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Top Android Activity Transition Libraries

Top Android Activity Transition Libraries.

Activity transitions play a crucial role in enhancing the user experience of an Android application. They provide smooth and visually appealing animations when transitioning between different activities or views. While Android provides some default transition animations, there are several third-party libraries available that offer more advanced and customizable options. In this tutorial, we will explore some of the top Android activity transition libraries, discuss their features, and provide step-by-step installation instructions along with code examples.

1. TransitionManager​

TransitionManager is a built-in Android class that allows you to animate layout changes, including activity transitions. It provides a simple and efficient way to create transitions between different layouts or views within the same activity.

Features:​

  • Class-based approach to define transitions.
  • Support for various types of transitions, such as fades, slides, and changes in visibility.
  • Ability to animate multiple views simultaneously.
  • Easy integration with existing code.

Installation:​

TransitionManager is part of the Android framework and does not require any additional installation.

Code Example (Java):​

Transition fade = new Fade();
TransitionManager.beginDelayedTransition(rootLayout, fade);
textView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

2. Transition API​

The Transition API, introduced in Android 4.4 (API level 19), provides a flexible way to create activity transitions. It allows you to define custom animations for enter and exit transitions, which can be applied to activities and fragments.

Features:​

  • Support for custom animations for enter and exit transitions.
  • Ability to create shared element transitions between activities.
  • Support for transition callbacks to handle events during transitions.
  • Integration with the Android framework.

Installation:​

The Transition API is part of the Android framework and does not require any additional installation.

Code Example (Kotlin):​

val fade = Fade()
window.enterTransition = fade
window.exitTransition = fade

3. Transitions-Everywhere​

Transitions-Everywhere is a backport of the Transition API, which allows you to use the Transition API on devices running older versions of Android (pre-API level 19). It provides a similar interface and functionality as the Transition API.

Features:​

  • Backport of the Transition API for older Android versions.
  • Support for custom animations for enter and exit transitions.
  • Ability to create shared element transitions between activities.
  • Integration with the Android framework.

Installation:​

Add the following dependency to your app's build.gradle file:

implementation 'com.transitionseverywhere:transitions-everywhere:1.1.1'

Code Example (Java):​

Transition fade = new Fade();
TransitionManager.beginDelayedTransition(rootLayout, fade);
textView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

4. Material-Animations​

Material-Animations is a library that provides several pre-built activity transition animations inspired by Google's Material Design guidelines. It simplifies the process of implementing Material Design transitions in your Android application.

Features:​

  • Pre-built activity transition animations following Material Design guidelines.
  • Support for shared element transitions.
  • Easy integration with existing code.
  • Customizable animations.

Installation:​

Add the following dependency to your app's build.gradle file:

implementation 'com.github.KeivanEsmaeilpour:Material-Animations:1.0.1'

###Code Example (Kotlin):

startActivity(Intent(this, DetailActivity::class.java))
overridePendingTransition(R.anim.slide_in_up, R.anim.slide_out_up)

Additional Libraries:​

  • Lottie-Android: A library that allows you to easily add high-quality animations to your Android applications. GitHub Repository
  • Hero: A library for building activity transitions and shared element transitions. GitHub Repository
  • ArcAnimator: A library that provides a simple API to create arc-shaped animations. GitHub Repository

Activity transitions can greatly enhance the user experience of an Android application. In this tutorial, we explored some of the top Android activity transition libraries, including TransitionManager, Transition API, Transitions-Everywhere, and Material-Animations. Each library offers unique features and installation instructions, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your requirements. Additionally, we listed a few additional libraries that you can explore for more advanced animation capabilities. So go ahead, experiment with these libraries, and create stunning activity transitions in your Android applications.