Alert Dialog with MultipleItemSelection in Android
Last Updated : 10 Feb, 2025
In the previous article Alert Dialog with SingleItemSelection in Android, we have seen how the alert dialog is built for single item selection. In this article, it's been discussed how to build an alert dialog with multiple item selection. Multiple Item selection dialogs are used when the user wants to select multiple items at a time. Have a look at the following image to differentiate between Single Item selection and Multiple Item selection alert dialogs.
Implementation of Alert Dialog with MultipleItemSelection
Step 1: Create a New Project in Android Studio
To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio.
The code for that has been given in both Java and Kotlin Programming Language for Android.
Step 2: Working with the XML Files
Next, go to the activity_main.xml file, which represents the UI of the project. Below is the code for the activity_main.xml file. Comments are added inside the code to understand the code in more detail.
activity_main.xml:
XML <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="vertical" tools:context=".MainActivity" tools:ignore="HardcodedText"> <Button android:id="@+id/openAlertDialogButton" android:layout_width="256dp" android:layout_height="60dp" android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal" android:layout_marginTop="64dp" android:backgroundTint="@color/purple_500" android:text="OPEN ALERT DIALOG" android:textColor="@android:color/white" android:textSize="18sp" /> <TextView android:id="@+id/selectedItemPreview" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal" android:layout_marginStart="16dp" android:layout_marginTop="16dp" android:layout_marginEnd="16dp" android:textColor="@android:color/black" android:textSize="18sp" /> </LinearLayout>
Design UI:
Step 3: Working with the MainActivity File
Go to the MainActivity File and refer to the following code. Below is the code for the MainActivity File. Comments are added inside the code to understand the code in more detail.
The function that needs to implement the multiple item selection for alert dialog is discussed below.
Syntax:
// documentation code
public Builder setMultiChoiceItems(Char Sequence[] items, Boolean[] checkedItems, final OnMultiChoiceClickListener listener) {
// other codes here
}
// your implementation
builder.setMultiChoiceItems(items, checkedItems) { dialog, which, isChecked ->
// your code here
}
Parameters:
- items – the text of the items to be displayed in the list.
- checkedItems – specifies which items are checked. It should be null in which case no items are checked. If non null it must be exactly the same length as the array of items.
- listener – notified when an item on the list is clicked. The dialog will not be dismissed when an item is clicked. It will only be dismissed if clicked on a button, if no buttons are supplied it's up to the user to dismiss the dialog.
Invoke the following code to implement the things. Comments are added for better understanding.
Java package org.geeksforgeeks.demo; import android.content.DialogInterface; import android.os.Bundle; import android.widget.Button; import android.widget.TextView; import androidx.appcompat.app.AlertDialog; import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import java.util.Arrays; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { private String[] listItems = {"C", "C++", "JAVA", "PYTHON"}; private boolean[] checkedItems = new boolean[listItems.length]; private StringBuilder selectedItemsPreview = new StringBuilder(); private Button bOpenAlertDialog; private TextView tvSelectedItemsPreview; // Override the onCreate Method @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); bOpenAlertDialog = findViewById(R.id.openAlertDialogButton); tvSelectedItemsPreview = findViewById(R.id.selectedItemPreview); bOpenAlertDialog.setOnClickListener(v -> { // Clear any previous selections selectedItemsPreview.setLength(0); tvSelectedItemsPreview.setText(null); // Build the AlertDialog AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this) .setTitle("Choose Items") .setIcon(R.mipmap.ic_launcher_round) .setCancelable(false) .setMultiChoiceItems(listItems, checkedItems, (dialog, which, isChecked) -> checkedItems[which] = isChecked) .setPositiveButton("Done", (dialog, which) -> { selectedItemsPreview.append("Selected Items are:\n"); for (int i = 0; i < checkedItems.length; i++) { if (checkedItems[i]) { selectedItemsPreview.append(listItems[i]).append("\n"); } } tvSelectedItemsPreview.setText(selectedItemsPreview.toString()); }) .setNegativeButton("CANCEL", (dialog, which) -> dialog.dismiss()) .setNeutralButton("CLEAR ALL", (dialog, which) -> Arrays.fill(checkedItems, false)); AlertDialog alertDialog = builder.create(); alertDialog.show(); }); } } package org.geeksforgeeks.demo import android.content.DialogInterface import android.os.Bundle import android.widget.Button import android.widget.TextView import androidx.appcompat.app.AlertDialog import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity import java.util.* class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() { override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) // UI widgets button and val bOpenAlertDialog = findViewById<Button>(R.id.openAlertDialogButton) val tvSelectedItemsPreview = findViewById<TextView>(R.id.selectedItemPreview) // initialise the list items for the alert dialog val listItems = arrayOf("C", "C++", "JAVA", "PYTHON") val checkedItems = BooleanArray(listItems.size) // copy the items from the main list to the selected // item list for the preview if the item is checked // then only the item should be displayed for the user val selectedItems = mutableListOf(*listItems) // handle the Open Alert Dialog button bOpenAlertDialog.setOnClickListener { // initially set the null for the text preview tvSelectedItemsPreview.text = null // initialise the alert dialog builder val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(this) // set the title for the alert dialog builder.setTitle("Choose Items") // set the icon for the alert dialog builder.setIcon(R.mipmap.ic_launcher_round) // now this is the function which sets the alert // dialog for multiple item selection ready builder.setMultiChoiceItems(listItems, checkedItems) { dialog, which, isChecked -> checkedItems[which] = isChecked val currentItem = selectedItems[which] } // alert dialog shouldn't be cancellable builder.setCancelable(false) // handle the positive button of the dialog builder.setPositiveButton("Done") { dialog, which -> tvSelectedItemsPreview.text = "Selected Items are:\n" for (i in checkedItems.indices) { if (checkedItems[i]) { tvSelectedItemsPreview.text = String.format("%s%s\n", tvSelectedItemsPreview.text, selectedItems[i]) } } } // handle the negative button of the alert dialog builder.setNegativeButton("CANCEL") { dialog, which -> // your code here } // handle the neutral button of the dialog to clear // the selected items boolean checkedItem builder.setNeutralButton("CLEAR ALL") { dialog: DialogInterface?, which: Int -> Arrays.fill(checkedItems, false) } // create the builder builder.create() // create the alert dialog with the alert dialog // builder instance val alertDialog = builder.create() alertDialog.show() } } } Output:
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