How to override default text selection of android webview os 4.1+?

Question

Before posting this question I've searched a lot but could not find any clear answers on this issue.

I have to override default text selection of android webview & show my custom text selection dialog options. I have tried this sample code project.

This sample project works on following devices & emulator :

• Acer Iconia a500 tablet : 10 inch : Android OS - 3.0
• Acer Iconia a500 tablet : 10 inch : Android OS - 3.2
• Samsung Galaxy Tab : 10 inch : Android OS - 4.0
• Samsung Galaxy Tab : 7 inch : Android OS - 4.0
• Emulator : Skin-WVGA800 : Android OS - 4.1.2

Not working on following devices :

• Samsung Galaxy Tab : 10 inch : Android OS - 4.1.2
• Samsung Galaxy Tab : 7 inch : Android OS - 4.1.2

On android os version 4.1 & 4.1+ instead of showing my custom text selection option dialog, it shows android system's default action bar for text selection.

I have searched a lot on this, many suggested to use onLongClick() method of the interface

I have already asked a question on this forum please see this link, with answers to this questions I am able to clone onLongClick() event but I can't stop default text selection action bar.

For this scenario I have few questions.

1.Why onLongClick() method stops working for device running on android os version 4.1+ ?

2.How to stop default text selection action bar on long pressing on the text from webview ?

This is my custom webview class.

  package com.epubreader.ebook;
  import org.json.JSONException;
  import org.json.JSONObject;
  import android.app.Activity;
  import android.content.Context;
  import android.graphics.Rect;
  import android.graphics.Region;
  import android.os.Handler;
  import android.os.Message;
  import android.util.AttributeSet;
  import android.util.DisplayMetrics;
  import android.util.Log;
  import android.view.ContextMenu;
  import android.view.Display;
  import android.view.GestureDetector;
  import android.view.LayoutInflater;
  import android.view.MotionEvent;
  import android.view.View;
  import android.view.View.OnLongClickListener;
  import android.view.View.OnTouchListener;
  import android.view.ViewGroup;
  import android.view.WindowManager;
  import android.webkit.WebView;
  import android.widget.ImageView;
  import android.widget.LinearLayout;
  import android.widget.Toast;

  import com.epubreader.R;
  import com.epubreader.drag.DragController;
  import com.epubreader.drag.DragLayer;
  import com.epubreader.drag.DragListener;
  import com.epubreader.drag.DragSource;
  import com.epubreader.drag.MyAbsoluteLayout;
  import com.epubreader.menu.menuAnimationHelper;
  import com.epubreader.textselection.WebTextSelectionJSInterface;
  import com.epubreader.textselectionoverlay.ActionItem;
  import com.epubreader.textselectionoverlay.QuickAction;
  import com.epubreader.textselectionoverlay.QuickAction.OnDismissListener;



public class CustomWebView extends WebView implements WebTextSelectionJSInterface,
OnTouchListener , OnLongClickListener, OnDismissListener, DragListener{

/** The logging tag. */
private static final String TAG = "CustomWebView";

/** Context. */
protected   Context ctx;

/** The context menu. */
private QuickAction mContextMenu;

/** The drag layer for selection. */
private DragLayer mSelectionDragLayer;

/** The drag controller for selection. */
private DragController mDragController;

/** The start selection handle. */
private ImageView mStartSelectionHandle;

/** the end selection handle. */
private ImageView mEndSelectionHandle;

/** The selection bounds. */
private Rect mSelectionBounds = null;

/** The previously selected region. */
protected Region lastSelectedRegion = null;

/** The selected range. */
protected String selectedRange = "";

/** The selected text. */
protected String selectedText = "";

/** Javascript interface for catching text selection. */


/** Selection mode flag. */
protected boolean inSelectionMode = false;

/** Flag to stop from showing context menu twice. */
protected boolean contextMenuVisible = false;

/** The current content width. */
protected int contentWidth = 0;


/** Identifier for the selection start handle. */
private final int SELECTION_START_HANDLE = 0;

