page.title=Support Library Features
@jd:body
<div id="qv-wrapper">
<div id="qv">
<h2>In this document</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="#v4">v4 Support Library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7">v7 Support Libraries</a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#v7-appcompat">v7 appcompat library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7-cardview">v7 cardview library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7-gridlayout">v7 gridlayout library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7-mediarouter">v7 mediarouter library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7-palette">v7 palette library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v7-recyclerview">v7 recyclerview library</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#v8">v8 Support Library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v13">v13 Support Library</a></li>
<li><a href="#v17-leanback">v17 Leanback Library</a></li>
</ol>
<h2>See also</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/index.html#revisions">
Support Library Revisions</a></li>
<li><a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html">
Support Library Setup</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Android Support Library package contains several libraries that can be included
in your application. Each of these libraries supports a specific range of Android platform
versions and set of features.</p>
<p>This guide explains the important features and version support provided by the Support
Libraries to help you decide which of them you should include in your application. In general,
we recommend including the <a href="#v4">v4 support</a> and <a href="#v7-appcompat">v7
appcompat</a> libraries, because they support a wide range of
Android versions and provide APIs for recommended user interface patterns.</p>
<p>In order to use any of the following libraries, you must download the library files to your
Android SDK installation. Follow the directions for downloading the Support Libraries in
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#download">Support Library Setup</a> to
complete this step. You must take additional steps to include a specific Support Library in
your application. See the end of each library section below for important information on how to
include the library in your application.</p>
<h2 id="v4">v4 Support Library</h2>
<p>This library is designed to be used with Android 1.6 (API level 4) and higher. It includes the
largest set of APIs compared to the other libraries, including support for application components,
user interface features, accessibility, data handling, network connectivity, and programming
utilities. Here are a few of the key classes included in the v4 library:</p>
<ul>
<li>App Components
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.app.Fragment}
- Adds support for encapsulation of user interface and functionality
with Fragments, enabling
applications to provide layouts that adjust between small and
large-screen devices.
</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.app.NotificationCompat} - Adds support for rich notification
features.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.content.LocalBroadcastManager} - Allows applications to easily
register for and receive intents within a single application without broadcasting them
globally.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>User Interface
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.ViewPager} - Adds a
{@link android.view.ViewGroup} that manages the layout for the
child views, which the user can swipe between.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.PagerTitleStrip}
- Adds a non-interactive title strip, that can be added as a child of
{@link android.support.v4.view.ViewPager}.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.PagerTabStrip} - Adds a
navigation widget for switching between paged views, that can also be used with
{@link android.support.v4.view.ViewPager}.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout} - Adds
support for creating a <a href="{@docRoot}training/implementing-navigation/nav-drawer.html"
>Navigation Drawer</a> that can be pulled in from the edge of a window.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.widget.SlidingPaneLayout}
- Adds widget for creating linked summary and detail views that
appropriately adapt to various screen sizes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Accessibility
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.widget.ExploreByTouchHelper}
- Adds a helper class for implementing accessibility support for custom views.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEventCompat} - Adds support for
{@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent}. For more information about implementing
accessibility, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/accessibility/index.html"
>Accessibility</a>.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfoCompat} - Adds support
for {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo}.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeProviderCompat} - Adds
support for {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeProvider}.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.view.AccessibilityDelegateCompat} - Adds support for
{@link android.view.View.AccessibilityDelegate}.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Content
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.content.Loader} - Adds support for asynchronous loading of data.
The library also provides concrete implementations of this class, including
{@link android.support.v4.content.CursorLoader} and
{@link android.support.v4.content.AsyncTaskLoader}.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v4.content.FileProvider} - Adds support for sharing of private
files between applications.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
There are many other APIs included in this library. For complete, detailed information about the
v4 Support Library APIs, see the {@link android.support.v4.app android.support.v4} package in the
API reference.
</p>
<p>This library is located in the {@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v4/} directory after
you download the Android Support Libraries. The library does not contain user interface
resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions for
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-without-res">Adding libraries without
resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 18.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h2 id="v7">v7 Support Libraries</h2>
<p>There are several libraries designed to be used with Android 2.1 (API level 7) and higher.
