpacing(mSpacingAdd, mSpacingMult);

        // Notify the listener if registered
        if (mTextResizeListener != null) {
            mTextResizeListener.onTextResize(this, oldTextSize, targetTextSize);
        }

        // Reset force resize flag
        mNeedsResize = false;
    }

    // Set the text size of the text paint object and use a static layout to
    // render text off screen before measuring
    private int getTextHeight(CharSequence source, TextPaint originalPaint,
            int width, float textSize) {
        // modified: make a copy of the original TextPaint object for measuring
        // (apparently the object gets modified while measuring, see also the
        // docs for TextView.getPaint() (which states to access it read-only)
        TextPaint paint = new TextPaint(originalPaint);
        // Update the text paint object
        paint.setTextSize(textSize);
        // Measure using a static layout
        StaticLayout layout = new StaticLayout(source, paint, width,
                Alignment.ALIGN_NORMAL, mSpacingMult, mSpacingAdd, true);
        return layout.getHeight();
    }

    // Set the text size of the text paint object and use a static layout to
    // render text off screen before measuring
    private int getTextWidth(CharSequence source, TextPaint originalPaint,
            int width, float textSize) {
        // Update the text paint object
        TextPaint paint = new TextPaint(originalPaint);
        // Draw using a static layout
        paint.setTextSize(textSize);

        StaticLayout layout = new StaticLayout(source, paint, width,
                Alignment.ALIGN_NORMAL, mSpacingMult, mSpacingAdd, true);

        return (int) layout.getLineWidth(0);
    }
}

Answer 4

I started with Chase's solution, but had to adapt two things before it was working as expected on my device (Galaxy Nexus, Android 4.1):

1. using a copy of TextPaint for measuring layout The documentation for TextView.getPaint() states that it should be used read-only, so I made a copy in both places where we use the paint object for measuring:

   // 1. in resizeText()
   if (mAddEllipsis && targetTextSize == mMinTextSize && textHeight > height) {
     // Draw using a static layout
     // modified: use a copy of TextPaint for measuring
     TextPaint paint = new TextPaint(textPaint);
   
   // 2. in getTextHeight()
   private int getTextHeight(CharSequence source, TextPaint originalPaint, int width, float textSize) {
     // modified: make a copy of the original TextPaint object for measuring
     // (apparently the object gets modified while measuring, see also the
     // docs for TextView.getPaint() (which states to access it read-only)
     TextPaint paint = new TextPaint(originalPaint);
     // Update the text paint object
     paint.setTextSize(textSize);
     ...
   

2. adding a unit to setting the text size

   // modified: setting text size via this.setTextSize (instead of textPaint.setTextSize(targetTextSize))
   setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, targetTextSize);
   setLineSpacing(mSpacingAdd, mSpacingMult);
   

With these two modifications the solution is working perfectly for me, thanks Chase! I don't know whether it is due to Android 4.x that the original solution was not working. In case you want to see it in action or test whether it really works on your device, you can have a look at my flashcard app Flashcards ToGo where I use this solution to scale the text of a flashcard. The text can have arbitrary length, and the flashcards are displayed in different activities, sometimes smaller sometimes bigger, plus in landscape + portrait mode, and I haven't found any corner case where the solution would not work properly...

Answer 5

I found the following to work nicely for me. It doesn't loop and accounts for both height and width. Note that it is important to specify the PX unit when calling setTextSize on the view.

Paint paint = adjustTextSize(getPaint(), numChars, maxWidth, maxHeight);
setTextSize(TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX,paint.getTextSize());

Here is the routine I use, passing in the getPaint() from the view. A 10 character string with a 'wide' character is used to estimate the width independent from the actual string.

private static final String text10="OOOOOOOOOO";
public static Paint adjustTextSize(Paint paint, int numCharacters, int widthPixels, int heightPixels) {
    float width = paint.measureText(text10)*numCharacters/text10.length();
    float newSize = (int)((widthPixels/width)*paint.getTextSize());
    paint.setTextSize(newSize);

    // remeasure with font size near our desired result
    width = paint.measureText(text10)*numCharacters/text10.length();
    newSize = (int)((widthPixels/width)*paint.getTextSize());
    paint.setTextSize(newSize);

    // Check height constraints
    FontMetricsInt metrics = paint.getFontMetricsInt();
    float textHeight = metrics.descent-metrics.ascent;
    if (textHeight > heightPixels) {
        newSize = (int)(newSize * (heightPixels/textHeight));
        paint.setTextSize(newSize);
    }

    return paint;
}

Answer 6

Here's an enumeration of what else I've found for anyone still searching:

1) Here's a solution that recursively re-paints the textview until it fits. This means literally watching your text shrink into place, but at least it fits when it's done. The code will need some tweaking to implement, but it's mostly there.

2) You can try hacking together a custom solution like this, or dunni's class in this, which is what I did using the getPaint().measureText(str) to search for the right size, but it got a lot messier since I need it to wrap only on whitespace...

3) You can keep searching- I've tried more alternatives than I can count. Ted's advice on StaticLayout hasn't paid off for me but maybe there's something there; I tried using the StaticLayout.getEllipsis(line) to determine if text was going off screen, to no effect. See my (presently un-answered) post about that here.