In total, more than 60 new declares have been added for MobileSlider, allowing you to control virtually every UI parameter of the control—whether it’s the shape of the thumb, its color, the track colors (both for the active/left and inactive/right portions), and much more. You can also set the step size, similar to what you’re used to on the desktop.

Just take a look at the updated Android Design Extensions demo app and try it out.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library. I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples at https://github.com/XojoGermany/AndroidDesignExtensions.

Happy coding!

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

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Martin started using Xojo around the time he got his first MacBook. He was drawn to Xojo’s simplicity and flexibility. If you ask him, Martin will say designing clean, intuitive user interfaces is one of his favorite parts of development. Though he’s also a Xojo MVP, he’s probably best know as the developer behind Android Design Extensions.

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Mac.

How would you explain your most recent project to a new developer?

The Android Design Extensions are a collection of enhancements for Android projects in Xojo, aimed at polishing the UI of your apps. This is the primary focus of the project. It addresses aspects that Xojo does not natively provide.

We live in a visual world—design in advertising and product presentation shapes users’ impressions of a company or product. The same applies to software. Is the UI user-friendly and visually appealing? Is it enjoyable to use the app? These questions have always been the guiding principles behind the creation of the Android Design Extensions.

What do you think Martin from 2020 would think about what you do now?

Five years ago, I could never have imagined that I would be a Xojo MVP and be able to make my own project available to other users. Android Design Extensions is the result of many hundreds of hours of intensive collaboration with the Xojo team, which has resulted in Xojo Android becoming more stable and, above all, enormously powerful. For example, in terms of declares, it’s really easy and there’s hardly anything now that you can’t implement in Android projects, as long as you know how to read the Android API and handle declares.

That’s almost the best memory of the last five years, that Xojo has listened to feedback from Android users and responded very quickly. It’s amazing how fast Android support in Xojo has progressed over the past two years.

What is on your “Learn Next” list?

Definitely delve deeper into Android APIs to explore the possibilities of Xojo Android even more.

How did you find Xojo? And when did you start using Xojo?

I first came into contact with Xojo around 2008. At that time it was still called Real Studio and I had found it on a DVD that was enclosed with a computer magazine. I was an active Delphi developer at the time and immediately fell in love with the simplicity of the language.

What do you build with Xojo now?

Fortunately, I have greatly expanded my programming skills thanks to Xojo. My focus is on UI development, controls, especially the TextInputCanvas, Android and desktop programs.

What is something you worked on that you want to talk about?

I became very friendly with TextInputCanvas (a free plugin) and together with Björn Eiríksson from Einhugur, we created an updated API 2.0 version of the plugin, which we still maintain today.

I used to work as a developer for Bob Keeney and was responsible for the Formatted Text Control, which is based on TextInputCanvas. There are several programs on the market that make intensive use of this control and I am still involved in some of these projects today, making the WYSIWYG experience even more pleasant for customers when entering text.

Do you use Xojo for any hobbies?

I also use Xojo to write software for genealogical purposes. From a young age, I developed a curiosity and desire to learn more about the history of my family and its members. That is how I came to genealogy. It is a kind of detective work that can lead to surprising family connections, secrets, strokes of fate, and even unknown relatives. Since I enjoy reading, I prefer to have such information in book form and written out, rather than in tables. A book with text feels more tangible to me—something the reader can engage with more consciously.

None of the genealogy software available on the market has ever met my expectations. That is why I wrote my own software in Xojo, which can process the standard format for genealogical data known as Gedcom. You can think of it as a database in plain text format. From this data, I can then generate—depending on what is desired—full biographies, ancestor and descendant trees, and more. The finished result is a Word document, complete with indices at the end for all people, places, professions, and so on—just like in a real book.

Thank you to Martin T. for answering questions and sharing his Xojo experience with the community. Martin accepts donations for his work on Android Design Extensions. Download Android Design Extensions. Read more about Android Design Extensions on the Xojo Blog.