These libraries provide specific feature sets and can be included in your application
independently from each other.</p>
<h3 id="v7-appcompat">v7 appcompat library</h3>
<p>This library adds support for the
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/actionbar.html">Action Bar</a> user
interface <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/actionbar.html">design
pattern</a>. This library includes support for
<a href="{@docRoot}design/material/">material design</a> user interface
implementations.
</p>
<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong>
This library depends on the v4 Support Library. If you are using Ant or Eclipse, make sure
you include the v4 Support Library as part of this library's classpath.
</p>
<p>Here are a few of the key classes included in the v7 appcompat library:</p>
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v7.app.ActionBar} - Provides an implementation of the action bar
<a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/actionbar.html">user interface pattern</a>. For more
information on using the Action Bar, see the
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/actionbar.html">Action Bar</a> developer guide.
</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v7.app.ActionBarActivity} - Adds an application activity class that
must be used as a base class for activities that uses the Support Library action bar
implementation.
</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v7.widget.ShareActionProvider} - Adds support for a standardized
sharing action (such as email or posting to social applications) that can be included in an
action bar.
</li>
</ul>
<p>This library is located in the {@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/appcompat/}
directory after you download the Android Support Libraries. The library contains user
interface resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions for
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding libraries with
resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:appcompat-v7:21.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 21.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h3 id="v7-cardview">v7 cardview library</h3>
<p>This library adds support for the {@link android.support.v7.widget.CardView}
widget, which lets you show information inside cards that have a consistent look
on any app. These cards are useful for material design
implementations, and are used extensively in layouts for TV apps.</p>
<p>This library is located in the
{@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/cardview/} directory after you
download the Android Support Libraries. The library contains user interface
resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions
for <a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding
libraries with resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:cardview-v7:21.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 21.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h3 id="v7-gridlayout">v7 gridlayout library</h3>
<p>This library adds support for the {@link android.support.v7.widget.GridLayout} class, which
allows you to arrange user interface elements using a grid of rectangular cells.
For detailed information about the v7 gridlayout library APIs, see the
{@link android.support.v7.widget android.support.v7.widget} package in the API reference.</p>
<p>This library is located in the {@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/gridlayout/}
directory after you download the Android Support Libraries. The library contains user
interface resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions for
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding libraries with
resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:gridlayout-v7:18.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 18.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h3 id="v7-mediarouter">v7 mediarouter library</h3>
<p>This library provides {@link android.support.v7.media.MediaRouter}, {@link
android.support.v7.media.MediaRouteProvider}, and related media classes that
support <a href="https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/android_sender">Google Cast</a>. </p>
<p>In general, the APIs in the v7 mediarouter library provide a means of
controlling the routing of media channels and streams from the current device to
external screens, speakers, and other destination devices. The library includes
APIs for publishing app-specific media route providers, for discovering and
selecting destination devices, for checking media status, and more. For detailed
information about the v7 mediarouter library APIs, see the
{@link android.support.v7.media android.support.v7.media} package in the API
reference.</p>
<p>The v7 mediarouter library is located in the
<code><sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/mediarouter/</code> directory after
you download the Android Support Library. It's provided as a library project
with a dependency on the v7 appcompat library, so you'll need to include both
libraries in your build path when setting up your project. For more information
on how to set up your project, follow the instructions in <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding libraries
with resources</a>. If you are developing in Eclipse/ADT, make sure to include
both the <code>android-support-v7-mediarouter.jar</code> and
<code>android-support-v7-appcompat.jar</code> files.</p>
<p>If you are using Android Studio, all you need to do is specify the Gradle build
script dependency identifier <code>com.android.support:support-v7-mediarouter:<revision></code>,
where "18.0.0" is the minimum revision at which the library is available. For example:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:mediarouter-v7:18.0.+
</pre>
<p class="caution">The v7 mediarouter library APIs introduced in Support Library
r18 are subject to change in later revisions of the Support Library. At this
