How to get favorites star

Question

I would like to add a favorites star like the one in the contacts list on android. Is there any way we can get that star or will I have to write my own? I can't seem to find any standard GUI Elements from android other than the options menu icons. Are there any more that I have not found?

Look at the one the right next to George Anderson. When you click it it turns yellow.

Answer 1

The source code to the Contacts application is available online, since Android is open source.

Some poking around in there will lead you to the contact_header.xml file, found in your SDK installation. It indicates that the star is implemented via a CheckBox:

<CheckBox
        android:id="@+id/star"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"
        android:visibility="gone"
        android:contentDescription="@string/description_star"
        style="?android:attr/starStyle" />

That, in turn, routes you to an entry in a theme:

<item name="starStyle">@android:style/Widget.CompoundButton.Star</item>

which in turn resolves to:

<style name="Widget.CompoundButton.Star">
    <item name="android:background">@android:drawable/btn_star_label_background</item>
    <item name="android:button">@android:drawable/btn_star</item>
</style>

So, use those images with a CheckBox, and you should get the same behavior. Those images are also available in your SDK installation.

Answer 2

Some standard android images are available from the android sdk, which you can either browse on your computer on online here. (As CommonsWare said).

I also find this website super handy, as it shows me what each image looks like and tells me the name of the image so I can find it in the android sdk.