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Most of the development effort over the past two years was certainly spent fixing compiler errors. In 2023 and 2024, the framework was still encountering errors during app builds. Since then, the situation has improved significantly—thanks in large part to hundreds of issues submitted by users. Example projects were particularly helpful for the Xojo team in identifying and fixing bugs. It’s always important to show Xojo how we as users work with the IDE and write our code, as our approaches often differ and expose edge cases that Xojo doesn’t cover out of the box. The past two years have therefore also helped Xojo better understand how developers actually use the product.

The initial Android beta in 2023 included a basic set of UI controls. Over time, four more were added: MobilePopupMenu, AndroidMobileUserControl, MobileMapViewer, as well as classes like Barcode, TCPSocket, and UserAuthentication. This brings the Android target closer to the iOS feature set, with the long-term goal of enabling unified mobile projects that can build for both platforms. However, some steps are still needed to reach that point. The Android framework itself has seen substantial improvements over the past two years. Several new classes were added to enhance the developer and user experience compared to other platforms: RegEx, Set, ColorGroup, structures, localization, dark mode support, and more.

I asked Paul Levebvre, the lead developer of the Android framework, what the most challenging moments over the last two years were for him: “It may have been only two years, but I feel like I’ve aged 10! I am pleased with the forward progress and it’s always great to see the amazing things that people have created with Xojo for Android. The hardest thing to get working—by a wide margin—was the debugger. Nothing else comes close. In the past two years, the most difficult things have probably been TCPSocket, Operator_Convert, ColorGroup, MapViewer, and ByRef. Right now, the plan is to continue fixing bugs and adding features to get Android to feature parity with iOS.”

The development of the Android Design Extensions began early in the public alpha phase of Xojo Android. This close integration led to numerous improvements and enhancements in the Android Declare engine. Today, there’s practically nothing you can’t implement on Android using Declares, even native controls—provided there’s no built-in Xojo support yet. Naturally, this does require some knowledge of the Android API and the Kotlin programming language. With the help of the Android Design Extensions, you can further enhance your apps, much like you might already do in your iOS projects using Jérémie Leroy’s iOS Design Extensions.

Of course, there’s still a lot of work to be done to bring Android up to the same level as iOS. For example, support for custom attributes and AttributeInfo is still missing, along with several control-specific features, the DatabaseConnection class, XML handling, PDFDocument, and more. It’s important that we test thoroughly and cover as many edge cases as possible to make Android support truly stable—and to ensure that the full Xojo language feature set works as expected. As a welcome side effect, the Xojo documentation has also improved significantly through this extensive testing. Encouraging, indeed.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

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With the introduction of the new MobileMapViewer for Android, users now have the ability to customize the behavior and appearance of MobileMapViewer instances. For example, they can hide the zoom controls by using SetZoomControlsEnabledXC(False), or enable/disable certain gestures (zoom, rotation, etc.). You can also set the minimum and maximum zoom level for the control by using the SetMaxZoomPreferenceXC or SetMinZoomPreferenceXC methods.

Android 15 users now also gain access to 16 additional system colors.

Give it a try! More exciting Android features are coming soon. Stay tuned!

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples at https://github.com/XojoGermany/AndroidDesignExtensions.

Happy coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

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You can now use the SetBottomAppBarMenuAlignmentModeXC extension method for MobileScreen to set the alignment of the buttons in your MobileScreen.Toolbar.

Additionally, new declares for MobileMessageBox have been added, allowing you to display an icon next to the title as well as next to individual buttons.

Give it a try! More exciting Android features are coming soon. Stay tuned!

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples at https://github.com/XojoGermany/AndroidDesignExtensions.

Happy coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

From now on, Buttons and TextFields can use Xojo Pictures directly and you no longer need to save images that you want to use. Take a look at the “Deprecations Version 3.0” section in the Read me to find out which methods are deprecated in this regard.

Now it’s getting colorful!

In this version, support for over 180 system colors has been added, depending on which Android version your app is running on. The sample app has a new page with the system colors. It gives you a good overview. Using these colors can help you to design your apps according to the Material Design Guidelines in light & dark mode.

Picture objects and the content of a MobileHTMLViewer can now also be printed.

