Added in API level 1

Summary: Inherited Constants | Ctors | Methods | Inherited Methods

SpannableStringBuilder

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Kotlin |Java

public class SpannableStringBuilder
extends Object implements CharSequence, GetChars, Spannable, Editable, Appendable

java.lang.Object
↳	android.text.SpannableStringBuilder

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This is the class for text whose content and markup can both be changed.

Summary

Inherited constants

From interface android.text.Spanned int SPAN_COMPOSING This flag is set on spans that are being used to apply temporary styling information on the composing text of an input method, so that they can be found and removed when the composing text is being replaced. int SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE Spans of type SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE do not expand to include text inserted at either their starting or ending point. int SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE Non-0-length spans of type SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE expand to include text inserted at their ending point but not at their starting point. int SPAN_INCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE Non-0-length spans of type SPAN_INCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE expand to include text inserted at their starting point but not at their ending point. int SPAN_INCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE Spans of type SPAN_INCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE expand to include text inserted at either their starting or ending point. int SPAN_INTERMEDIATE This flag will be set for intermediate span changes, meaning there is guaranteed to be another change following it. int SPAN_MARK_MARK 0-length spans with type SPAN_MARK_MARK behave like text marks: they remain at their original offset when text is inserted at that offset. int SPAN_MARK_POINT SPAN_MARK_POINT is a synonym for SPAN_INCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE. int SPAN_PARAGRAPH SPAN_PARAGRAPH behaves like SPAN_INCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE (SPAN_MARK_MARK), except that if either end of the span is at the end of the buffer, that end behaves like _POINT instead (so SPAN_INCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE if it starts in the middle and ends at the end, or SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_INCLUSIVE if it both starts and ends at the end). int SPAN_POINT_MARK SPAN_POINT_MARK is a synonym for SPAN_EXCLUSIVE_EXCLUSIVE. int SPAN_POINT_MARK_MASK Bitmask of bits that are relevent for controlling point/mark behavior of spans. int SPAN_POINT_POINT 0-length spans with type SPAN_POINT_POINT behave like cursors: they are pushed forward by the length of the insertion when text is inserted at their offset. int SPAN_PRIORITY The bits specified by the SPAN_PRIORITY bitmap determine the order of change notifications -- higher numbers go first. int SPAN_PRIORITY_SHIFT The bits numbered just above SPAN_PRIORITY_SHIFT determine the order of change notifications -- higher numbers go first. int SPAN_USER The bits specified by the SPAN_USER bitfield are available for callers to use to store scalar data associated with their span object. int SPAN_USER_SHIFT The bits numbered SPAN_USER_SHIFT and above are available for callers to use to store scalar data associated with their span object.

Public constructors
SpannableStringBuilder() Create a new SpannableStringBuilder with empty contents
SpannableStringBuilder(CharSequence text) Create a new SpannableStringBuilder containing a copy of the specified text, including its spans if any.
SpannableStringBuilder(CharSequence text, int start, int end) Create a new SpannableStringBuilder containing a copy of the specified slice of the specified text, including its spans if any.

