[android] How to display a Yes/No dialog box on Android?

Yes, I know there's AlertDialog.Builder, but I'm shocked to know how difficult (well, at least not programmer-friendly) to display a dialog in Android.

I used to be a .NET developer, and I'm wondering is there any Android-equivalent of the following?

if (MessageBox.Show("Sure?", "", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.Yes){
    // Do something...
}

This question is related to android android-alertdialog

The answer is


In Kotlin:

AlertDialog.Builder(this)
    .setTitle(R.string.question_title)
    .setMessage(R.string.question_message)
    .setPositiveButton(android.R.string.yes) { _, _ -> yesClicked() }
    .setNegativeButton(android.R.string.no) { _, _ -> noClicked() }
    .show()

Try this:

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);

builder.setTitle("Confirm");
builder.setMessage("Are you sure?");

builder.setPositiveButton("YES", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // Do nothing but close the dialog

        dialog.dismiss();
    }
});

builder.setNegativeButton("NO", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {

        // Do nothing
        dialog.dismiss();
    }
});

AlertDialog alert = builder.create();
alert.show();

Steves answer is correct though outdated with fragments. Here is an example with FragmentDialog.

The class:

public class SomeDialog extends DialogFragment {

    @Override
    public Dialog onCreateDialog(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        return new AlertDialog.Builder(getActivity())
            .setTitle("Title")
            .setMessage("Sure you wanna do this!")
            .setNegativeButton(android.R.string.no, new OnClickListener() {
                @Override
                public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                    // do nothing (will close dialog)
                }
            })
            .setPositiveButton(android.R.string.yes,  new OnClickListener() {
                @Override
                public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                    // do something
                }
            })
            .create();
    }
}

To start dialog:

            FragmentTransaction ft = getSupportFragmentManager().beginTransaction();
            // Create and show the dialog.
            SomeDialog newFragment = new SomeDialog ();
            newFragment.show(ft, "dialog");

You could also let the class implement onClickListener and use that instead of embedded listeners.


You can do it so easy in Kotlin:

 alert("Testing alerts") {
    title = "Alert"
    yesButton { toast("Yess!!!") }
    noButton { }
}.show()

Thanks nikki your answer has helped me improve an existing simply by adding my desired action as follows

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);

builder.setTitle("Do this action");
builder.setMessage("do you want confirm this action?");

builder.setPositiveButton("YES", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // Do do my action here

        dialog.dismiss();
    }

});

builder.setNegativeButton("NO", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

    @Override
    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
        // I do not need any action here you might
        dialog.dismiss();
    }
});

AlertDialog alert = builder.create();
alert.show();

This is working for me:

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(getApplicationContext());

    builder.setTitle("Confirm");
    builder.setMessage("Are you sure?");

    builder.setPositiveButton("YES", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {

            // Do nothing, but close the dialog
            dialog.dismiss();
        }
    });

    builder.setNegativeButton("NO", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

        @Override
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {

            // Do nothing
            dialog.dismiss();
        }
    });

    AlertDialog alert = builder.create();
    alert.show();

AlertDialog.Builder altBx = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
    altBx.setTitle("My dialog box");
    altBx.setMessage("Welcome, Please Enter your name");
    altBx.setIcon(R.drawable.logo);

    altBx.setPositiveButton("Ok", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener()
    {
      public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which)
      {
          if(edt.getText().toString().length()!=0)
          {
              // Show any message
          }
          else 
          {

          }
      }
    });
    altBx.setNeutralButton("Cancel", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener()
    {
      public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which)
      {
          //show any message
      }

    });
  altBx.show();  

Thanks. I use the API Level 2 (Android 1.1) and instead of BUTTON_POSITIVE and BUTTON_NEGATIVE i have to use BUTTON1 and BUTTON2.


