Selection controls: switches
Switches toggle the state of a single setting on or off. They are the preferred way to adjust settings on mobile.
Contents
Using switches
Before you can use Material switches, you need to add a dependency to the
Material Components for Android library. For more information, go to the
Note: The SwitchMaterial widget provides a complete implementation of Material Design's switch component. It extends from the support library's SwitchCompat widget, but not from the framework Switch widget. As such, it does not auto-inflate, unlike other selection controls, and must be explicitly specified in layouts.
Use switches to:
- Toggle a single item on or off, on mobile and tablet
- Immediately activate or deactivate something
Making switches accessible
Switches support content labeling for accessibility and are readable by most screen readers, such as TalkBack. Text rendered in switches is automatically provided to accessibility services. Additional content labels are usually unnecessary.
Switch
A Switch represents a button with two states, on and off. Switches are most often used on mobile devices to enable and disable options in an options menu. A switch consists of a track and thumb; the thumb moves along the track to indicate its current state.
Switches example
API and source code:
- SwitchMaterial
The following example shows a list of five switches.
In the layout:
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:checked="true"
android:text="@string/label_1"/>
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="@string/label_2"/>
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="@string/label_3"/>
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:text="@string/label_4"/>
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:enabled="false"
android:text="@string/label_5"/>
In code:
// To check a switch
switchMaterial.isChecked = true
// To listen for a switch's checked/unchecked state changes
switchMaterial.setOnCheckedChangeListener { buttonView, isChecked
// Responds to switch being checked/unchecked
}
Anatomy and key properties
The following is an anatomy diagram that shows a switch thumb and a switch track:
- Thumb
- Track
Switch attributes
Element | Attribute | Related method(s) | Default value |
---|---|---|---|
To use material colors | app:useMaterialThemeColors | setUseMaterialThemeColors isUseMaterialThemeColors | true (ignored if specific tint attrs are set) |
Min size | android:minWidth android:minHeight | (set/get)MinWidth (set/get)MinHeight | ?attr/minTouchTargetSize |
The color of the switch defaults to using ?attr/colorSurface, ?attr/colorOnSurface, and ?attr/colorSecondary defined in your app theme. If you want to override this behavior, as you might with a custom drawable that should not be tinted, set app:useMaterialThemeColors to false:
xxxxxxxxxx
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
...
app:useMaterialThemeColors="false"
/>
Thumb attributes
Element | Attribute | Related method(s) | Default value |
---|---|---|---|
Thumb | android:thumb | setThumbDrawable getThumbDrawable | inherits from SwitchCompat |
Color | app:thumbTint | setThumbTintList getThumbTintList | ?attr/colorSurface (unchecked) ?attr/colorSecondary (checked) |
Elevation | N/A | N/A | 4dp |
Track attributes
Element | Attribute | Related method(s) | Default value |
---|---|---|---|
Track | app:track | setTrackDrawable getTrackDrawable | inherits from SwitchCompat |
Color | app:trackTint | setTrackTintList getTrackTintList | ?attr/colorOnSurface (unchecked) ?attr/colorSecondary (checked) |
Text label attributes
Element | Attribute | Related method(s) | Default value |
---|---|---|---|
Text label | android:text | setText getText | null |
Color | android:textColor | setTextColor getTextColors | inherits from SwitchCompat |
Typography | android:textAppearance | setTextAppearance | inherits from SwitchCompat |
Switch states
Switches can be on or off. Switches have enabled, hover, focused, and pressed states.
Display the outer radial reaction only on form factors that use touch, where interaction may obstruct the element completely.
For desktop, the radial reaction isn't needed.
Styles
Element | Style |
---|---|
Default style | Widget.MaterialComponents.CompoundButton.Switch |
Default style theme attribute: ?attr/switchStyle
See the full list of
Theming switches
Switches support
Switch theming example
API and source code:
- SwitchMaterial
The following example shows a list of switches with Material Theming.
Implementing switch theming
Using theme attributes in res/values/styles.xml (themes all switches and affects other components):
xxxxxxxxxx
<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.MaterialComponents.*">
...
<item name="colorOnSurface">@color/shrine_pink_900</item>
<item name="colorSecondary">@color/shrine_pink_100</item>
</style>
or using default style theme attributes, styles and theme overlays (themes all switches but does not affect other components):
xxxxxxxxxx
<style name="Theme.App" parent="Theme.MaterialComponents.*">
...
<item name="switchStyle">@style/Widget.App.Switch</item>
</style>
<style name="Widget.App.Switch" parent="Widget.MaterialComponents.CompoundButton.Switch">
<item name="materialThemeOverlay">@style/ThemeOverlay.App.Switch</item>
</style>
<style name="ThemeOverlay.App.Switch" parent="">
<item name="colorOnSurface">@color/shrine_pink_900</item>
<item name="colorSecondary">@color/shrine_pink_100</item>
</style>
or using the styles in the layout (affects only this switch):
xxxxxxxxxx
<com.google.android.material.switchmaterial.SwitchMaterial
...
style="@style/Widget.App.Switch"
/>