How do I use androids LayoutInflater.Factory to create a custom view class instead of a built in class?

Question

I am using a custom class based off RelativeLayout but it obviously doesn't render in the Eclipse layout editor.

I have found this article regarding LayoutInflater.Factory and it sounds like what I need to be doing but I can find no guides to using LayoutInflater.Factory.

http://www.macadamian.com/blog/post/android_-_custom_classes_from_xml_layout/

Could anyone help with exactly what and where I do this? I understand what is said in the article, but need specifics on where to declare, hook, whatever the Factory.

In case it is helpful, here is the complete console output from when I try to view main.xml in Layout view..

java.lang.ClassCastException: android.view.View cannot be cast to android.view.ViewGroup
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:619)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:621)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:621)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:407)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:296)
at com.android.layoutlib.bridge.Bridge.computeLayout(Bridge.java:396)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.layout.gle1.GraphicalLayoutEditor.computeLayout(Unknown Source)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.layout.gle1.GraphicalLayoutEditor.recomputeLayout(Unknown Source)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.layout.gle1.GraphicalLayoutEditor.activated(Unknown Source)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.layout.LayoutEditor.pageChange(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.ui.part.MultiPageEditorPart.setActivePage(MultiPageEditorPart.java:1076)
at org.eclipse.ui.forms.editor.FormEditor.setActivePage(FormEditor.java:601)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.AndroidEditor.selectDefaultPage(Unknown Source)
at com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.internal.editors.AndroidEditor.addPages(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.ui.forms.editor.FormEditor.createPages(FormEditor.java:138)
at org.eclipse.ui.part.MultiPageEditorPart.createPartControl(MultiPageEditorPart.java:357)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.createPartHelper(EditorReference.java:662)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.createPart(EditorReference.java:462)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPartReference.getPart(WorkbenchPartReference.java:595)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartPane.setVisible(PartPane.java:313)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.PresentablePart.setVisible(PresentablePart.java:180)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.PresentablePartFolder.select(PresentablePartFolder.java:270)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.LeftToRightTabOrder.select(LeftToRightTabOrder.java:65)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.TabbedStackPresentation.selectPart(TabbedStackPresentation.java:473)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartStack.refreshPresentationSelection(PartStack.java:1256)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartStack.setSelection(PartStack.java:1209)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartStack.presentationSelectionChanged(PartStack.java:843)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartStack.access$1(PartStack.java:829)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.PartStack$1.selectPart(PartStack.java:139)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.TabbedStackPresentation$1.handleEvent(TabbedStackPresentation.java:133)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.AbstractTabFolder.fireEvent(AbstractTabFolder.java:270)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.util.AbstractTabFolder.fireEvent(AbstractTabFolder.java:279)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.defaultpresentation.DefaultTabFolder.access$1(DefaultTabFolder.java:1)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.presentations.defaultpresentation.DefaultTabFolder$2.handleEvent(DefaultTabFolder.java:87)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.EventTable.sendEvent(EventTable.java:84)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1176)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1200)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1185)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.notifyListeners(Widget.java:1025)
at org.eclipse.swt.custom.CTabFolder.setSelection(CTabFolder.java:3256)
at org.eclipse.swt.custom.CTabFolder.onMouse(CTabFolder.java:2045)
at org.eclipse.swt.custom.CTabFolder$1.handleEvent(CTabFolder.java:323)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.EventTable.sendEvent(EventTable.java:84)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1176)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.runDeferredEvents(Display.java:3493)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.readAndDispatch(Display.java:3112)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.runEventLoop(Workbench.java:2405)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.runUI(Workbench.java:2369)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.access$4(Workbench.java:2221)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench$5.run(Workbench.java:500)
at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:332)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.createAndRunWorkbench(Workbench.java:493)
at org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI.createAndRunWorkbench(PlatformUI.java:149)
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.start(IDEApplication.java:113)
at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:194)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:368)
at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:616)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:559)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:514)
at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1311)

Answer 1

LayoutInflater.Factory is not what you want. The Eclipse editor is perfectly capable to showing custom views, you should check the error logs in case there's something wrong going on.

Answer 2

Found the problem. It wasn't a problem casting this object, but rather another ViewGroup inside it which was being treated as a View in the code.