We are familiar with the DrawInto method from the Desktop Framework, which draws DesktopUIControls and DesktopWindows into a Graphics object. These methods have now also been added for MobileUIControls and MobileScreen.

The title bar and the NavigationBar can now also be highlighted in color. The font, color and alignment of the NavigationBar can also be changed.

How? What? Where?

The system paths for various folders (SpecialFolder) have also been added.

Almost all modules have been updated according to the new Declare data types. The example app has also been further optimized for dark mode in this version.

The new Declare capabilities in Xojo 2024r3 are another huge step forward. You now have the possibility to declare in almost every Android API without having to go through an Android library.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples at https://github.com/XojoGermany/AndroidDesignExtensions.

Happy coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

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This small update runs exclusively for all Xojo 2024r2+ versions and now offers methods to access a few more system details, such as specific folders (MobileApplication.GetCacheDirXC, GetDataDirXC, GetFilesDirXC, etc.) or methods for checking screen properties like MobileApplication.IsScreenHdrXC, IsScreenRoundXC, ScreenHeightDpXC, or ScreenWidthDpXC.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples at https://github.com/XojoGermany/AndroidDesignExtensions.

Happy coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

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This blog post is intended as a follow-up to that webinar. In it, I hope to provide some additional information that we didn’t have time to cover, answer some of the questions that came up during and after the webinar, and also provide a link to the Xojo project that we created during the webinar.

Downloading the Xojo Project

The Xojo project that we developed during the webinar is available for download here. In the zip file, you’ll find the project and a “Readme” file that includes instructions on how to set things up (including SuiteTalk REST, a custom NetSuite role, an integration record, etc).

My advice is to download the project, setup NetSuite, and run the project. Then look at how the project was built -the screens, methods, and so on. After you’re familiar with the project file, experiment with it. Perhaps try modifying the project so that instead of providing access to Items it provides access to Employees instead.

If you run into any problems, or have questions, please feel free to email me (timdietrich@me.com). Another great resource for your general Xojo questions is the Xojo Programming Forum.

Have fun!

Questions & Answers

Do you prefer to use RESTlets instead of SuiteTalk REST? If so, why?

Yes, I much prefer using RESTlets in all of my NetSuite integration projects. With RESTlets I have more control over the functionality that the API provides, and more control over how the responses are formatted. Also, my experience has been that RESTlets are slightly faster than SuiteTalk REST.

That being said, SuiteTalk REST does have some advantages over RESTlets. For example, SuiteTalk REST provides endpoints that you can use to get metadata, which is something that is often difficult to do with a RESTlet. But perhaps the biggest advantage of SuiteTalk REST is that, unlike RESTlets, there is nothing extra that needs to be installed in your NetSuite account. It’s simply a matter of enabling it.

You mentioned some NetSuite customer statistics in your presentation. Can you repeat those?

Sure. During his SuiteWorld keynote presentation this year, Gary Wiessinger (SVP of NetSuite Application Development) mentioned NetSuite’s growth in terms of the number of customers that are using NetSuite. So as of October 2023, 37,000 customers are using NetSuite, and that represents 324,000 organizations. And those customers are located in 219 countries and territories.

As a Xojo developer, how can I get started with NetSuite?

You should first try to get access to a NetSuite account that you can experiment with. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it is with other platforms (such as Salesforce or ServiceNow), where they provide developers with test accounts. My advice would be to reach out to a local NetSuite partner, and see if you can build a relationship with them, and try to get their help in getting started.

After the demo, you mentioned another Xojo project that extends the Android functionality. What was that?

It’s called Android Design Extensions, and there’s a great blog post about it here. Read multiple posts about Android Design Extensions on the Xojo Blog.

Wrapping Up

Thanks again for your interest in Xojo and in using it to develop apps that integrate with NetSuite. I hope you’ve found the webinar and the Xojo project to be helpful.

Happy holidays!

Tim Dietrich develops custom software for businesses that are running on NetSuite. He makes extensive use of Xojo to develop mobile, desktop, Web apps, and more – all of which integrate seamlessly with NetSuite. To learn more, visit: https://timdietrich.me

Highlights and New Features in Android Design Extensions 2.0.

