Codelab: Create RROs with car-ui-lib components using the Gradle build system

Use the car-ui-lib library to launch self-consistent, in-vehicle, infotainment (IVI) systems. This codelab introduces you to car-ui-lib and how you can use runtime resource overlays (RROs) to customize components in the library.

What you'll learn

How to:

• Include car-ui-lib components in your Android app.
• Use Gradle to build Android apps and RROs.
• Use RROs with car-ui-lib.

This codelab doesn't detail how RROs work. See Change the value of an app's resources at runtime and Troubleshoot runtime resource overlays to learn more.

Before you start

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• Computer with command line (Linux machine, Mac, or Windows machine with Windows Subsystem for Linux).

• Android Studio.

• Android device or emulator connected to your machine. See Download the Android source and Build Android.

• Basic knowledge of RROs.

Create a new Android app

Duration: 15 minutes

In this section, you create a new Android Studio project.

1. In Android Studio create an app with an EmptyActivity.

   

2. Name the app CarUiCodelab and then select the Java language. You can also select a file location if desired. Accept the default values for the remaining settings.

   

3. Replace activity_main.xml with the following code block:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
       xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="match_parent"
       tools:context=".MainActivity">
   
       <TextView
           android:id="@+id/textView"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:text="@string/sample_text"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
   </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
   

   This code block displays the string sample_text, which is not defined.

4. Add the sample_text resource string and set it to "Hello World!" in your strings.xml file. To open this file, select app > src > main > res > values > strings.xml.

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <string name="app_name">CarUiCodelab</string>
       <string name="sample_text">Hello World!</string>
   </resources>
   

5. To build you app, click the green Play button in the top right. Doing so automatically installs the apk to your emulator or Android device through Gradle.

   

The new app should open automatically on your emulator or Android device. If not, open the CarUiCodelab app from the app launcher, which is now installed. It appears like this:

Add car-ui-lib to your Android app

Duration: 15 minutes

Add car-ui-lib to your app:

1. To add the car-ui-lib dependency to your project’s build.gradle file, select app > build.gradle. Your dependencies should appear like this:

   dependencies {
       implementation 'com.android.car.ui:car-ui-lib:2.0.0'
       implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.4.1'
       implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.4.0'
       implementation 'androidx.constraintlayout:constraintlayout:2.1.4'
   }
   

Use car-ui-lib components in your Android app

Now that you have car-ui-lib, add a toolbar to your app.

1. In your MainActivity.java file, overwrite the onCreate method:

   @Override
   protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
       super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
       setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
       // Get the toolbar controller instance.
       ToolbarController toolbar = CarUi.getToolbar(this);
       // Set the title on toolbar.
       toolbar.setTitle(getTitle());
       // Set the logo to be shown with the title.
       toolbar.setLogo(R.mipmap.ic_launcher_round);
   }
   

2. Be sure to import ToolbarController:

   import com.android.car.ui.core.CarUi;
   import com.android.car.ui.toolbar.ToolbarController;
   

3. To use the Theme.CarUi.WithToolbar theme, select app > src > main > AndroidManifest.xml and then update AndroidManifest.xml to appear as follows:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
       package="com.example.caruicodelab">
   
       <application
           android:allowBackup="true"
           android:dataExtractionRules="@xml/data_extraction_rules"
           android:fullBackupContent="@xml/backup_rules"
           android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
           android:label="@string/app_name"
           android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
           android:supportsRtl="true"
           android:theme="@style/Theme.CarUi.WithToolbar"
           tools:targetApi="31">
           <activity
               android:name=".MainActivity"
               android:exported="true">
               <intent-filter>
                   <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
   
                   <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
               </intent-filter>
           </activity>
       </application>
   
   </manifest>
   

4. To build the app, press the green Play button like before.

   

Add RROs to your app

Duration: 30 minutes

If you're familiar with RROs, go to the next section, Add a permission controller to your app. Otherwise, to learn the basics of RROs, see Change the value of an app's resources at runtime.

Add a permission controller to your app

To control which resources an RRO package overlays, add a file named overlayable.xml to your app's /res folder. This file serves as a permission controller between your app (the target) and your RRO package (the overlay).

1. Add res/values/overlayable.xml to your app and copy the following content into your file:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <overlayable name="CarUiCodelab">
           <policy type="public">
               <item type="string" name="sample_text"/>
           </policy>
       </overlayable>
   </resources>
   

   Since the string sample_text must be overlayable by an RRO, include the resource name in the app's overlayable.xml.

