Android: My Help Page comes up BLANK!

Question

I am trying to create a very simple help page in my app. The layout xml for the page contains only a textview that displays the help info. In the Eclipse layout view, the layout looks perfect... however, when i try to load it in the emulator (via an OptionsMenu) it comes up as a blank black screen. What am I doing wrong??

Here is the Code:

//This is my Help page code

package com.soapbox.servicerec;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;

public class HelpPage extends Activity {

 private static final int INSERT_ID = Menu.FIRST;

 private static final int ACTIVITY_CREATE=0;


  protected void onCreate(){
   setContentView(R.layout.help_page);
         setTitle(R.string.help_title);
           }

  public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
         super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
         menu.add(0, INSERT_ID, 0, R.string.menu_insert);
         return true;
}
  public boolean onMenuItemSelected(int featureId, MenuItem item) {
         switch(item.getItemId()) {
             case INSERT_ID:
                 createNote();
                 return true;
         }
         return super.onMenuItemSelected(featureId, item);
  }
  private void createNote() {
         Intent i = new Intent(this, NoteEdit.class);
         startActivityForResult(i, ACTIVITY_CREATE);

     }
}

AND the layout XML...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
      android:layout_width="fill_parent"

     android:layout_height="fill_parent"
     android:orientation="vertical"
     android:background="@android:color/white">

   <TextView android:textSize="16px" android:textColor="@android:color/black" android:layout_height="fill_parent" 
   android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:gravity="center_horizontal" android:paddingLeft="10px" 
   android:paddingRight="10px" android:text="@string/help_text"/>

</LinearLayout>

Answer 1

Your onCreate method signature is wrong.

notice the difference below

your method protected void onCreate()

proper way @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)

The @Override notation is optional, but very useful because it ensure the method signature matches one from a parent class, helping prevent these situations.

Answer 2

Check Chris response, you must have your onCreate function defined as ::

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.help_page);
        setTitle(R.string.help_title);
}