/** Identifier for the selection end handle. */
private final int SELECTION_END_HANDLE = 1;

/** Last touched selection handle. */
private int mLastTouchedSelectionHandle = -1;

/** Variables for Left & Right Menu ***/
private View menuView;
private LinearLayout toiLay;
private menuAnimationHelper _menuAnimationHelper;
private TocTranslateAnimation _tocTranslateAnimation;

private CustomWebView _customWebView;



public CustomWebView(Context context) {
    super(context);

    this.ctx = context;
    this.setup(context);
}

public CustomWebView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
    super(context, attrs, defStyle);

    this.ctx = context;
    this.setup(context);

}

public CustomWebView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
    super(context, attrs);

    this.ctx = context;
    this.setup(context);

}


//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Touch Listeners
//*
//*****************************************************

private boolean mScrolling = false;
private float mScrollDiffY = 0;
private float mLastTouchY = 0;
private float mScrollDiffX = 0;
private float mLastTouchX = 0;

@Override
public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {


    float xPoint = getDensityIndependentValue(event.getX(), ctx) / getDensityIndependentValue(this.getScale(), ctx);
    float yPoint = getDensityIndependentValue(event.getY(), ctx) / getDensityIndependentValue(this.getScale(), ctx);

    // TODO: Need to update this to use this.getScale() as a factor.

    //Log.d(TAG, "onTouch " + xPoint + " , " + yPoint);

    closeMenu();
   if(event.getAction() == MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN){

        final String startTouchUrl = String.format("javascript:android.selection.startTouch(%f, %f);", 
                xPoint, yPoint);

        mLastTouchX = xPoint;
        mLastTouchY = yPoint;

        ((Activity)this.ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

            @Override
            public void run() {
                loadUrl(startTouchUrl);
            }
        });

         // This two line clones the onLongClick()
         longClickHandler.removeCallbacks(longClickRunnable);
         longClickHandler.postDelayed(longClickRunnable,300);


    }
    else if(event.getAction() == MotionEvent.ACTION_UP){
        // Check for scrolling flag
        if(!mScrolling){
            this.endSelectionMode();
        }

         // This line clones the onLongClick()
        longClickHandler.removeCallbacks(longClickRunnable);

        mScrollDiffX = 0;
        mScrollDiffY = 0;
        mScrolling = false;



    }else if(event.getAction() == MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE){

        mScrollDiffX += (xPoint - mLastTouchX);
        mScrollDiffY += (yPoint - mLastTouchY);

        mLastTouchX = xPoint;
        mLastTouchY = yPoint;


        // Only account for legitimate movement.
        if(Math.abs(mScrollDiffX) > 10 || Math.abs(mScrollDiffY) > 10){
            mScrolling = true;

        }
         // This line clones the onLongClick()
        longClickHandler.removeCallbacks(longClickRunnable);

    }

    // If this is in selection mode, then nothing else should handle this touch
    return false;
}

/**
 * Pass References of Left & Right Menu
 */

public void initMenu(LinearLayout _toiLay,View _menuView,menuAnimationHelper menuAnimationHelper,
        TocTranslateAnimation tocTranslateAnimation){
    toiLay = _toiLay;
    menuView = _menuView;
    _menuAnimationHelper = menuAnimationHelper;
    _tocTranslateAnimation = tocTranslateAnimation;
}

private void closeMenu(){

    if(_menuAnimationHelper != null && _menuAnimationHelper.isMenuOpenBool){
        _menuAnimationHelper.close(menuView);
        _menuAnimationHelper.isMenuOpenBool = false;
    }

    if(_tocTranslateAnimation != null && _tocTranslateAnimation.isTocListOpenBool){
        _tocTranslateAnimation.close(toiLay);
        _tocTranslateAnimation.isTocListOpenBool = false;
    }
}

      public void removeOverlay(){
    Log.d("JsHandler", "in java removeOverlay" + mScrolling);


    this.endSelectionMode();
    mScrollDiffX = 0;
    mScrollDiffY = 0;
    mScrolling = false;
}

