Add checkboxes to your app

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Checkbox →

Checkboxes let the user select one or more options from a set. Typically, you present checkbox options in a vertical list.

An image showing an example of checkboxes from material.io
Figure 1. An example of checkboxes from Material Design Checkbox.

To create each checkbox option, create a CheckBox in your layout. Because a set of checkbox options lets the user select multiple items, each checkbox is managed separately, and you must register a click listener for each one.

Respond to click events

Begin by creating a layout with CheckBox objects in a list:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">
    <CheckBox android:id="@+id/checkbox_meat"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Meat" />
    <CheckBox android:id="@+id/checkbox_cheese"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Cheese"/>
</LinearLayout>

Once your layout is ready, head to your Activity or Fragment, find your CheckBox views, and set a change listener, as in the following example:

Kotlin

findViewById<CheckBox>(R.id.checkbox_meat)
    .setOnCheckedChangeListener { buttonView, isChecked ->
        Log.d("CHECKBOXES", "Meat is checked: $isChecked")
    }

findViewById<CheckBox>(R.id.checkbox_cheese)
    .setOnCheckedChangeListener { buttonView, isChecked ->
        Log.d("CHECKBOXES", "Cheese is checked: $isChecked")
    }

Java

findViewById<CheckBox>(R.id.checkbox_meat)
    .setOnCheckedChangeListener { buttonView, isChecked ->
        Log.d("CHECKBOXES", "Meat is checked: $isChecked");
    }

findViewById<CheckBox>(R.id.checkbox_cheese)
    .setOnCheckedChangeListener { buttonView, isChecked ->
        Log.d("CHECKBOXES", "Cheese is checked: $isChecked");
    }

The previous code prints a message in Logcat every time the checkboxes change status.