change font for editText hint

Question

Is it possible to change the font for the hint displayed in the EditText field? I want to set the font in the xml itself.

Answer 1

I haven't find out any useful way to change hint font in XML.But you can achieve like this:

mEt.addTextChangedListener(new TextWatcher() {
    @Override
    public void beforeTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int count, int after) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) {
        if(s.length()== 0) {
            //mEt.setTypeFace(normalFont);
        }else{
           // mEt.setTypeFace(hintFont);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void afterTextChanged(Editable s) {
    }
});

Answer 2

@francisco_ssb's answer is correct. However, I will provide an alternative solution which helps to change not only a hint's font, but also its size and style. I hope this solution will be helpful.

1) Create a custom Hint object:

import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.text.SpannableString;
import android.text.Spanned;
import android.text.style.MetricAffectingSpan;

public class CustomHint extends SpannableString
{
    public CustomHint(final CharSequence source, final int style)
    {
        this(null, source, style, null);
    }

    public CustomHint(final CharSequence source, final Float size)
    {
        this(null, source, size);
    }

    public CustomHint(final CharSequence source, final int style, final Float size)
    {
        this(null, source, style, size);
    }

    public CustomHint(final Typeface typeface, final CharSequence source, final int style)
    {
        this(typeface, source, style, null);
    }

    public CustomHint(final Typeface typeface, final CharSequence source, final Float size)
    {
        this(typeface, source, null, size);
    }

    public CustomHint(final Typeface typeface, final CharSequence source, final Integer style, final Float size)
    {
        super(source);

        MetricAffectingSpan typefaceSpan = new CustomMetricAffectingSpan(typeface, style, size);
        setSpan(typefaceSpan, 0, source.length(), Spanned.SPAN_INCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE);
    }
}

2) Create custom MetricAffectingSpan object:

import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.text.TextPaint;
import android.text.style.MetricAffectingSpan;

public class CustomMetricAffectingSpan extends MetricAffectingSpan
{
    private final Typeface _typeface;
    private final Float    _newSize;
    private final Integer  _newStyle;

    public CustomMetricAffectingSpan(Float size)
    {
        this(null, null, size);
    }

    public CustomMetricAffectingSpan(Float size, Integer style)
    {
        this(null, style, size);
    }

    public CustomMetricAffectingSpan(Typeface type, Integer style, Float size)
    {
        this._typeface = type;
        this._newStyle = style;
        this._newSize = size;
    }

    @Override
    public void updateDrawState(TextPaint ds)
    {
        applyNewSize(ds);
    }

    @Override
    public void updateMeasureState(TextPaint paint)
    {
        applyNewSize(paint);
    }

    private void applyNewSize(TextPaint paint)
    {
        if (this._newStyle != null)
            paint.setTypeface(Typeface.create(this._typeface, this._newStyle));
        else
            paint.setTypeface(this._typeface);

        if (this._newSize != null)
            paint.setTextSize(this._newSize);
    }
}

3) Use:

Typeface newTypeface = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "AguafinaScript-Regular.ttf");
CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint(newTypeface, "Enter some text", Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC, 60f);
        //        CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint(newTypeface, "Enter some text", Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC);
        //        CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint(newTypeface, "Enter some text", 60f);
        //        CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint("Enter some text", Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC, 60f);
        //        CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint("Enter some text", Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC);
        //        CustomHint customHint = new CustomHint("Enter some text", 60f);

customEditText.setHint(customHint);

Answer 3

Its not possible in XML -

Text and hint can only have the same font in XML.

Answer 4

With Android 8.0 (API level 26) comes a new feature that gives a possibility to change font in xml for the hint displayed in the EditText. Guide based on Fonts in XML.

Steps:

1) Create a new resource directory: right-click the res folder and go to New -> Android resource directory.

2) Set name of resource directory as font.

3) In the Resource type list, select font, and then click OK.

4) Add your custom font(e.g. my_font.ttf) in the font folder.

5) In the layout XML, set the fontFamily attribute to the font file:

<EditText
    android:id="@+id/edit_text"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:fontFamily="@font/my_font"/>

... or if you want to do it programmatically:

val typeface = resources.getFont(R.font.my_font)
edit_text.typeface = typeface

To use the Fonts in XML feature on devices running Android 4.1 (API level 16) and higher, use the Support Library 26:

Note: When you declare font families in XML layout through the support library, use the app namespace to ensure your fonts load.

1) In font directory create custom_font.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<font-family xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
    <font app:fontStyle="normal" app:fontWeight="400" app:font="@font/my_font"/>
</font-family>

2) Set the fontFamily attribute:

 <EditText
    android:id="@+id/edit_text"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:fontFamily="@font/custom_font"/>

... or if you want to do it programmatically:

val typeface = ResourcesCompat.getFont(context, R.font.custom_font)
edit_text.typeface = typeface