@Override 
public boolean onLongClick(View v){

    Log.d(TAG, "from webView onLongClick ");
    mScrolling = true;
    ((Activity)this.ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

        @Override
        public void run() {
            loadUrl("javascript:android.selection.longTouch()");
        }
    });

    Toast.makeText(ctx, "Long click is clicked ", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
    // Don't let the webview handle it
    return true;
}





//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Setup
//*
//*****************************************************

ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo contextMenuInfo;

/**
 * Setups up the web view.
 * @param context
 */
protected void setup(Context context){


    // On Touch Listener

    this.setOnTouchListener(this);

    this.setClickable(false);
    this.setLongClickable(true);
    this.setOnLongClickListener(this);

    contextMenuInfo = this.getContextMenuInfo();
    // Webview setup
    this.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
    this.getSettings().setJavaScriptCanOpenWindowsAutomatically(true);

    // Create the selection handles
    createSelectionLayer(context);

    // Set to the empty region
    Region region = new Region();
    region.setEmpty();

    _customWebView = this;

    this.lastSelectedRegion = region;


}

/**
 * To clone OnLongClick Listener because its not responding for version 4.1
 */
public Runnable longClickRunnable = new Runnable() {
    public void run() {
        longClickHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);

    }
};


public Handler longClickHandler = new Handler(){

    public void handleMessage(Message m){
        _customWebView.loadUrl("javascript:android.selection.longTouch();");
        mScrolling = true;
    }
};


public WebTextSelectionJSInterface getTextSelectionJsInterface(){
    return this;
}

//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Selection Layer Handling
//*
//*****************************************************

/**
 * Creates the selection layer.
 * 
 * @param context
 */
protected void createSelectionLayer(Context context){

    LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater)context.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
    this.mSelectionDragLayer = (DragLayer) inflater.inflate(R.layout.selection_drag_layer, null);


    // Make sure it's filling parent
    this.mDragController = new DragController(context);
    this.mDragController.setDragListener(this);
    this.mDragController.addDropTarget(mSelectionDragLayer);
    this.mSelectionDragLayer.setDragController(mDragController);


    this.mStartSelectionHandle = (ImageView) this.mSelectionDragLayer.findViewById(R.id.startHandle);
    this.mStartSelectionHandle.setTag(new Integer(SELECTION_START_HANDLE));
    this.mEndSelectionHandle = (ImageView) this.mSelectionDragLayer.findViewById(R.id.endHandle);
    this.mEndSelectionHandle.setTag(new Integer(SELECTION_END_HANDLE));

    OnTouchListener handleTouchListener = new OnTouchListener(){

        @Override
        public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {

            boolean handledHere = false;
            final int action = event.getAction();
            // Down event starts drag for handle.
            if (action == MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN) {
               handledHere = startDrag (v);
               mLastTouchedSelectionHandle = (Integer) v.getTag();
            }
            return handledHere;
        }
    };

    this.mStartSelectionHandle.setOnTouchListener(handleTouchListener);
    this.mEndSelectionHandle.setOnTouchListener(handleTouchListener);


}

/**
 * Starts selection mode on the UI thread
 */
private Handler startSelectionModeHandler = new Handler(){

    public void handleMessage(Message m){

        if(mSelectionBounds == null)
            return;

        addView(mSelectionDragLayer);

        drawSelectionHandles();


        int contentHeight = (int) Math.ceil(getDensityDependentValue(getContentHeight(), ctx));

        // Update Layout Params
        ViewGroup.LayoutParams layerParams = mSelectionDragLayer.getLayoutParams();
        layerParams.height = contentHeight;
        layerParams.width = contentWidth;
        mSelectionDragLayer.setLayoutParams(layerParams);

    }

};

/**
 * Starts selection mode.
 * 
 * @param   selectionBounds
 */
public void startSelectionMode(){

    this.startSelectionModeHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);

}

// Ends selection mode on the UI thread
private Handler endSelectionModeHandler = new Handler(){
    public void handleMessage(Message m){

