How to Add Icons to an Android Studio Navigation Drawer Template

What are the steps to incorporate icons into the Navigation Drawer in an Android Studio template?

Adding icons to your Navigation Drawer in Android Studio enhances the user experience by providing visual cues for navigation. This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to add icons to the default Navigation Drawer template.

<androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <NavigationView
        android:id="@+id/nav_view"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:layout_gravity="start"
        app:headerLayout="@layout/nav_header"
        app:menu="@menu/drawer_menu" />
</androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout>

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item
        android:id="@+id/nav_home"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_home"
        android:title="Home" />
    <item
        android:id="@+id/nav_gallery"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_gallery"
        android:title="Gallery" />
</menu>

Causes

• Not having the correct drawable resources for the icons.
• Failing to update the Navigation Drawer adapter to include the icons.

Solutions

• Ensure you have appropriate icon images in your project's drawable folder.
• Modify the Navigation Drawer layout code to include the ImageView for icons next to each menu item.
• Update the Adapter class to bind icons to the menu items in the drawer.

Mistake: Icons are not visible in the Navigation Drawer.

Solution: Check if the drawable resources are in the correct directory and have valid formats.

Mistake: Incorrect layout definitions for the Navigation Drawer items.

Solution: Ensure your menu XML properly defines the icons and titles for items.

Mistake: Not updating Adapter after modifying Navigation Drawer items.

Solution: Always notify the adapter after making changes to the data set that feeds the Navigation Drawer.