Android EditText setEnabled(false) isn't working

Question

I have a couple of dynamically created EditText fields. I am trying to disable the fields if the value in another field doesn't match certain criteria. The issue is that if other criteria is met, the field is disabled properly by setting setEnabled(false);.

Essentially in a part number field, we check if the part number requires a serial number or a lot number. If the part requires a serial number, the serial number field displays an error, the lot number field is disabled, and the quantity field is set to "1" and disabled If a lot number is required, the lot number field shows an error and the serial number field is disabled. This works as intended.

public void onTextChanged(@NotNull EditText target, @NotNull Editable s) {
                                int serialIndex = 4;
                                int lotIndex = 5;
                                int quantityIndex = 6;
                                EditText serial = findViewById(serialIndex);
                                EditText lot = findViewById(lotIndex);
                                EditText quantity = findViewById(quantityIndex);
                               
                                String txt = partNum.getText().toString().toUpperCase();
                                partNumber = txt;
                                Global.isSerialized = DatabaseManager.isSerialized(txt);
                                Global.isLot = DatabaseManager.isLot(txt);
                                
                                //this is not working. The fields do not get disabled.
                                if (!Global.isSerialized && !Global.isLot) {
                                    lot.setEnabled(false);
                                    serial.setEnabled(false);
                                    findViewById(id).setNextFocusDownId(quantityIndex);
                                }
                                
                                if (txt.equals("")) {
                                    serial.setError(null);
                                    lot.setError(null);
                                    if (!quantity.isEnabled()) {
                                        quantity.setEnabled(true);
                                        quantity.setText("");
                                    }
                                }
                                //This is working. The lot number field gets disabled.
                                if (Global.isSerialized) {
                                    lot.setEnabled(false);
                                    snRequired = true;
                                    serial.setError("Serial Number Required");
                                    quantity.setText("1");
                                    quantity.setEnabled(false);
                                    findViewById(id).setNextFocusDownId(serialIndex);
                                } else {
                                    snRequired = false;
                                    serial.setError(null);
                                    quantity.setText("");
                                    quantity.setEnabled(true);

                                }
                                //this is also working. The serial number field gets disabled.
                                if (Global.isLot) {
                                    lot.setEnabled(true);
                                    lnRequired = true;
                                    lot.setError("Lot Number Required");
                                    serial.setEnabled(false);
                                    quantity.setText("");
                                    quantity.setEnabled(true);
                                    findViewById(id).setNextFocusDownId(lotIndex);
                                } else {
                                    lot.setError(null);
                                    lnRequired = false;
                                }

Any ideas?

I was able to figure it out. Hard coding the field indexes was the wrong approach. I was able to get the proper indexes by using a for loop on a fieldList array, and assigning the indexes to the variables based on the name of the field. Once I did that, I was able to `setEnabled(true)` or `setEnabled(false)` as needed without issue. — Patrick Davis, Oct 12 '21 at 22:32

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 11 '21 at 23:57

0

I'm surprised this is still an issue. It's been asked before way back in the past: How to set editable true/false EditText in Android programmatically?

Maybe try this and see what comes of it?

answered Oct 11 '21 at 23:57

siya

73
7

I did see that thread, and tried some of the attempted solutions. I can use `setFocusable(false);` and that does effectively "disable" the fields. However, why does `setEnabled(false);` work on the same fields under different criteria? If if works in one instance, it should work in another. – Patrick Davis Oct 12 '21 at 15:19

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 13 '21 at 20:15

I was able to figure it out. Hard coding the field indexes was the wrong approach. I was able to get the proper indexes by using a for loop on a fieldList array, and assigning the indexes to the variables based on the name of the field. Once I did that, I was able to setEnabled(true) or setEnabled(false) as needed without issue.

Android EditText setEnabled(false) isn't working

2 Answers2