        //Log.d("TableContentsWithDisplay", "in endSelectionModeHandler");

        removeView(mSelectionDragLayer);
        if(getParent() != null && mContextMenu != null && contextMenuVisible){
            // This will throw an error if the webview is being redrawn.
            // No error handling needed, just need to stop the crash.
            try{
                mContextMenu.dismiss();
            }
            catch(Exception e){

            }
        }
        mSelectionBounds = null;
        mLastTouchedSelectionHandle = -1;
        try {
            ((Activity)ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

                @Override
                public void run() {
                    loadUrl("javascript: android.selection.clearSelection();");
                }
            });

        } catch (Exception e) {
            // TODO: handle exception
        }

    }
};

/**
 * Ends selection mode.
 */
public void endSelectionMode(){

    this.endSelectionModeHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);

}

/**
 * Calls the handler for drawing the selection handles.
 */
private void drawSelectionHandles(){
    this.drawSelectionHandlesHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);
}

/**
 * Handler for drawing the selection handles on the UI thread.
 */
private Handler drawSelectionHandlesHandler = new Handler(){
    public void handleMessage(Message m){

        MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams startParams = (com.epubreader.drag.MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams) mStartSelectionHandle.getLayoutParams();
        startParams.x = (int) (mSelectionBounds.left - mStartSelectionHandle.getDrawable().getIntrinsicWidth());
        startParams.y = (int) (mSelectionBounds.top - mStartSelectionHandle.getDrawable().getIntrinsicHeight());

        // Stay on screen.
        startParams.x = (startParams.x < 0) ? 0 : startParams.x;
        startParams.y = (startParams.y < 0) ? 0 : startParams.y;


        mStartSelectionHandle.setLayoutParams(startParams);

        MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams endParams = (com.epubreader.drag.MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams) mEndSelectionHandle.getLayoutParams();
        endParams.x = (int) mSelectionBounds.right;
        endParams.y = (int) mSelectionBounds.bottom;
        endParams.x = (endParams.x < 0) ? 0 : endParams.x;
        endParams.y = (endParams.y < 0) ? 0 : endParams.y;

        mEndSelectionHandle.setLayoutParams(endParams);

    }
};

/**
 * Checks to see if this view is in selection mode.
 * @return
 */
public boolean isInSelectionMode(){

    return this.mSelectionDragLayer.getParent() != null;


}

//*****************************************************
//*
//*     DragListener Methods
//*
//*****************************************************

/**
 * Start dragging a view.
 *
 */    
private boolean startDrag (View v)
{
    // Let the DragController initiate a drag-drop sequence.
    // I use the dragInfo to pass along the object being dragged.
    // I'm not sure how the Launcher designers do this.
    Object dragInfo = v;
    mDragController.startDrag (v, mSelectionDragLayer, dragInfo, DragController.DRAG_ACTION_MOVE);
    return true;
}


@Override
public void onDragStart(DragSource source, Object info, int dragAction) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}

@Override@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void onDragEnd() {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

    MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams startHandleParams = (MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams) this.mStartSelectionHandle.getLayoutParams();
    MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams endHandleParams = (MyAbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams) this.mEndSelectionHandle.getLayoutParams();

    float scale = getDensityIndependentValue(this.getScale(), ctx);

    float startX = startHandleParams.x - this.getScrollX();
    float startY = startHandleParams.y - this.getScrollY();
    float endX = endHandleParams.x - this.getScrollX();
    float endY = endHandleParams.y - this.getScrollY();

    startX = getDensityIndependentValue(startX, ctx) / scale;
    startY = getDensityIndependentValue(startY, ctx) / scale;
    endX = getDensityIndependentValue(endX, ctx) / scale;
    endY = getDensityIndependentValue(endY, ctx) / scale;


    if(mLastTouchedSelectionHandle == SELECTION_START_HANDLE && startX > 0 && startY > 0){
        final String saveStartString = String.format("javascript: android.selection.setStartPos(%f, %f);", startX, startY);

