How to Change the Whole App Language in Android Programmatically?
Last Updated : 06 Jan, 2025
Android 7.0(API level 24) provides support for multilingual users, allowing the users to select multiple locales in the setting. A Locale object represents a specific geographical, political, or cultural region. Operations that require these Locale to perform a task are called locale-sensitive and use the Locale to tailor information for the user. For example, displaying a number is a locale-sensitive operation so, the number should be formatted according to the conventions of the user’s native region, culture, or country.
Example
In this example, we are going to create a simple application in which the user has the option to select his desired language – English or Hindi. This will change the language of the whole application. A sample GIF is given below to get an idea about what we are going to do in this article. Note that we are going to implement this project using the Java language.
Step-by-Step Implementation
Step 1: Create A New Project
To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio. Note that select Java as the programming language.
Step 2: Create Resource Files
Reference: Resource Raw Folder in Android Studio
In this step, we are required to create a string resource file for the Hindi language. Go to app > res > values > right-click > New > Value Resource File and name it as strings. Now, we have to choose qualifiers as Locale from the available list and select the language as Hindi from the drop-down list. Below is the picture of the steps to be performed.
Now, In this resource file string.xml(hi) add the code given below in the snippet.
XML <resources> <string name="app_name">GFG | Change App Language</string> <string name="selected_language">हिन्दी</string> <string name="language">नमस्ते, जी यफ जी</string> </resources>
And in string.xml file which is the default for English add these line.
string.xml <resources> <string name="app_name">GFG | Change App Language</string> <string name="selected_language">English</string> <string name="language">Hi, GFG</string> </resources>
Before moving further let’s add some color attributes in order to enhance the app bar. Go to app > res > values > colors.xml and add the following color attributes.
colors.xml <resources> <color name="colorPrimary">#0F9D58</color> <color name="colorPrimaryDark">#16E37F</color> <color name="colorAccent">#03DAC5</color> </resources>
Step 3: Create The Layout File For The Application
In this step, we will create a layout for our application. Go to app > res > layout > activity_main.xml and add two TextView, one for the message and one for the language selected, and an ImageView for the drop_down icon. Below is the code snippet is given for the activity_main.xml file.
activity_main.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="vertical" tools:context=".MainActivity"> <!-- TextView for the message to display --> <TextView android:id="@+id/textView" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_margin="48dp" android:text="Welcome To GeeksForGeeks" android:textAlignment="center" /> <!-- Button view for Hindi language --> <Button android:id="@+id/btnHindi" android:layout_margin="16dp" android:background="@color/colorPrimary" android:textColor="#ffffff" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="Hindi"/> <!-- Button view for English language --> <Button android:id="@+id/btnEnglish" android:layout_margin="16dp" android:background="@color/colorPrimary" android:textColor="#ffffff" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="English"/> </LinearLayout>
Step 4: Create LocaleHelper Class
Now, We will create a Locale Helper class. This class contains all the functions which will help in language switching at runtime. Go to app > java > package > right-click and create a new java class and name it as LocaleHelper.
Below is the code snippet is given for LocaleHelper class.
LocaleHelper.java import android.annotation.TargetApi; import android.content.Context; import android.content.SharedPreferences; import android.content.res.Configuration; import android.content.res.Resources; import android.os.Build; import android.preference.PreferenceManager; import java.util.Locale; public class LocaleHelper { private static final String SELECTED_LANGUAGE = "Locale.Helper.Selected.Language"; // Method to set the language at runtime public static Context setLocale(Context context, String language) { persist(context, language); // Updating the language for devices above Android Nougat if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) { return updateResources(context, language); } // For devices with lower versions of Android OS return updateResourcesLegacy(context, language); } private static void persist(Context context, String language) { SharedPreferences preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(context); SharedPreferences.Editor editor = preferences.edit(); editor.putString(SELECTED_LANGUAGE, language); editor.apply(); } // Method to update the language of the application by creating // an object of the inbuilt Locale class and passing the language argument to it @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.N) private static Context updateResources(Context context, String language) { Locale locale = new Locale(language); Locale.setDefault(locale); Configuration configuration = context.getResources().getConfiguration(); configuration.setLocale(locale); configuration.setLayoutDirection(locale); return context.createConfigurationContext(configuration); } @SuppressWarnings("deprecation") private static Context updateResourcesLegacy(Context context, String language) { Locale locale = new Locale(language); Locale.setDefault(locale); Resources resources = context.getResources(); Configuration configuration = resources.getConfiguration(); configuration.locale = locale; if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN_MR1) { configuration.setLayoutDirection(locale); } resources.updateConfiguration(configuration, resources.getDisplayMetrics()); return context; } }
Step 5: Working With the MainActivity.java File
In this step, we will implement the Java code to switch between the string.xml file to use various languages. First, we will initialize all the Views and set click behavior on an Alert dialog box to choose the desired language with the help of LocalHelper class.
Below is the code snippet is given for the MainActivity.java class.
MainActivity.java import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import android.content.Context; import android.content.res.Resources; import android.os.Bundle; import android.view.View; import android.widget.Button; import android.widget.TextView; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { TextView messageView; Button btnHindi, btnEnglish; Context context; Resources resources; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); // Referencing the text and button views messageView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.textView); btnHindi = findViewById(R.id.btnHindi); btnEnglish = findViewById(R.id.btnEnglish); // Setting up on click listener event over the button // in order to change the language with the help of // LocaleHelper class btnEnglish.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View view) { context = LocaleHelper.setLocale(MainActivity.this, "en"); resources = context.getResources(); messageView.setText(resources.getString(R.string.language)); } }); btnHindi.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View view) { context = LocaleHelper.setLocale(MainActivity.this, "hi"); resources = context.getResources(); messageView.setText(resources.getString(R.string.language)); } }); } } Output:
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