Public methods
SpannableStringBuilder	append(char text) Convenience for append(String.valueOf(text)).
SpannableStringBuilder	append(CharSequence text, Object what, int flags) Appends the character sequence text and spans what over the appended part.
SpannableStringBuilder	append(CharSequence text, int start, int end) Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, start, end)
SpannableStringBuilder	append(CharSequence text) Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, 0, text.length())
char	charAt(int where) Return the char at the specified offset within the buffer.
void	clear() Convenience for replace(0, length(), "", 0, 0).
void	clearSpans() Removes all spans from the Editable, as if by calling Spannable.removeSpan(Object) on each of them.
SpannableStringBuilder	delete(int start, int end) Convenience for replace(st, en, "", 0, 0)
boolean	equals(Object o) Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.
void	getChars(int start, int end, char[] dest, int destoff) Copy the specified range of chars from this buffer into the specified array, beginning at the specified offset.
InputFilter[]	getFilters() Returns the array of input filters that are currently applied to changes to this Editable.
int	getSpanEnd(Object what) Return the buffer offset of the end of the specified markup object, or -1 if it is not attached to this buffer.
int	getSpanFlags(Object what) Return the flags of the end of the specified markup object, or 0 if it is not attached to this buffer.
int	getSpanStart(Object what) Return the buffer offset of the beginning of the specified markup object, or -1 if it is not attached to this buffer.
<T> T[]	getSpans(int queryStart, int queryEnd, Class<T> kind) Return an array of the spans of the specified type that overlap the specified range of the buffer.
int	getTextRunCursor(int contextStart, int contextEnd, int dir, int offset, int cursorOpt, Paint p) This method was deprecated in API level 15. This is an internal method, refrain from using it in your code
int	getTextWatcherDepth() Returns the depth of TextWatcher callbacks.
int	hashCode() Returns a hash code value for the object.
SpannableStringBuilder	insert(int where, CharSequence tb) Convenience for replace(where, where, text, 0, text.length());
SpannableStringBuilder	insert(int where, CharSequence tb, int start, int end) Convenience for replace(where, where, text, start, end)
int	length() Return the number of chars in the buffer.
int	nextSpanTransition(int start, int limit, Class<T> kind) Return the next offset after start but less than or equal to limit where a span of the specified type begins or ends.
void	removeSpan(Object what) Remove the specified markup object from the buffer.
SpannableStringBuilder	replace(int start, int end, CharSequence tb, int tbstart, int tbend) Replaces the specified range (st…en) of text in this Editable with a copy of the slice start…end from source.
SpannableStringBuilder	replace(int start, int end, CharSequence tb) Convenience for replace(st, en, text, 0, text.length())
void	setFilters(InputFilter[] filters) Sets the series of filters that will be called in succession whenever the text of this Editable is changed, each of which has the opportunity to limit or transform the text that is being inserted.
void	setSpan(Object what, int start, int end, int flags) Mark the specified range of text with the specified object.
CharSequence	subSequence(int start, int end) Return a new CharSequence containing a copy of the specified range of this buffer, including the overlapping spans.
String	toString() Return a String containing a copy of the chars in this buffer.
static SpannableStringBuilder	valueOf(CharSequence source)

