Скачать или смотреть How to Properly Use textPassword in Android EditText to Display Placeholder Text

Learn the correct way to implement password fields in Android layouts using `textPassword`, ensuring your users see placeholder text instead of dots.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/73334899/ asked by the user 'aura' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14533440/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/73334991/ provided by the user 'Jeroen Verfaillie' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16050098/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Understanding Android EditText for Passwords

When developing an Android application, implementing a registration page often requires laying out fields for password and confirmation of password. A common issue developers face is with the appearance of text in these password fields when using android:inputType="textPassword". You might notice that instead of showing placeholder text, your fields showcase dots, making it unclear for users to understand what information is expected.

In this guide, we will dissect why this happens and how you can achieve the desired placeholder effect in your password fields.

The Issue Explained

When setting up an EditText for password input, you might use the attribute android:inputType="textPassword". At its core, this attribute is intended to mask the characters entered by the user for security reasons. However, it comes with a caveat: if you set a default text using the android:text attribute, it will also be masked and displayed as dots.

Example Code

Here’s a snippet of code that illustrates the problem:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In this case, instead of the word "PASSWORD" being shown visibly as a hint, it simply appears as dots, making it confusing for users.

The Solution: Using Hint Text

To solve this problem, you can utilize the android:hint attribute instead of android:text. This is how you can set it up:

Correct Implementation

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Why Use android:hint?

Visibility: Unlike the android:text attribute, text specified in android:hint will be displayed as placeholder text when the field is empty. Once the user starts typing, the hint disappears.

User Experience: This clarifies to the user what kind of information is required in the input field without showing masked text.

Bonus: Customizing Hint Color

To ensure that your hint text is visible and aligns with your design, you might want to customize the hint color. You can set the color of the hint text using the following attribute:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Putting It All Together

Here’s the final version of your EditText for both password and confirm password:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

In conclusion, when working with password fields in your Android layout, always remember to use android:hint instead of android:text to provide a clear directive to users, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience. Customizing the hint color also adds to the aesthetics of your app while maintaining readability.

By following these guidelines, you're on your way to creating a more user-friendly interface in your Android applications. Happy coding!