Android adding a submenu to a menuItem, where is addSubMenu()?

Question

I want to add a submenu inside my OptionsMenu to a menuItem, programatically according to my parameters. I\'ve checked \"MenuItem\" in android sdk and there is no addSubMenu

Answer 1

Sometimes Android weirdness is really amazing (and amusing..). I solved it this way:

a) Define in XML a submenu placeholder like this:

<item android:visible="true" android:id="@+id/m_area"
   android:titleCondensed="Areas"
   android:title="Areas"
   android:icon="@drawable/restaur"
   android:enabled="true"> 
   <menu>
    <item android:id="@+id/item1" android:title="Placeholder"></item>
   </menu>
</item>

b) Get sub menu item in OnCreateOptionsMenu, clear it and add my submenu items, like this:

    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) { 
            MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
            inflater.inflate(R.menu.mapoptions, menu);

            int idx=0;
            SubMenu subm = menu.getItem(MYITEM_INDEX).getSubMenu(); // get my MenuItem with placeholder submenu
            subm.clear(); // delete place holder

            while(true)
            {
                anarea = m_areas.GetArea(idx); // get a new area, return null if no more areas
                if(anarea == null)
                    break;
                subm.add(0, SUBAREASID+idx, idx, anarea.GetName()); // id is idx+ my constant
                ++idx;
            }
}

Answer 2

The best way to do this is in your xml menu file. You can do this by creating a new menu object inside of an item:

<menu>
  <item>
    ...
    <menu>
      ...
    </menu>
    ...
  </item>
</menu>

Answer 3

I would just create the submenu in xml file, and in run time get the submenu from menu object, (using findItem(id) method) and use submenu.setVisible(boolean) to add/remove it on run time.

Answer 4

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:id="@+id/menu1" android:alphabeticShortcut="a"
    android:title="Menu No. 1" android:orderInCategory="1" />
<item android:id="@+id/menu2" android:alphabeticShortcut="b"
    android:title="Menu No. 2" android:orderInCategory="2">
    <menu >
    <group android:id="@+id/group2" android:checkableBehavior="single">
        <item android:id="@+id/submenu1" android:title="SubMenu No. 1" />
        <item android:id="@+id/submenu2" android:title="SubMenu No. 2" />
    </group>   
    </menu>
</item>

Answer 5

To provide a comprehensive example of Phil's answer, here is my complete, working XML for a menu with two choices, each of which is a menu with three choices. I intend to add a third menu to the top level ...

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:HTMLCode="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">

    <item android:id="@+id/Examine"
        android:title="@string/Examine"
        HTMLCode:showAsAction="always">

        <menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
            xmlns:HTMLCode="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" >
            <item android:id="@+id/load"
                android:title="@string/load"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />

            <item android:id="@+id/findfirst"
                android:title="@string/findfirst"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />

            <item android:id="@+id/findnext"
                android:title="@string/FindNext"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />
        </menu>
    </item>

    <item android:id="@+id/Redirect"
        android:title="@string/Redirect"
        HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText">

        <menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
            xmlns:HTMLCode="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" >
            <item android:id="@+id/getRedirect"
                android:title="@string/getRedirect"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />

            <item android:id="@+id/toggleRedirect"
                android:title="@string/toggleRedirect"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />

            <item android:id="@+id/copyRedirect"
                android:title="@string/copyRedirect"
                HTMLCode:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" />
        </menu>
    </item>
</menu>

Answer 6

I know this is an old question, but I just came across this problem myself. The most straightforward way of doing this, seems to be to simply specify the item itself as a submenu, then add to this item. E.g.:

menu.add(groupId, MENU_VIEW, Menu.NONE, getText(R.string.menu_view));
menu.add(groupId, MENU_EDIT, Menu.NONE, getText(R.string.menu_edit));
SubMenu sub=menu.addSubMenu(groupId, MENU_SORT, Menu.NONE, getText(R.string.menu_sort));
sub.add(groupId, MENU_SORT_BY_NAME, Menu.NONE, getText(R.string.menu_sort_by_name));
sub.add(groupId, MENU_SORT_BY_ADDRESS, Menu.NONE, getText(R.string.menu_sort_by_address));
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