   Your overlayable.xml file MUST reside in res/values/. If not, the OverlayManagerService can't locate it.

   To learn more about overlayable resources and how they can can be configured, see Restrict overlayable resources.

Create an RRO package

In this section, you create an RRO package to change the string displayed above from "Hello World!" to "Hello World RRO".

1. To create a new project, select File > New > New Project. Be sure to select No Activity instead of Empty Activity as RRO packages contain only resources.

   

   Your configurations appear similarly to those illustrated below. The location to which they are saved may differ:

   

2. After you create the new CarUiRRO project, declare the project as an RRO by modifying AndroidManifest.xml.

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       package="com.example.caruirro">
   
       <application android:hasCode="false" />
   
       <uses-sdk
           android:minSdkVersion="29"
           android:targetSdkVersion="29"/>
   
       <overlay
           android:targetPackage="com.example.caruicodelab"
           android:targetName="CarUiCodelab"
           android:isStatic="false"
           android:resourcesMap="@xml/sample_overlay"
           />
   </manifest>
   

   Doing this creates an error with @xml/sample_overlay. The resourcesMap file maps resource names from the target package to the RRO package. Setting the flag hasCode to false is mandatory for RRO packages. In addition, RRO packages aren't allowed to contain DEX files.

3. Copy the following block of code into …/res/xml/sample_overlay.xml:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <overlay>
       <item target="string/sample_text" value="@string/sample_text"/>
   </overlay>
   

4. Add sample_text to …/res/values/strings.xml:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <string name="app_name">CarUiRRO</string>
       <string name="sample_text">Hello World RRO</string>
   </resources>
   

   

5. To build your RRO target, press the green Play button to create a Gradle build of your RRO on your emulator or Android device.

6. To verify your RRO is properly installed, run:

   shell:~$ adb shell cmd overlay list --user current | grep -i com.example
   com.example.caruicodelab
   [ ] com.example.caruirro
   

   This command displays useful information about the state of RRO packages on the system.

   • [ ] designates that the RRO is installed and ready to be activated.
   • --- indicates that the RRO is installed but contains errors.
   • [X] means that the RRO is installed and activated.

   If your RRO contains errors, see Troubleshoot runtime resource overlays before you continue.

7. To enable the RRO and verify that it's enabled:

   shell:~$ adb shell cmd overlay enable --user current com.example.caruirro
   shell:~$ adb shell cmd overlay list --user current | grep -i com.example
   com.example.caruicodelab
   [x] com.example.caruirro
   

Your app displays the string "Hello World RRO”.

Congratulations! You've created your first RRO.

When using RROs, you may want to use the Android Asset Packaging Tool (AAPT2) flags --no-resource-deduping and --no-resource-removal described in Link options. It's not necessary to add the flags in this codelab, but we suggest you use them in your RROs to avoid the removal of resources (and debugging headaches). You can add them to your RRO’s build.gradle file like this:

android {
    …
    aaptOptions {
        additionalParameters "--no-resource-deduping", "--no-resource-removal"
    }
}

To learn more about these flags, see Build the package and AAPT2.

Modify car-ui-lib components using RROs in your Android app

This page describes how you can use a runtime resource overlay (RRO) to modify components from the car-ui-lib library in your Android app.

Set the toolbar background color

Duration: 15 minutes

To change the background color of the toolbar:

1. Add the following value to your RRO app, and set the resource to bright green (#0F0):

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <drawable name="car_ui_toolbar_background">#0F0</drawable>
   </resources>
   

   The car-ui-lib library contains a resource named car_ui_toolbar_background. When this resource is contained in the configuration of an RRO, the toolbar doesn't change because the wrong value is targeted.

2. In the AndroidManifest.xml for your RRO, update targetName to point to car-ui-lib:

   …
   android:targetName="car-ui-lib"
   …
   

   You MUST create a new RRO package for each target package you want to RRO. For example, when creating overlays for two different targets, you must create two overlay apks.

3. Build, verify, install, and enable the RRO in the same way as before.

Your app appears like this:

RRO layouts and styles

Duration: 15 minutes

In this exercise, you build a new app similar to the app you built earlier. This app allows the layout to be overlaid. Follow the same steps as before, or modify your existing app.

