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Find answers to common questions about using CustomButton in your Android projects.

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General questions

CustomButton requires API 15+ (Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and above). This covers over 99% of active Android devices, making it suitable for virtually all modern Android applications.
Yes, CustomButton is fully compatible with Material Design and can coexist with Material Components. In fact, CustomButton was created as an alternative to Material buttons, offering a flatter design with better drawable support and more consistent appearance across Android versions.CustomButton extends AppCompatTextView, ensuring compatibility with AppCompat and Material Design libraries.
CustomButton offers several advantages over standard Android buttons:
  • Consistent appearance across all Android versions
  • Better drawable support with easy-to-use methods for adding icons
  • Flat design that works well with modern UI trends
  • Extensive customization via XML attributes and programmatic methods
  • Outline support with separate colors for stroke and fill
  • Press state handling with distinct selected/unselected colors for all elements
Yes! CustomButton works seamlessly with both ViewBinding and DataBinding since it’s a standard Android view component. Simply reference it in your binding class like any other view.
// ViewBinding example
CustomButton myButton = binding.btn1;
myButton.setOnClickListener(v -> { /* handle click */ });

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Customization

CustomButton provides extensive customization options:Via XML attributes:
  • Background colors (default and selected states)
  • Stroke colors and width (default and selected states)
  • Text colors (default and selected states)
  • Corner radius for rounded buttons
Programmatically:
  • All color states simultaneously with setColor()
  • Left and right drawables with setDrawableLeft() and setDrawableRight()
  • Custom drawable sizes
  • Press state with setPressStatus()
Since CustomButton extends AppCompatTextView, you also have access to all standard TextView properties like text size, font, padding, gravity, and more.
Yes! CustomButton provides convenient methods for adding icons:
// Add icon to the left
button.setDrawableLeft(R.drawable.icon_heart);

// Add icon to the right
button.setDrawableRight(R.drawable.icon_arrow);

// Add icon with custom size
int iconSize = (int) Units.spToPx(context, 22);
button.setDrawableLeft(R.drawable.icon, iconSize, iconSize);
Icons automatically adapt to the button’s press state when using selector drawables.
Currently, CustomButton does not support elevation or drop shadows. This is a known limitation and is listed in the Features Wishlist.However, you can achieve shadow effects by:
  • Wrapping CustomButton in a CardView with elevation
  • Using a custom drawable background with shadow
  • Applying a shadow layer in your design tool and using it as a background
Contributions to add native shadow support are welcome!
Gradient backgrounds are not natively supported by CustomButton at this time. This feature is included in the Features Wishlist.As a workaround, you can:
  • Set a gradient drawable as the background using standard Android background attributes
  • Note that this may conflict with CustomButton’s color management
Native gradient support contributions are encouraged!
Use the btn_cornerRadius attribute to create rounded corners:
<stream.custombutton.CustomButton
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Rounded Button"
    app:btn_cornerRadius="20dp"
    app:btn_buttonColor="#008af9"/>
The corner radius applies to both the button background and stroke outline.

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Performance

CustomButton has minimal performance impact since it extends AppCompatTextView and uses native Android drawing APIs. The custom attributes are processed during view inflation and drawing is handled efficiently by the Android framework.There is no noticeable difference in performance compared to standard Android buttons. You can safely use CustomButton throughout your application, even in RecyclerView lists.
Yes! CustomButton works perfectly in RecyclerView, ListView, or any other list component. Since it’s lightweight and extends AppCompatTextView, it performs well even with many instances on screen.
// In your ViewHolder
CustomButton actionButton = itemView.findViewById(R.id.action_button);
actionButton.setText(item.getActionText());
actionButton.setOnClickListener(v -> handleAction(item));

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Migration

Migration is straightforward:
  1. Replace the XML tag: 
    <!-- Before -->
<Button
    android:id="@+id/my_button"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Click Me"/>

<!-- After -->
<stream.custombutton.CustomButton
    android:id="@+id/my_button"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Click Me"/>
  2. Add custom attributes (optional): 
    app:btn_cornerRadius="20dp"
app:btn_strokeWidth="1dp"
app:btn_strokeColor="#008af9"
  3. Update Java/Kotlin code (if needed): 
    // Change the import and type
CustomButton myButton = findViewById(R.id.my_button);
All standard button functionality (click listeners, text, etc.) works the same way.
Yes! CustomButton supports all standard Android click listeners:
// OnClickListener
button.setOnClickListener(v -> { /* handle click */ });

// OnLongClickListener
button.setOnLongClickListener(v -> {
    // handle long click
    return true;
});

// OnTouchListener
button.setOnTouchListener((v, event) -> {
    // handle touch
    return false;
});
No changes are needed to your existing listener code.

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Troubleshooting

If custom attributes like btn_cornerRadius or btn_strokeWidth aren’t working, check:
  1. Namespace declaration: Ensure you have the app namespace declared in your layout root: 
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
  2. Attribute prefix: Use app: prefix, not android:: 
    app:btn_cornerRadius="20dp"  <!-- Correct -->
android:btn_cornerRadius="20dp"  <!-- Wrong -->
  3. Library dependency: Verify CustomButton is properly added to your build.gradle: 
    implementation 'com.github.searchy2:CustomButton:latest-version'
CustomButton is designed to look consistent across all Android versions (API 15+). If you’re seeing differences:
  • Ensure you’re setting all color states (normal and selected) explicitly
  • Check that you’re not mixing CustomButton attributes with standard button styling
  • Verify that custom themes aren’t overriding CustomButton properties
CustomButton’s flat design avoids the inconsistencies common with Material buttons across Android versions.
To report bugs or request features:
  1. File an issue on the GitHub repository
  2. Submit a pull request if you’ve implemented a feature or fix
  3. Check the Features Wishlist in the README for planned enhancements
Contributions are welcome! Popular requested features include elevation shadows and gradient backgrounds.

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