Inherited methods
From class java.lang.Object Object clone() Creates and returns a copy of this object. boolean equals(Object obj) Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one. void finalize() Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. final Class<?> getClass() Returns the runtime class of this Object. int hashCode() Returns a hash code value for the object. final void notify() Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor. final void notifyAll() Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor. String toString() Returns a string representation of the object. final void wait(long timeoutMillis, int nanos) Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed. final void wait(long timeoutMillis) Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed. final void wait() Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted.
From interface java.lang.CharSequence abstract char charAt(int index) Returns the char value at the specified index. default IntStream chars() Returns a stream of int zero-extending the char values from this sequence. default IntStream codePoints() Returns a stream of code point values from this sequence. static int compare(CharSequence cs1, CharSequence cs2) Compares two CharSequence instances lexicographically. default boolean isEmpty() Returns true if this character sequence is empty. abstract int length() Returns the length of this character sequence. abstract CharSequence subSequence(int start, int end) Returns a CharSequence that is a subsequence of this sequence. abstract String toString() Returns a string containing the characters in this sequence in the same order as this sequence.
From interface android.text.GetChars abstract void getChars(int start, int end, char[] dest, int destoff) Exactly like String.getChars(): copy chars start through end - 1 from this CharSequence into dest beginning at offset destoff.
From interface android.text.Spannable abstract void removeSpan(Object what) Remove the specified object from the range of text to which it was attached, if any. abstract void setSpan(Object what, int start, int end, int flags) Attach the specified markup object to the range start…end of the text, or move the object to that range if it was already attached elsewhere.
From interface android.text.Editable abstract Editable append(char text) Convenience for append(String.valueOf(text)). abstract Editable append(CharSequence text, int start, int end) Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, start, end) abstract Editable append(CharSequence text) Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, 0, text.length()) abstract void clear() Convenience for replace(0, length(), "", 0, 0). abstract void clearSpans() Removes all spans from the Editable, as if by calling Spannable.removeSpan(Object) on each of them. abstract Editable delete(int st, int en) Convenience for replace(st, en, "", 0, 0) abstract InputFilter[] getFilters() Returns the array of input filters that are currently applied to changes to this Editable. abstract Editable insert(int where, CharSequence text) Convenience for replace(where, where, text, 0, text.length()); abstract Editable insert(int where, CharSequence text, int start, int end) Convenience for replace(where, where, text, start, end) abstract Editable replace(int st, int en, CharSequence source, int start, int end) Replaces the specified range (st…en) of text in this Editable with a copy of the slice start…end from source. abstract Editable replace(int st, int en, CharSequence text) Convenience for replace(st, en, text, 0, text.length()) abstract void setFilters(InputFilter[] filters) Sets the series of filters that will be called in succession whenever the text of this Editable is changed, each of which has the opportunity to limit or transform the text that is being inserted.
From interface java.lang.Appendable abstract Appendable append(char c) Appends the specified character to this Appendable. abstract Appendable append(CharSequence csq, int start, int end) Appends a subsequence of the specified character sequence to this Appendable. abstract Appendable append(CharSequence csq) Appends the specified character sequence to this Appendable.
From interface android.text.Spanned abstract int getSpanEnd(Object tag) Return the end of the range of text to which the specified markup object is attached, or -1 if the object is not attached. abstract int getSpanFlags(Object tag) Return the flags that were specified when Spannable#setSpan was used to attach the specified markup object, or 0 if the specified object has not been attached. abstract int getSpanStart(Object tag) Return the beginning of the range of text to which the specified markup object is attached, or -1 if the object is not attached. abstract <T> T[] getSpans(int start, int end, Class<T> type) Return an array of the markup objects attached to the specified slice of this CharSequence and whose type is the specified type or a subclass of it. abstract int nextSpanTransition(int start, int limit, Class<T> type) Return the first offset greater than start where a markup object of class type begins or ends, or limit if there are no starts or ends greater than start but less than limit.

Public constructors

SpannableStringBuilder

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder ()

Create a new SpannableStringBuilder with empty contents

SpannableStringBuilder

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder (CharSequence text)

Create a new SpannableStringBuilder containing a copy of the specified text, including its spans if any.

Parameters
text	CharSequence

SpannableStringBuilder

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder (CharSequence text, 
                int start, 
                int end)

Create a new SpannableStringBuilder containing a copy of the specified slice of the specified text, including its spans if any.

Parameters
text	CharSequence
start	int
end	int

Public methods

append

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder append (char text)

Convenience for append(String.valueOf(text)).

Parameters
text	char: The character to append

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder	A reference to this Appendable

append

Added in API level 21

public SpannableStringBuilder append (CharSequence text, 
                Object what, 
                int flags)

Appends the character sequence text and spans what over the appended part. See Spanned for an explanation of what the flags mean.

Parameters
text	CharSequence: the character sequence to append.
what	Object: the object to be spanned over the appended text.
flags	int: see Spanned.

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder	this SpannableStringBuilder.

append

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder append (CharSequence text, 
                int start, 
                int end)

Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, start, end)

Parameters
text	CharSequence: The character sequence from which a subsequence will be appended. If csq is null, then characters will be appended as if csq contained the four characters "null".
start	int: The index of the first character in the subsequence
end	int: The index of the character following the last character in the subsequence

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder	A reference to this Appendable

append

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder append (CharSequence text)

Convenience for replace(length(), length(), text, 0, text.length())

Parameters
text	CharSequence: The character sequence to append. If csq is null, then the four characters "null" are appended to this Appendable.

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder	A reference to this Appendable

charAt

Added in API level 1

public char charAt (int where)

Return the char at the specified offset within the buffer.