1. Be sure you add the following lines to overlayable.xml:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
     <overlayable name="CarUiCodelab">
       <policy type="public">
         <item type="string" name="sample_text"/>
         <item type="layout" name="activity_main"/>
         <item type="id" name="textView"/>
       </policy>
     </overlayable>
   </resources>
   

2. Ensure activity_main.xml appears as follows:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
       xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="match_parent"
       tools:context=".MainActivity">
   
       <TextView
           android:id="@+id/textView"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:text="@string/sample_text"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
   </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
   

3. In your RRO app, create a res/layout/activity_main.xml and add the following:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <FrameLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="match_parent">
     <TextView
         android:id="@+id/textView"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:text="@string/sample_text"
         android:textAppearance="@style/TextAppearance.CarUi"
         android:layout_gravity="center_vertical|center_horizontal"/>
   </FrameLayout>
   

4. Update res/values/styles.xml to add our style to the RRO:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <style name="TextAppearance.CarUi" parent="android:TextAppearance.DeviceDefault">
           <item name="android:textColor">#0f0</item>
           <item name="android:textSize">100sp</item>
       </style>
   </resources>
   

5. Change the targetName in AndroidManifest.xml to point to the name of your new app:

   …
   android:targetName="CarUiCodelab"
   …
   

6. Add the resources to the sample_overlay.xml file in your RRO:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <overlay>
       <item target="string/sample_text" value="@string/sample_text"/>
       <item target="id/textView" value="@id/textView"/>
       <item target="layout/activity_main" value="@layout/activity_main"/>
   </overlay>
   

7. Build and install the app and RRO the same way as before (green Play button). Be sure to enable your RRO.

The app and RRO render as follows. The Hello World RRO text is green and is centered as specified in the layout RRO.

Add CarUiRecyclerView to your app

Duration: 15 minutes

The CarUiRecyclerView interface provides APIs to access a RecyclerView that’s customized via car-ui-lib resources. For example, CarUiRecyclerView checks a flag at runtime to determine if the scrollbar should be enabled or not and selects the corresponding layout.

1. To add a CarUiRecyclerView, add it to your activity_main.xml and MainActivity.java files. You can either create a new app from scratch or modify the existing app. If you modify the existing app, be sure to remove undeclared resources from overlayable.xml.

   activity_main.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiRecyclerView
       android:id="@+id/list"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
   

   The following error may appear, which you can ignore:

   Cannot resolve class com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiRecyclerView

   As long as your class is spelled correctly and you've added car-ui-lib as a dependency, you can build and compile your apk. To remove the error, select File > Invalidate Caches then click Invalidate and Restart.

   Add the following to MainActivity.java

   package com.example.caruicodelab;
   
   import android.app.Activity;
   import android.os.Bundle;
   import com.android.car.ui.core.CarUi;
   import com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiContentListItem;
   import com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiListItem;
   import com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiListItemAdapter;
   import com.android.car.ui.recyclerview.CarUiRecyclerView;
   import com.android.car.ui.toolbar.ToolbarController;
   import java.util.ArrayList;
   
   /** Activity with a simple car-ui layout. */
   public class MainActivity extends Activity {
   
       private final ArrayList<CarUiListItem> mData = new ArrayList<>();
       private CarUiListItemAdapter mAdapter;
   
       @Override
       protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
           ToolbarController toolbar = CarUi.getToolbar(this);
           toolbar.setTitle(getTitle());
           toolbar.setLogo(R.mipmap.ic_launcher_round);
   
           CarUiRecyclerView recyclerView = findViewById(R.id.list);
           mAdapter = new CarUiListItemAdapter(generateSampleData());
           recyclerView.setAdapter(mAdapter);
       }
   
       private ArrayList<CarUiListItem> generateSampleData() {
           for (int i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
               CarUiContentListItem item = new CarUiContentListItem(CarUiContentListItem.Action.ICON);
               item.setTitle("Title " + i);
               item.setPrimaryIconType(CarUiContentListItem.IconType.CONTENT);
               item.setIcon(getDrawable(R.drawable.ic_launcher_foreground));
               item.setBody("body " + i);
               mData.add(item);
           }
           return mData;
   }
   

2. Build and install your app as before.

You now see a CarUiRecyclerView:

Use an RRO to remove the scrollbar

Duration: 10 minutes

This exercise shows you how to use an RRO to remove the scrollbar from CarUiRecyclerView.