        ((Activity)ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

            @Override
            public void run() {
                loadUrl(saveStartString);
            }
        });

    }


    if(mLastTouchedSelectionHandle == SELECTION_END_HANDLE && endX > 0 && endY > 0){
        final String saveEndString = String.format("javascript: android.selection.setEndPos(%f, %f);", endX, endY);

        ((Activity)ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

            @Override
            public void run() {
                loadUrl(saveEndString);
            }
        });

    }



}


//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Context Menu Creation
//*
//*****************************************************

/**
 * Shows the context menu using the given region as an anchor point.
 * @param region
 */
private void showContextMenu(Rect displayRect){

    // Don't show this twice
    if(this.contextMenuVisible){
        return;
    }

    // Don't use empty rect
    //if(displayRect.isEmpty()){
    if(displayRect.right <= displayRect.left){
        return;
    }

    //Copy action item
    ActionItem buttonOne = new ActionItem();

    buttonOne.setTitle("HighLight");
    buttonOne.setActionId(1);
    //buttonOne.setIcon(getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.menu_search));


    //Highlight action item
    ActionItem buttonTwo = new ActionItem();

    buttonTwo.setTitle("Note");
    buttonTwo.setActionId(2);
    //buttonTwo.setIcon(getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.menu_info));

    ActionItem buttonThree = new ActionItem();

    buttonThree.setTitle("Help");
    buttonThree.setActionId(3);
    //buttonThree.setIcon(getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.menu_eraser));



    // The action menu
    mContextMenu  = new QuickAction(this.getContext());
    mContextMenu.setOnDismissListener(this);

    // Add buttons
    mContextMenu.addActionItem(buttonOne);

    mContextMenu.addActionItem(buttonTwo);

    mContextMenu.addActionItem(buttonThree);



    //setup the action item click listener
    mContextMenu.setOnActionItemClickListener(new QuickAction.OnActionItemClickListener() {

        @Override
        public void onItemClick(QuickAction source, int pos,
            int actionId) {

            if (actionId == 1) { 

                callHighLight();
            } 
            else if (actionId == 2) { 

                callNote();
            } 
            else if (actionId == 3) { 
                // Do Button 3 stuff
                Log.i(TAG, "Hit Button 3");
            }

            contextMenuVisible = false;

        }

    });

    this.contextMenuVisible = true;
    mContextMenu.show(this, displayRect);
}

private void callHighLight(){

    ((Activity)this.ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

        @Override
        public void run() {
            loadUrl("javascript:init_txt_selection_event()");
            loadUrl("javascript:highlightme_("+0+")");
        }
    });

}

private void callNote(){

    ((Activity)this.ctx).runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

        @Override
        public void run() {
            loadUrl("javascript:init_txt_selection_event()");
            loadUrl("javascript:fnGetUserAddedNote('1')");
        }
    });

}


//*****************************************************
//*
//*     OnDismiss Listener
//*
//*****************************************************
/**
 * Clears the selection when the context menu is dismissed.
 */
public void onDismiss(){
    //clearSelection();
    this.contextMenuVisible = false;
}

//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Text Selection Javascript Interface Listener
//*
//*****************************************************
/**
 * The user has started dragging the selection handles.
 */
public void tsjiStartSelectionMode(){

    this.startSelectionMode();


}

/**
 * The user has stopped dragging the selection handles.
 */
public void tsjiEndSelectionMode(){

    this.endSelectionMode();
}

/**
 * The selection has changed
 * @param range
 * @param text
 * @param handleBounds
 * @param menuBounds
 * @param showHighlight
 * @param showUnHighlight
 */@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void tsjiSelectionChanged(String range, String text, String handleBounds, String menuBounds){
    try {

        //Log.d(TAG, "tsjiSelectionChanged :- handleBounds " + handleBounds);
        JSONObject selectionBoundsObject = new JSONObject(handleBounds);

        float scale = getDensityIndependentValue(this.getScale(), ctx);

