Adding a header to a PreferenceActivity

Question

So I have found that android PreferenceScreen is not very style-friendly. Is there a semi-simple way to just add a header (say an image) to the preferencescreen before the

Answer 1

In my app I do exactly what you are requesting like this:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
    setContentView(R.layout.preferences_layout);
}

and in the preferences_layout.xml file:

<RelativeLayout 
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_width="fill_parent">

<ImageView
    android:id="@+id/myCustomImageView"
    android:src="@drawable/xmas"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="50dp"
/>
<ListView 
    android:id="@android:id/list" 
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" 
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:layout_below="@+id/myCustomImageView"
/>

</RelativeLayout>

Notice the android:id set on the ListView in the xml Now you have control over the layout of the preferences screen and use the default style for the preferences as long as you use built-in preferences.

Answer 2

There is a limitation with Mircea approach: you can't remove the title at the top:

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
    ...

This results in "requestfeature() must be called before adding content".