1. In your RRO, add and modify the following files:

   AndroidManifest.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       package="com.example.caruirro">
   
       <application android:hasCode="false" />
   
       <uses-sdk
           android:minSdkVersion="29"
           android:targetSdkVersion="29"/>
   
       <overlay
           android:targetPackage="com.example.caruicodelab"
           android:targetName="car-ui-lib"
           android:isStatic="false"
           android:resourcesMap="@xml/sample_overlay"
           />
   </manifest>
   

   res/values/bools.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <resources>
       <bool name="car_ui_scrollbar_enable">false</bool>
   </resources>
   

   The resource car_ui_scrollbar_enable is a car-ui-lib boolean resource, which controls whether the car optimized scrollbar with Up and Down buttons in CarUiRecyclerView is present or not. When set to false, CarUiRecyclerView acts like an AndroidX RecyclerView.

   res/xml/sample_overlay.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <overlay>
       <item target="bool/car_ui_scrollbar_enable" value="@bool/car_ui_scrollbar_enable"/>
   </overlay>
   

Build and install your app as before. The scrollbar is now removed from CarUiRecyclerView:

Use a layout to overlay the CarUiRecyclerView scrollbar

Duration: 15 minutes

In this exercise, you modify the CarUiRecyclerView scrollbar layout.

1. Add and modify the following files in your RRO app.

   res/layout/car_ui_recycler_view_scrollbar.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <RelativeLayout
       xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:layout_width="112dp"
       android:layout_height="match_parent"
       android:id="@+id/car_ui_scroll_bar">
       <!-- View height is dynamically calculated during layout. -->
       <View
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_thumb"
           android:layout_width="6dp"
           android:layout_height="20dp"
           android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
           android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
           android:background="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar_thumb"/>
       <View
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_track"
           android:layout_width="10dp"
           android:layout_height="match_parent"
           android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
           android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
           android:layout_above="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up"/>
       <View
           android:layout_width="2dp"
           android:layout_height="match_parent"
           android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
           android:background="#323232"
           android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_thumb"
           android:layout_above="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up"
           android:layout_marginRight="5dp"/>
       <View
           android:layout_width="2dp"
           android:layout_height="match_parent"
           android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
           android:background="#323232"
           android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_thumb"
           android:layout_above="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up"
           android:layout_marginLeft="5dp"/>
       <ImageView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up"
           android:layout_width="75dp"
           android:layout_height="75dp"
           android:focusable="false"
           android:hapticFeedbackEnabled="false"
           android:src="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_up"
           android:scaleType="centerInside"
           android:background="?android:attr/selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
           android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
           android:layout_above="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_down"/>
       <ImageView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_down"
           android:layout_width="75dp"
           android:layout_height="75dp"
           android:focusable="false"
           android:hapticFeedbackEnabled="false"
           android:src="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_down"
           android:scaleType="centerInside"
           android:background="?android:attr/selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
           android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
           android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"/>
   </RelativeLayout>
   

   To overlay a layout file, you must add all the IDs and namespace attributes to the overlay.xml of your RRO. See the files below.

   res/xml/sample_overlay.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <overlay>
      <item target="drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_down" value="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_down"/>
      <item target="drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_up" value="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_up"/>
      <item target="drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar_thumb" value="@drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar_thumb"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_scroll_bar" value="@id/car_ui_scroll_bar"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_scrollbar_thumb" value="@id/car_ui_scrollbar_thumb"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_scrollbar_track" value="@id/car_ui_scrollbar_track"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up" value="@id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_up"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_down" value="@id/car_ui_scrollbar_page_down"/>
      <item target="layout/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar" value="@layout/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar"/>
   </overlay>
   

   res/drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_up.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:width="48dp"
       android:height="48dp"
       android:viewportWidth="48.0"
       android:viewportHeight="48.0">
       <path
           android:pathData="M14.83,30.83L24,21.66l9.17,9.17L36,28 24,16 12,28z"
           android:fillColor="#0000FF"/>
   </vector>
   

   res/drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_ic_down.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:width="48dp"
       android:height="48dp"
       android:viewportWidth="48.0"
       android:viewportHeight="48.0">
       <path
           android:pathData="M14.83,16.42L24,25.59l9.17,-9.17L36,19.25l-12,12 -12,-12z"
           android:fillColor="#0000FF"/>
   </vector>
   

   res/drawable/car_ui_recyclerview_scrollbar_thumb.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <shape
       xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:shape="rectangle">
       <solid android:color="#0000FF" />
       <corners android:radius="100dp"/>
   </shape>
   

   It is suggested to examine how these files interact.

   For simplicity, dimensions and colors are hardcoded. However, a best practice is to declare these values in dimens.xml and colors.xml or even designated as color files in the res/color/ folder. To learn more, see AOSP Java code style for contributors.