        Rect handleRect = new Rect();
        handleRect.left = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(selectionBoundsObject.getInt("left"), getContext()) * scale);
        handleRect.top = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(selectionBoundsObject.getInt("top"), getContext()) * scale);
        handleRect.right = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(selectionBoundsObject.getInt("right"), getContext()) * scale);
        handleRect.bottom = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(selectionBoundsObject.getInt("bottom"), getContext()) * scale);

        this.mSelectionBounds = handleRect;
        this.selectedRange = range;
        this.selectedText = text;

        JSONObject menuBoundsObject = new JSONObject(menuBounds);

        Rect displayRect = new Rect();
        displayRect.left = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(menuBoundsObject.getInt("left"), getContext()) * scale);
        displayRect.top = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(menuBoundsObject.getInt("top") - 25, getContext()) * scale);
        displayRect.right = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(menuBoundsObject.getInt("right"), getContext()) * scale);
        displayRect.bottom = (int) (getDensityDependentValue(menuBoundsObject.getInt("bottom") + 25, getContext()) * scale);

        if(!this.isInSelectionMode()){
            this.startSelectionMode();
        }

        // This will send the menu rect
        this.showContextMenu(displayRect);

        drawSelectionHandles();


    } catch (JSONException e) {
        // TODO Auto-generated catch block
        e.printStackTrace();
    }


}


/**
 * Receives the content width for the page.
 */
public void tsjiSetContentWidth(float contentWidth){
    this.contentWidth = (int) this.getDensityDependentValue(contentWidth, ctx);
}


//*****************************************************
//*
//*     Density Conversion
//*
//*****************************************************
/**
 * Returns the density dependent value of the given float
 * @param val
 * @param ctx
 * @return
 */
public float getDensityDependentValue(float val, Context ctx){
    // Get display from context
    Display display = ((WindowManager) ctx.getSystemService(Context.WINDOW_SERVICE)).getDefaultDisplay();
    // Calculate min bound based on metrics
    DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
    display.getMetrics(metrics);
    return val * (metrics.densityDpi / 160f);
}

/**
 * Returns the density independent value of the given float
 * @param val
 * @param ctx
 * @return
 */
public float getDensityIndependentValue(float val, Context ctx){

    // Get display from context
    Display display = ((WindowManager) ctx.getSystemService(Context.WINDOW_SERVICE)).getDefaultDisplay();
    // Calculate min bound based on metrics
    DisplayMetrics metrics = new DisplayMetrics();
    display.getMetrics(metrics);
    return val / (metrics.densityDpi / 160f);
}

}

Thanks In Advance!

Cremate

Can you please post how you implemented onLongClick()? On my GalaxyS3 (OS 4.1.2) it runs with no problems and I successfully overriden it so I am not showing the action mode. – Tiflis

@Tiflis I've edited my question with addition of custom webview code, this code has both onLongClick method as well as clone of onLongClick using longClickRunnable, longClickHandler, rest of the code & supporting classes for Drag & Drop are same sample project from github.com/btate/BTAndroidWebViewSelection – Cremate

@Tiflis I've tested the same code on GalaxyS3 OS 4.1.2 it works well, preventing webview's text selection mode & showing my default custom text selection options, but the same code is not working on Samsung Tablet 10 inch with OS 4.1.2 – Cremate

Try to investigate API of WebView in runtime using reflection. Samsung tablets has little different WebView implementation. There were some custom methods which can help you. I do not remember exact names or signatures, I will try do this later. – Slurp

Hi, Sachin I'm facing same problem while implementing richtexteditor using webview. Just wondering do u able to find any workaround for this....thanks – Manganous

I had to do something similar, this is how I achieved it. https://mcmap.net/q/247537/-overriding-the-default-contextual-action-bar-for-text-selection-in-webview-in-android – Desman

Answer 1

I realize this is an old question, but there is not an accepted answer, and none of the provided answers have many votes.

I have achieved what you are trying to accomplish by creating a custom action mode callback. This allows the creation of a custom contextual action bar (CAB) when (in the case of a WebView) a user long-clicks the view. NOTE: This only works in 4.0+ and one piece only works in 4.4.