time, we recommend using the library only in connection with <a
href="https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/android_sender">Google Cast</a>. </p>
<h3 id="v7-palette">v7 palette library</h3>
<p>The v7 palette support library includes the
{@link android.support.v7.graphics.Palette} class, which lets you extract
prominent colors from an image. For example, a music app could use a
{@link android.support.v7.graphics.Palette} object to extract the major colors
from an album cover, and use those colors to build a color-coordinated song
title card.</p>
<p>This library is located in the
{@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/palette/} directory after
you download the Android Support Libraries. The library does not contain user interface
resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions for
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-without-res">Adding libraries without
resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:palette-v7:21.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 21.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h3 id="v7-recyclerview">v7 recyclerview library</h3>
<p>The recyclerview library adds the {@link android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView}
class. This class provides support for the
<a href="{@docRoot}training/material/lists-cards.jd#RecyclerView">RecyclerView
widget</a>, a view for efficiently displaying large data sets by providing a
limited window of data items.</p>
<p>This library is located in the
{@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v7/recyclerview/} directory after you
download the Android Support Libraries. The library contains user interface
resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions
for <a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding
libraries with resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:21.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 21.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h2 id="v8">v8 Support Library</h2>
<p>This library is designed to be used with Android (API level 8) and higher. It adds support for
the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/renderscript/compute.html">RenderScript</a> computation
framework. These APIs are included in the {@link android.support.v8.renderscript} package. You
should be aware that the steps for including these APIs in your application is <em>very
different</em> from other support library APIs. For more information about using these APIs
in your application, see the
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/renderscript/compute.html#access-rs-apis">RenderScript</a>
developer guide.</p>
<p class="note">
<strong>Note:</strong> Use of RenderScript with the support library is supported with the Android
Eclipse plugin and Ant build tools. It is <em>not currently</em> supported with Android Studio or
Gradle-based builds.
</p>
<h2 id="v13">v13 Support Library</h2>
<p>This library is designed to be used for Android 3.2 (API level 13) and higher. It adds support
for the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/fragments.html">Fragment</a> user interface pattern
with the ({@link android.support.v13.app.FragmentCompat}) class and additional fragment support
classes. For more information about fragments, see the
<a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/fragments.html">Fragments</a> developer guide. For detailed
information about the v13 Support Library APIs, see the {@link android.support.v13.app
android.support.v13} package in the API reference.
</p>
<p>This library is located in the {@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v13/} directory after
you download the Android Support Libraries. The library does not contain user interface
resources. To include it in your application project, follow the instructions for
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-without-res">Adding libraries without
resources</a>.</p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:support-v13:18.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 18.0.0 or higher.</p>
<h2 id="v17-leanback">v17 Leanback Library</h2>
<p>The {@link android.support.v17.leanback} package provides APIs to support
building user interfaces
on TV devices. It provides a number of important widgets for TV apps. Some of the notable classes include:</p>
<ul>
<li>{@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.BrowseFragment} - A fragment for
creating a primary layout for browsing categories and rows of media
items.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.DetailsFragment} - A wrapper
fragment for Leanback details screens.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.PlaybackOverlayFragment} - A
subclass of {@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.DetailsFragment} for
displaying playback controls and related content.</li>
<li>{@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.SearchFragment} - A fragment to
handle searches. The fragment receives the user's search request and passes
it to the application-provided {@link
android.support.v17.leanback.app.SearchFragment.SearchResultProvider
SearchResultProvider}. The {@link
android.support.v17.leanback.app.SearchFragment.SearchResultProvider
SearchResultProvider} returns the search results to the
{@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.SearchFragment}, which renders them
into a {@link android.support.v17.leanback.app.RowsFragment}.</li>
</ul>
<p>This library is located in the
{@code <sdk>/extras/android/support/v17/leanback} directory after
you download the Android Support Libraries. For more information
on how to set up your project, follow the instructions in <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html#libs-with-res">Adding libraries
with resources</a>. </p>
<p>The Gradle build script dependency identifier for this library is as follows:</p>
<pre>
com.android.support:leanback-v17:21.0.+
</pre>
<p>This dependency notation specifies the release version 21.0.0 or higher.</p>