2. Build and install your app as before. You've built CarUiRecyclerView with a blue scrollbar and gray rails.

Congratulations! Both arrows appear along the bottom of the scrollbar, You've successfully applied an RRO to a car-ui-lib layout resource file using the Gradle build system through Android Studio.

RRO List items

Duration: 15 minutes

To this point, you've applied an RRO to car-ui-lib components using framework components (not AndroidX). To use AndroidX components in an RRO, you must add that component's dependencies to both the app and to the RRO build.gradle. You must also add that component's attrs to overlayable.xml in your app, as well as the sample_overlay.xml in your RRO.

Our library (car-ui-lib) uses ConstraintLayout as well as other AndroidX components, so its overlayable.xml might look like this:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<resources>
    <overlayable name="car-ui-lib">
        …
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintCircle"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintCircleAngle"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintCircleRadius"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintDimensionRatio"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintGuide_begin"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintGuide_end"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintGuide_percent"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHeight_default"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHeight_max"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHeight_min"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHeight_percent"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHorizontal_bias"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHorizontal_chainStyle"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintHorizontal_weight"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintLeft_creator"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintLeft_toRightOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintRight_creator"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintRight_toLeftOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintRight_toRightOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintStart_toEndOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintStart_toStartOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintTag"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintTop_creator"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintTop_toTopOf"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintVertical_bias"/>
        <item type="attr" name="layout_constraintVertical_chainStyle"/>
        …
    </overlayable>
</resources>

1. Change the layout of the list items in the CarUiRecyclerView using ConstraintLayout. Add or modify the following files in your RRO:

   res/xml/sample_overlay.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <overlay>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_touch_interceptor" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_touch_interceptor"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_reduced_touch_interceptor" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_reduced_touch_interceptor"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_start_guideline" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_start_guideline"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_icon_container" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_icon_container"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_icon" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_icon"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_content_icon" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_content_icon"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_title" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_title"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_body" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_body"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_action_container_touch_interceptor" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container_touch_interceptor"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_action_container" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_action_divider" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_divider"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_switch_widget" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_switch_widget"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_checkbox_widget" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_checkbox_widget"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_radio_button_widget" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_radio_button_widget"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_supplemental_icon" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_supplemental_icon"/>
      <item target="id/car_ui_list_item_end_guideline" value="@id/car_ui_list_item_end_guideline"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintGuide_begin" value="@attr/layout_constraintGuide_begin"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintGuide_end" value="@attr/layout_constraintGuide_end"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintHorizontal_bias" value="@attr/layout_constraintHorizontal_bias"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintLeft_toRightOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintLeft_toRightOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintRight_toLeftOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintRight_toLeftOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintRight_toRightOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintRight_toRightOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintStart_toEndOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintStart_toEndOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintStart_toStartOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintStart_toStartOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintTop_toTopOf" value="@attr/layout_constraintTop_toTopOf"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginBottom" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginBottom"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginEnd" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginEnd"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginLeft" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginLeft"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginRight" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginRight"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginStart" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginStart"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_goneMarginTop" value="@attr/layout_goneMarginTop"/>
      <item target="attr/layout_constraintVertical_chainStyle" value="@attr/layout_constraintVertical_chainStyle"/>
      <item target="layout/car_ui_list_item" value="@layout/car_ui_list_item"/>
   </overlay>
   

   res/layout/car_ui_list_item.xml

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
       xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
       android:layout_width="match_parent"
       android:layout_height="wrap_content"
       android:tag="carUiListItem"
       android:minHeight="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_height">
   
       <!-- The following touch interceptor views are sized to encompass the specific sub-sections of
       the list item view to easily control the bounds of a background ripple effects. -->
       <com.android.car.ui.SecureView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_touch_interceptor"
           android:layout_width="0dp"
           android:layout_height="0dp"
           android:background="@drawable/car_ui_list_item_background"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
   
       <!-- This touch interceptor does not include the action container -->
       <com.android.car.ui.SecureView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_reduced_touch_interceptor"
           android:layout_width="0dp"
           android:layout_height="0dp"
           android:background="@drawable/car_ui_list_item_background"
           android:visibility="gone"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
   
       <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.Guideline
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_start_guideline"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:orientation="vertical"
           app:layout_constraintGuide_begin="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_start_inset" />
   
       <FrameLayout
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_icon_container"
           android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_icon_container_width"
           android:layout_height="0dp"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_start_guideline"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent">
   