Asking a Person whether he wants to call or not Dialog..

import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.AlertDialog;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class Firstclass extends Activity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {    
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);    
        setContentView(R.layout.first);

        ImageView imageViewCall = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.ring_mig);

        imageViewCall.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v){
                try{
                    showDialog("0728570527");
                } catch (Exception e){
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }                   
            }    
        });    
    }

    public void showDialog(final String phone) throws Exception {
        AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(Firstclass.this);

        builder.setMessage("Ring: " + phone);       

        builder.setPositiveButton("Ring", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener(){
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which){

                Intent callIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_DIAL);// (Intent.ACTION_CALL);                 
                callIntent.setData(Uri.parse("tel:" + phone));
                startActivity(callIntent);

                dialog.dismiss();
            }
        });

        builder.setNegativeButton("Abort", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener(){   
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which){
                dialog.dismiss();
            }
        });         
        builder.show();
    }    
}

Steve H's answer is spot on, but here's a bit more information: the reason that dialogs work the way they do is because dialogs in Android are asynchronous (execution does not stop when the dialog is displayed). Because of this, you have to use a callback to handle the user's selection.

Check out this question for a longer discussion between the differences in Android and .NET (as it relates to dialogs): Dialogs / AlertDialogs: How to "block execution" while dialog is up (.NET-style)


Kotlin implementation.

You can create a simple function like this:

fun dialogYesOrNo(
        activity: Activity,
        title: String,
        message: String,
        listener: DialogInterface.OnClickListener
    ) {
        val builder = AlertDialog.Builder(activity)
        builder.setPositiveButton("Yes", DialogInterface.OnClickListener { dialog, id ->
            dialog.dismiss()
            listener.onClick(dialog, id)
        })
        builder.setNegativeButton("No", null)
        val alert = builder.create()
        alert.setTitle(title)
        alert.setMessage(message)
        alert.show()
    }

and call it like this:

dialogYesOrNo(
  this,
  "Question",
  "Would you like to eat?",
  DialogInterface.OnClickListener { dialog, id ->
    // do whatever you need to do when user presses "Yes"
  }
})

Show dialog anonymously as chain of commands & without defining another object:

 new AlertDialog.Builder(this).setTitle("Confirm Delete?")
                        .setMessage("Are you sure?")
                        .setPositiveButton("YES",
                                new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {

                                       // Perform Action & Dismiss dialog                                 
                                        dialog.dismiss();
                                    }
                                })
                        .setNegativeButton("NO", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                            @Override
                            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                                // Do nothing
                                dialog.dismiss();
                            }
                        })
                        .create()
                        .show();

All the answers here boil down to lengthy and not reader-friendly code: just what the person asking was trying to avoid. To me, was the easiest approach is to employ lambdas here:

new AlertDialog.Builder(this)
        .setTitle("Are you sure?")
        .setMessage("If you go back you will loose any changes.")
        .setPositiveButton("Yes", (dialog, which) -> {
            doSomething();
            dialog.dismiss();
        })
        .setNegativeButton("No", (dialog, which) -> dialog.dismiss())
        .show();

Lambdas in Android require the retrolambda plugin (https://github.com/evant/gradle-retrolambda), but it's hugely helpful in writing cleaner code anyways.


1.Create AlertDialog set message,title and Positive,Negative Button:

final AlertDialog alertDialog = new AlertDialog.Builder(this)
                        .setCancelable(false)
                        .setTitle("Confirmation")
                        .setMessage("Do you want to remove this Picture?")
                        .setPositiveButton("Yes",null)
                        .setNegativeButton("No",null)
                        .create();

2.Now find both buttons on DialogInterface Click then setOnClickListener():

alertDialog.setOnShowListener(new DialogInterface.OnShowListener() {
            @Override
            public void onShow(DialogInterface dialogInterface) {
                Button yesButton = (alertDialog).getButton(android.app.AlertDialog.BUTTON_POSITIVE);
                Button noButton = (alertDialog).getButton(android.app.AlertDialog.BUTTON_NEGATIVE);
                yesButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(View view) {
                        //Now Background Class To Update Operator State
                        alertDialog.dismiss();
                        Toast.makeText(GroundEditActivity.this, "Click on Yes", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                        //Do Something here 
                    }
                });

                noButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(View view) {
                        alertDialog.dismiss();
                        Toast.makeText(GroundEditActivity.this, "Click on No", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                        //Do Some Thing Here 
                    }
                });
            }
        });

3.To Show Alertdialog:

alertDialog.show();

Note: Don't forget Final Keyword with AlertDialog.