Create a new Android XML file containing the layout for your custom menu. Here is mine (context_menu.xml) as an example:

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

    <item
        android:id="@+id/copy"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_action_copy"
        android:showAsAction="always" <!-- Forces this button to be shown -->
        android:title="@string/copy">
    </item>
    <item
        android:id="@+id/button2"
        android:icon="@drawable/menu_button2icon"
        android:showAsAction="ifRoom" <!-- Show if there is room on the screen-->
        android:title="@string/button2">
    </item>
    <!-- Add as many more items as you want.
         Note that if you use "ifRoom", an overflow menu will populate
         to hold the action items that did not fit in the action bar. -->

</menu>

Now that the menu is defined, create a callback for it:

public class CustomWebView extends WebView {

    private ActionMode.Callback mActionModeCallback;

    private class CustomActionModeCallback implements ActionMode.Callback {

        // Called when the action mode is created; startActionMode() was called
        @Override
        public boolean onCreateActionMode(ActionMode mode, Menu menu) {
            // Inflate a menu resource providing context menu items
            MenuInflater inflater = mode.getMenuInflater();
            inflater.inflate(R.menu.context_menu, menu);
            return true;
        }

        // Called each time the action mode is shown.
        // Always called after onCreateActionMode, but
        // may be called multiple times if the mode is invalidated.
        @Override
        public boolean onPrepareActionMode(ActionMode mode, Menu menu) {
            // Note: This is called every time the selection handlebars move.
            return false; // Return false if nothing is done
        }

        // Called when the user selects a contextual menu item
        @Override
        public boolean onActionItemClicked(ActionMode mode, MenuItem item) {

            switch (item.getItemId()) {
                case R.id.copy:
                // Do some stuff for this button
                   mode.finish(); // Action picked, so close the CAB
                   return true;
                case R.id.button2:
                // Do some stuff for this button
                   mode.finish();
                   return true;
                // Create a case for every item
                ...
                default:
                   mode.finish();
                   return false;
            }
        }

        // Called when the user exits the action mode
        @Override
        public void onDestroyActionMode(ActionMode mode) {
            // This will clear the selection highlight and handlebars.
            // However, it only works in 4.4; I am still investigating
            // how to reliably clear the selection in 4.3 and earlier
            clearFocus();
        }
}

Once those pieces are in place, override the startActionMode method so that the callback will actually occur on a long-click:

public class CustomWebView extends WebView {
    @Override
    public ActionMode startActionMode(Callback callback) {
        ViewParent parent = getParent();
        if (parent == null) {
        return null;
        }
        mActionModeCallback = new CustomActionModeCallback();
        return parent.startActionModeForChild(this, mActionModeCallback);
    }
}

Now you have a custom menu that will be appear and populate when a user long-clicks your WebView. For reference, I found this information from an Android Developer tutorial and modified the suggestion from this answer.

One final note: This technique overrides the native copy/paste menu for selected text. If you want to maintain that functionality, you will need to implement it yourself. (That is why my first button is 'copy'.) If you need that, refer to this Google tutorial for more information and the proper way to implement it.

Expositor

Great solution! After few days i found your post. Thanks +1 – Nydia

I made a similar solution, but there is one problem.I have 7 custom items, but 3 of them cant be seen because they are out of the view. Is it possible to scroll in a text selection menu? @SciJoker – Jeramey

How to open custom popup if user copy text from webview ? please help me out for that :) – Rossierossing

Does this solution work for android 5 and above, I Tried implementing it on a custom webview, the action bar is showing but the click on the item is not being captured. Anyone knows what I'm missing? – Mongeau

Answer 2

Use could the setOnTouchListener() for long/short long press. and return true so that nothing happens thereby overriding the default text selection feature.

Offensive

Answer 3

I have been able to resolve this. I was also facing this issue and could not find any solution on the web.

So, if you set up a LongClick listener, the Webview would stop showing selection at all. After delving deep into the Webview code, I found that it was calling WebView's method startRunMode and passing an instance of SelectActionCallbackMode class.