           <ImageView
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_icon"
               android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_icon_size"
               android:layout_height="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_icon_size"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:visibility="gone"
               android:scaleType="fitCenter" />
   
           <ImageView
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_content_icon"
               android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_content_icon_width"
               android:layout_height="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_content_icon_height"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:visibility="gone"
               android:scaleType="fitCenter" />
   
           <ImageView
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon"
               android:background="@drawable/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon_outline"
               android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon_width"
               android:layout_height="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_avatar_icon_height"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:visibility="gone"
               android:scaleType="fitCenter" />
       </FrameLayout>
   
       <CarUiTextView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_title"
           android:layout_width="0dp"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:layout_marginStart="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_text_start_margin"
           android:singleLine="@bool/car_ui_list_item_single_line_title"
           android:textAppearance="@style/TextAppearance.CarUi.ListItem"
           android:layout_gravity="right"
           android:gravity="right"
           android:textAlignment="viewEnd"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_body"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toEndOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_icon_container"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintVertical_chainStyle="packed"
           app:layout_goneMarginStart="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_text_no_icon_start_margin" />
       <CarUiTextView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_body"
           android:layout_width="0dp"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:layout_marginStart="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_text_start_margin"
           android:textAppearance="@style/TextAppearance.CarUi.ListItem.Body"
           android:layout_gravity="right"
           android:gravity="right"
           android:textAlignment="viewEnd"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toStartOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toEndOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_icon_container"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_title"
           app:layout_goneMarginStart="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_text_no_icon_start_margin" />
   
       <!-- This touch interceptor is sized and positioned to encompass the action container   -->
       <com.android.car.ui.SecureView
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_action_container_touch_interceptor"
           android:layout_width="0dp"
           android:layout_height="0dp"
           android:background="@drawable/car_ui_list_item_background"
           android:visibility="gone"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="@id/car_ui_list_item_action_container" />
   
       <FrameLayout
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_action_container"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:minWidth="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_icon_container_width"
           android:layout_height="0dp"
           app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
           app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="@+id/car_ui_list_item_end_guideline"
           app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent">
   
           <View
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_action_divider"
               android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_action_divider_width"
               android:layout_height="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_action_divider_height"
               android:layout_gravity="start|center_vertical"
               android:background="@drawable/car_ui_list_item_divider" />
   
           <Switch
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_switch_widget"
               android:layout_width="wrap_content"
               android:layout_height="wrap_content"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:clickable="false"
               android:focusable="false" />
   
           <CheckBox
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_checkbox_widget"
               android:layout_width="wrap_content"
               android:layout_height="wrap_content"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:clickable="false"
               android:focusable="false" />
   
           <RadioButton
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_radio_button_widget"
               android:layout_width="wrap_content"
               android:layout_height="wrap_content"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:clickable="false"
               android:focusable="false" />
   
           <ImageView
               android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_supplemental_icon"
               android:layout_width="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_supplemental_icon_size"
               android:layout_height="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_supplemental_icon_size"
               android:layout_gravity="center"
               android:scaleType="fitCenter" />
       </FrameLayout>
   
       <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.Guideline
           android:id="@+id/car_ui_list_item_end_guideline"
           android:layout_width="wrap_content"
           android:layout_height="wrap_content"
           android:orientation="vertical"
           app:layout_constraintGuide_end="@dimen/car_ui_list_item_end_inset" />
   
   </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
   

2. car_ui_list_item.xml references several references several components/ resources that are not included as dependencies of the app. These are car-ui-lib resources. You can fix this by adding car-ui-lib as a dependency to your RRO app in app/build.gradle:

   dependencies {
       implementation 'com.android.car.ui:car-ui-lib:2.0.0'
       implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.4.1'
       implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.4.0'
   }
   

The Title and Body are now right-aligned instead of left-aligned.

We only applied an RRO to car-ui-lib using AndroidX components (ConstraintLayout) when its attributes were present in the car-ui-lib file named overlayable.xml as well as the RRO sample_overlay.xml. It's possible to do something similar in your own app. Just add all the corresponding attrs to your app’s overlayable.xml, similar to car-ui-lib.

However, it is not possible to RRO an app using AndroidX components when the app has car-ui-lib as a dependency in its build.gradle (when app uses car-ui-lib components). Since the attribute mappings were already defined in the car-ui-lib library's overlayable.xml, adding them to your app’s overlayable.xml with car-ui-lib as a dependency would cause a mergeDebugResources error like that below. This is because these attributes are present in multiple overlayable.xml files:

org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':app:mergeDebugResources'