How to Add Simple Animations in Android When Using View.GONE?

How can I add animations to views when setting their visibility to View.GONE in an Android application?

l2.setVisibility(View.GONE);  // set visibility without animation
Animation fadeOut = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(context, R.anim.fade_out);
layoutToHide.startAnimation(fadeOut);
layoutToHide.setVisibility(View.GONE);

This guide provides a comprehensive approach to adding animations to your views in an Android application when their visibility is set to View.GONE. Instead of instantly hiding views, we use animation techniques to achieve a smoother user experience.

// Implementing fade-out animation
Animation fadeOut = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(context, R.anim.fade_out);
layoutToHide.startAnimation(fadeOut);
layoutToHide.setVisibility(View.GONE);

Causes

• The default behavior of setting a view's visibility to GONE is abrupt and can detract from user experience.
• Without animations, the interface may feel static and unresponsive.

Solutions

• Implement animations using the Animation class provided by Android.
• Use AnimationUtils to load pre-defined XML animations or create custom animations in code.
• Ensure to set visibility only after the animation completes to avoid flickering.

Mistake: Forgetting to set the visibility after the animation completes.

Solution: Use Animation.AnimationListener to set visibility in the onAnimationEnd method.

Mistake: Not creating proper animation XML files or missing the animations resource.

Solution: Make sure to create appropriate XML files in the res/anim directory for the animations.

Mistake: Using the wrong context to load animations leading to errors.

Solution: Always use the correct Activity or Context reference when calling AnimationUtils.