I simply extended the Webview class and overrided the startRunMode method like this:

public ActionMode startActionMode(ActionMode.Callback callback) 
{
    actionModeCallback = new CustomizedSelectActionModeCallback();
    return super.startActionMode(actionModeCallback);
}

This forced the Webview to display my Callback instead of displaying Webview's default one. This ensured that selection worked as smoothly as before and my CAB was displayed each time selection was made. Only caveat was that I had to write code to dismiss the CAB myself.

Tested on 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 devices.

Hope this helps.

Desman

Answer 4

I could suggest a workaround for this. You could use setOnTouchListener and then implement the long press yourself.

onTouch --

 case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:  
                    mHanlder.removeCallbacks(startActionBar);
                    mHandler.postDelayed(startActionBar,1000);

This way you could achieve the same aciton.

Detestable

This part is ok but it shows the default Contextual Action Bar (CAB) too & resize the webview, in my case I want to avoid default CAB. – Cremate

Well disable long click for webview. this.setLongClickable(false); – Detestable

@Detestable it probably works on most devices but not on Samsung Galaxy Tab on Android 4.1.2 like specified in the question – Chorography

Answer 5

some reason the KeyEvent down & up doesn't work in API LEVEL 16+ (Android 4.1+ JELLY_BEAN). It doesn't fire the WebView's loadUrl. So I had to replace the dispatchKeyEvent with dispatchTouchEvent. Here's the code:

...
MotionEvent touchDown = MotionEvent.obtain(SystemClock.uptimeMillis(), SystemClock.uptimeMillis(), MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN, touchX, touchY, 0);
webView.dispatchTouchEvent(touchDown);
touchDown.recycle();

MotionEvent touchUp = MotionEvent.obtain(SystemClock.uptimeMillis(), SystemClock.uptimeMillis(), MotionEvent.ACTION_UP, touchX, touchY, 0);
webView.dispatchTouchEvent(touchUp);
touchUp.recycle();

String url = mUrl;
...

try it..

Certification

Answer 6

For disabling your text selection from webview try this,

webView.setWebChromeClient(new WebChromeClient(){

    [.... other overrides....]

    // @Override
    // https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=31484
    // If you DO NOT want to start selection by long click,
    // the remove this function
    // (All this is undocumented stuff...)
    public void onSelectionStart(WebView view) {
        // By default we cancel the selection again, thus disabling
        // text selection unless the chrome client supports it.
        // view.notifySelectDialogDismissed();
    }

});

Certification

I tried to override onSelectionStart method but there is no such method to override, I used copy-pase & eclipse gives me "The method onSelectionStart(WebView) from the type new WebChromeClient(){} is never used locally" – Cremate

Answer 7

You might also try overriding View.performLongClick(), which is responsible for calling View.onLongPress(). You could also try going up to the parent View's long press events. Or all the way up to the Window.Callback for your activity (via Activity.getWindow().get/setCallback()).

I'm wondering whether there are other ways for the standard selection context menu to appear besides the long-press event, for example maybe with a trackball or hardware keyboard.

Antimonic

Answer 8

in case someone is trying to simply remove the default text selection, I had the same issue on a Samsung Galaxy Tab on Android 4.1.2 and ended up writing my own WebView:

public class CustomWebView extends WebView {

  public CustomWebView(Context context) {
    super(context);
    this.setUp(context);
  }

  public CustomWebView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
    super(context, attrs);
    this.setUp(context);
  }

  public CustomWebView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
    super(context, attrs, defStyle);
    this.setUp(context);
  }

  private void setUp(Context context) {
    this.setOnLongClickListener(new OnLongClickListener() {
      @Override
      public boolean onLongClick(View v) {
        return true;
      }
    });
    this.setLongClickable(false);
  }

  @Override
  public boolean performLongClick() {
    return true;
  }

}

and referring it in my xml:

<com...CustomWebView
    android:id="@+id/webview"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent" />

Chorography

Answer 9

Use setOnTouchListener() implement long press

Samovar