Parameters
where	int: the index of the char value to be returned

Returns
char	the specified char value

clear

Added in API level 1

public void clear ()

Convenience for replace(0, length(), "", 0, 0). Note that this clears the text, not the spans; use clearSpans() if you need that.

clearSpans

Added in API level 1

public void clearSpans ()

Removes all spans from the Editable, as if by calling Spannable.removeSpan(Object) on each of them.

delete

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder delete (int start, 
                int end)

Convenience for replace(st, en, "", 0, 0)

Parameters
start	int
end	int

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder

equals

Added in API level 1

public boolean equals (Object o)

Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.

The equals method implements an equivalence relation on non-null object references:

• It is reflexive: for any non-null reference value x, x.equals(x) should return true.
• It is symmetric: for any non-null reference values x and y, x.equals(y) should return true if and only if y.equals(x) returns true.
• It is transitive: for any non-null reference values x, y, and z, if x.equals(y) returns true and y.equals(z) returns true, then x.equals(z) should return true.
• It is consistent: for any non-null reference values x and y, multiple invocations of x.equals(y) consistently return true or consistently return false, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the objects is modified.
• For any non-null reference value x, x.equals(null) should return false.

An equivalence relation partitions the elements it operates on into equivalence classes; all the members of an equivalence class are equal to each other. Members of an equivalence class are substitutable for each other, at least for some purposes.

Parameters
o	Object: This value may be null.

Returns
boolean	true if this object is the same as the obj argument; false otherwise.

getChars

Added in API level 1

public void getChars (int start, 
                int end, 
                char[] dest, 
                int destoff)

Copy the specified range of chars from this buffer into the specified array, beginning at the specified offset.

Parameters
start	int
end	int
dest	char
destoff	int

getFilters

Added in API level 1

public InputFilter[] getFilters ()

Returns the array of input filters that are currently applied to changes to this Editable.

Returns
InputFilter[]

getSpanEnd

Added in API level 1

public int getSpanEnd (Object what)

Return the buffer offset of the end of the specified markup object, or -1 if it is not attached to this buffer.

Parameters
what	Object

Returns
int

getSpanFlags

Added in API level 1

public int getSpanFlags (Object what)

Return the flags of the end of the specified markup object, or 0 if it is not attached to this buffer.

Parameters
what	Object

Returns
int

getSpanStart

Added in API level 1

public int getSpanStart (Object what)

Return the buffer offset of the beginning of the specified markup object, or -1 if it is not attached to this buffer.

Parameters
what	Object

Returns
int

getSpans

Added in API level 1

public T[] getSpans (int queryStart, 
                int queryEnd, 
                Class<T> kind)

Return an array of the spans of the specified type that overlap the specified range of the buffer. The kind may be Object.class to get a list of all the spans regardless of type.

Parameters
queryStart	int
queryEnd	int
kind	Class: This value may be null.

Returns
T[]

getTextRunCursor

Added in API level 11
Deprecated in API level 15

public int getTextRunCursor (int contextStart, 
                int contextEnd, 
                int dir, 
                int offset, 
                int cursorOpt, 
                Paint p)

This method was deprecated in API level 15.
This is an internal method, refrain from using it in your code

Returns the next cursor position in the run. This avoids placing the cursor between surrogates, between characters that form conjuncts, between base characters and combining marks, or within a reordering cluster.

The context is the shaping context for cursor movement, generally the bounds of the metric span enclosing the cursor in the direction of movement. contextStart, contextEnd and offset are relative to the start of the string.

If cursorOpt is CURSOR_AT and the offset is not a valid cursor position, this returns -1. Otherwise this will never return a value before contextStart or after contextEnd.

Parameters
contextStart	int: the start index of the context
contextEnd	int: the (non-inclusive) end index of the context
dir	int: 1 if the run is RTL, otherwise 0
offset	int: the cursor position to move from
cursorOpt	int: how to move the cursor, one of CURSOR_AFTER, CURSOR_AT_OR_AFTER, CURSOR_BEFORE, CURSOR_AT_OR_BEFORE, or CURSOR_AT
p	Paint: the Paint object that is requesting this information

Returns
int	the offset of the next position, or -1

getTextWatcherDepth

Added in API level 23

public int getTextWatcherDepth ()

Returns the depth of TextWatcher callbacks. Returns 0 when the object is not handling TextWatchers. A return value greater than 1 implies that a TextWatcher caused a change that recursively triggered a TextWatcher.