Buttons can now have borders in different thicknesses and colors. Use the SetStrokeColorXC and SetStrokeWidthXC extension methods for this. You can also use the same properties for the Android MobileDateTimePicker. You can also set the color of the button when it is clicked: SetRippleColorXC .

The colors of sliders and progress bars can now be set dynamically via the extension methods  SetProgressBackgroundTintListXC and SetProgressTintListXC.

Would you like to display the top bar of an app, where the time and battery status are displayed, in a dark color instead of white? No problem. The MobileScreen method SetSystemBarsAppearanceXC will help you. The Android Design Extensions sample app shows you how to use it.

The background color of individual segments of a MobileSegmentedButton can now also be set dynamically with SetBackgroundColorAtXC.

MobileTabPanel now supports the display of badges. You can set the color, position, and number of a badge individually.

Would you like a little more for the MobileTextArea? With the SetTextFromHtmlXC method, you can output formatted HTML content in the MobileTextArea.

MobileTextFields also experience a push forward with the latest Android Design Extensions. You can now show a clear button or, if it is a password field, show and hide the password. The name of the helper here is SetEndIconModeXC. You can also set the border color and border thickness of text fields. SetBoxStrokeWidthXC, SetBoxStrokeColorXC, and SetBoxBackgroundColorXC are the methods to be used.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples here.

Happy Coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

• Declares for the new MobilePopupMenu
• Declares for MobileMoviePlayer
• Extensions for all MobileUIControl subclasses
• New extensions for AndroidMobileTable
• New extensions for MobileScrollableArea
• New extensions for MobileSwitch
• New extensions for MobileTabPanel
• New extensions for MobileTextArea
• New extensions for MobileTextField

Use MobilePopupMenu to Display it in Other Controls

The new MobilePopupMenu is a nice new addition to Xojo’s Android control library. Wouldn’t it be nice to display the popup menu when clicking on a Button or Canvas as well? With the Android Design Extensions you can achieve this.

1. Create a new Android project
2. Import the Android Design Extension folder into your project
3. Add a MobilePopupMenu (PopupMenu1) from the library to Screen1
4. Add some entries to the PopupMenu1 in the Inspector in the InitialValue section (say “Apple”, “Banana”, “Peach”)
5. Set the Visible property of the PopupMenu1 to False
6. Add a MobileButton (Button1) from the library to Screen1 and place it over the “invisible” PopupMenu1
7. Add the Pressed-Event to Button1 with the following code:

Call PopupMenu1.PerformClickXC

8. Add the SelectionChanged-Event to the PopupMenu1 with the following code:

Button1.Caption = Me.SelectedRowText

9. Run your project by clicking Run.

You can use this technique with any control that you want to have a popup menu. For example, in a Canvas you would use the PointerDown-Event.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples here.

Happy Coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.

Developers, myself included, love maximizing the potential of their projects and often desire extended access to features that Xojo does not initially provides in their framework, or even features that are not available at all. This can be remedied by using Declares, which are available in Android, as well as in all other project types (Desktop, Console and iOS). The usage may differ slightly from other platforms, but once you grasp its nuances, it becomes just as intuitive.

To make it easier for Xojo developers who are taking their first steps with the Android platform and would like to get more extensions and accessibility, I have created the Android (Design) Extensions modeled after the iOS Design Extensions provide by Xojo MVP Jérémie Leroy. They are extension methods for all controls and classes supported in the Android project type. At the moment the project offers 440+ extensions and that should be good for a start.

Check out this short video of the demo application to see some of the uses of Android (Design) Extensions:

For example, you can add currently missing functionalities for Android MobileHTMLViewer such as GoBack or GoForward, just to name a few.

The project has been customized to support both light and dark modes, offering you an optimized solution for Android projects right from the start, until Xojo implements automatic light/dark mode support for Android.

Feel free to take a look at the developer repository, create feature requests, and provide feedback on extending this extension library.

I’m happy to receive any voluntary financial support for the work I’ve done so far, which you are welcome to share here. You can download the project with many examples here.

Happy Coding.

Martin T. is a Xojo MVP and has been very involved in testing Android support.