For Kotlin in Android::

    override fun onBackPressed() {
        confirmToCancel()
    }

    private fun confirmToCancel() {
        AlertDialog.Builder(this)
            .setTitle("Title")
            .setMessage("Do you want to cancel?")
            .setCancelable(false)
            .setPositiveButton("Yes") {
                dialog: DialogInterface, _: Int ->
                dialog.dismiss()
                // for sending data to previous activity use
                // setResult(response code, data)
                finish()
            }
            .setNegativeButton("No") {
                dialog: DialogInterface, _: Int ->
                dialog.dismiss()
            }
            .show()
    } 

you can implement a generic solution for decisions and use in another case not just for yes/no and custom the alert with animations or layout:

Something like this; first create your class for transfer datas:

public class AlertDecision {

    private String question = "";
    private String strNegative = "";
    private String strPositive = "";

    public AlertDecision question(@NonNull String question) {
        this.question = question;
        return this;
    }

    public AlertDecision ansPositive(@NonNull String strPositive) {
        this.strPositive = strPositive;
        return this;
    }

    public AlertDecision ansNegative(@NonNull String strNegative) {
        this.strNegative = strNegative;
        return this;
    }

    public String getQuestion() {
        return question;
    }

    public String getAnswerNegative() {
        return strNegative;
    }

    public String getAnswerPositive() {
        return strPositive;
    }
}

after a interface for return the result

public interface OnAlertDecisionClickListener {

    /**
     * Interface definition for a callback to be invoked when a view is clicked.
     *
     * @param dialog the dialog that was clicked
     * @param object The object in the position of the view
     */
    void onPositiveDecisionClick(DialogInterface dialog, Object object);
    void onNegativeDecisionClick(DialogInterface dialog, Object object);
}

Now you can create an utils for access easily (in this class you can implement different animation or custom layout for the alert):

public class AlertViewUtils {

    public static void showAlertDecision(Context context,
                                         @NonNull AlertDecision decision,
                                         final OnAlertDecisionClickListener listener,
                                         final Object object) {

        AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
        builder.setMessage(decision.getQuestion());
        builder.setPositiveButton(decision.getAnswerPositive(),
                new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                        listener.onPositiveDecisionClick(dialog, object);
                    }
                });

        builder.setNegativeButton(decision.getAnswerNegative(),
                new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                        listener.onNegativeDecisionClick(dialog, object);
                    }
                });

        android.support.v7.app.AlertDialog dialog = builder.create();
        dialog.show();
    }
}

and the last call in activity or fragment; you can use this in you case or for other task:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

@Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity);
        initResources();
    }

    public void initResources() {
        Button doSomething = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btn);
        doSomething.setOnClickListener(getDecisionListener());
    }

    private View.OnClickListener getDecisionListener() {
        return new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                AlertDecision decision = new AlertDecision()
                        .question("question ...")
                        .ansNegative("negative action...")
                        .ansPositive("positive action... ");
                AlertViewUtils.showAlertDecision(MainActivity.this,
                        decision, getOnDecisionListener(), v);
            }
        };
    }

    private OnAlertDecisionClickListener getOnDecisionListener() {
        return new OnAlertDecisionClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onPositiveDecisionClick(DialogInterface dialog, Object object) {

                //do something like create, show views, etc...
            }

            @Override
            public void onNegativeDecisionClick(DialogInterface dialog, Object object) {
                //do something like delete, close session, etc ...
            }
        };
    }
}