Returns
int

hashCode

Added in API level 1

public int hashCode ()

Returns a hash code value for the object. This method is supported for the benefit of hash tables such as those provided by HashMap.

The general contract of hashCode is:

• Whenever it is invoked on the same object more than once during an execution of a Java application, the hashCode method must consistently return the same integer, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the object is modified. This integer need not remain consistent from one execution of an application to another execution of the same application.
• If two objects are equal according to the equals method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce the same integer result.
• It is not required that if two objects are unequal according to the equals method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce distinct integer results. However, the programmer should be aware that producing distinct integer results for unequal objects may improve the performance of hash tables.

Returns
int	a hash code value for this object.

insert

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder insert (int where, 
                CharSequence tb)

Convenience for replace(where, where, text, 0, text.length());

Parameters
where	int
tb	CharSequence

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder

insert

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder insert (int where, 
                CharSequence tb, 
                int start, 
                int end)

Convenience for replace(where, where, text, start, end)

Parameters
where	int
tb	CharSequence
start	int
end	int

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder

length

Added in API level 1

public int length ()

Return the number of chars in the buffer.

Returns
int	the number of chars in this sequence

nextSpanTransition

Added in API level 1

public int nextSpanTransition (int start, 
                int limit, 
                Class<T> kind)

Return the next offset after start but less than or equal to limit where a span of the specified type begins or ends.

Parameters
start	int
limit	int
kind	Class

Returns
int

removeSpan

Added in API level 1

public void removeSpan (Object what)

Remove the specified markup object from the buffer.

Parameters
what	Object

replace

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder replace (int start, 
                int end, 
                CharSequence tb, 
                int tbstart, 
                int tbend)

Replaces the specified range (st…en) of text in this Editable with a copy of the slice start…end from source. The destination slice may be empty, in which case the operation is an insertion, or the source slice may be empty, in which case the operation is a deletion.

Before the change is committed, each filter that was set with setFilters(InputFilter) is given the opportunity to modify the source text.

If source is Spanned, the spans from it are preserved into the Editable. Existing spans within the Editable that entirely cover the replaced range are retained, but any that were strictly within the range that was replaced are removed. If the source contains a span with Spanned#SPAN_PARAGRAPH flag, and it does not satisfy the paragraph boundary constraint, it is not retained. As a special case, the cursor position is preserved even when the entire range where it is located is replaced.

Parameters
start	int
end	int
tb	CharSequence
tbstart	int
tbend	int

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder	a reference to this object.

replace

Added in API level 1

public SpannableStringBuilder replace (int start, 
                int end, 
                CharSequence tb)

Convenience for replace(st, en, text, 0, text.length())

Parameters
start	int
end	int
tb	CharSequence

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder

setFilters

Added in API level 1

public void setFilters (InputFilter[] filters)

Sets the series of filters that will be called in succession whenever the text of this Editable is changed, each of which has the opportunity to limit or transform the text that is being inserted.

Parameters
filters	InputFilter

setSpan

Added in API level 1

public void setSpan (Object what, 
                int start, 
                int end, 
                int flags)

Mark the specified range of text with the specified object. The flags determine how the span will behave when text is inserted at the start or end of the span's range.

Parameters
what	Object
start	int
end	int
flags	int

subSequence

Added in API level 1

public CharSequence subSequence (int start, 
                int end)

Return a new CharSequence containing a copy of the specified range of this buffer, including the overlapping spans.

Parameters
start	int: the start index, inclusive
end	int: the end index, exclusive

Returns
CharSequence	the specified subsequence

toString

Added in API level 1

public String toString ()

Return a String containing a copy of the chars in this buffer.

Returns
String	a string representation of the object.

valueOf

Added in API level 1

public static SpannableStringBuilder valueOf (CharSequence source)

Parameters
source	CharSequence

Returns
SpannableStringBuilder