How can I use a wrap a TabHost containing a MapView that also displays an AdMob view below it?

Question

I'm very new to Android (like 2 days), but I'm experienced with other layout toolkits. I'm trying to put an AdView below a TabHost, and it seems that I can either get the TabWidget or the AdView to display correctly, but never both.

First, here's an ASCII art version of what I'm trying to accomplish:

--------------------------------------------
| Tab 1               | Tab 2              |
--------------------------------------------
| MapView when tab 1 is selected           |
|                                          |
|                                          |
|                                          |
|                                          |
|                                          |
|                                          |
--------------------------------------------
| AdView that stays no matter what tab     |
--------------------------------------------

As you can see, I'm trying to get the AdView outside the TabWidget or FrameLayout. I want it to be below the whole tabhost contents.

Here's the layout I've got before adding the AdView:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout 
 xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
 xmlns:myapp="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/org.mbs3.android.ufcm"
 android:layout_height="fill_parent"
 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
 >

 <TabHost android:id="@+id/tabhost" android:layout_width="fill_parent"
  android:layout_height="wrap_content">
  <LinearLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent"
   android:id="@+id/home_layout" android:orientation="vertical"
   android:layout_height="fill_parent">

   <TabWidget android:id="@android:id/tabs"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

   <FrameLayout android:id="@android:id/tabcontent"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent">

    <RelativeLayout android:id="@+id/emptylayout1"
     android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="fill_parent"
     android:layout_height="fill_parent" />
    <!--
     programatically added tabs will appear here,
                                        one per activity
    -->
   </FrameLayout>


  </LinearLayout>


 </TabHost>
</RelativeLayout>

Now, I tried a couple different tips to get the AdView added, such as http://www.spencerelliott.ca/blogs/blog-android-menu. Here's the best layout I came up with:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
 xmlns:myapp="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/org.mbs3.android.ufcm"
 android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_width="wrap_content">

 <TabHost android:id="@+id/tabhost" android:layout_width="fill_parent"
  android:layout_height="wrap_content">
  <LinearLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent"
   android:id="@+id/home_layout" android:orientation="vertical"
   android:layout_height="fill_parent">

   <TabWidget android:id="@android:id/tabs"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

   <FrameLayout android:id="@android:id/tabcontent"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent">

    <RelativeLayout android:id="@+id/emptylayout1"
     android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="fill_parent"
     android:layout_height="fill_parent" />
    <!--
     programatically added tabs will appear here, usually one per
     activity
    -->
   </FrameLayout>


  </LinearLayout>



 </TabHost>

 <LinearLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent"
  android:id="@+id/ad_layout" android:layout_height="wrap_content"
  android:gravity="bottom" android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
  android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/home_layout">

  <com.admob.android.ads.AdView android:id="@+id/ad"
   android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content"
   myapp:backgroundColor="#000000" myapp:primaryTextColor="#FFFFFF"
   myapp:secondaryTextColor="#CCCCCC"
   myapp:keywords="words" />
 </LinearLayout>

</RelativeLayout>

Unfortunately, in that one, my MapView in the first tab puts the Zoom controls on top of the AdView. Is there some simple layout I'm missing? Cuz I can get the TabWidget to wrap_content for height, or the AdView to wrap_content for height, but only when they go above the "@android:id/tabcontent."

Anything below the tab content gets eaten by the MapView.

Answer 1

Not sure if it's the same thing but I had to put a Button on the bottom of an activity and fill the rest of the space with a ListView. To do this I did something a bit like this:

<RelativeLayout>
    <LinearLayout 
        android:id="@+id/ad_id"
        android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent">

       <!-- the ad goes here -->
    </LinearLayout>

    <TabHost
        android:above="@id/ad_id"
        android:layout_height="fill_parent"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent">
      <!-- your view -->
    </TabHost>
</RelativeLayout>

It's a bit counter-intuitive to declare the lower part of the view before the upper part :-)