CHAPTER 4: Introduction to XML: Defining an Android App, Its Design, and Constants 127Using Eclipse’s Graphical Manifest XML Editors
Eclipse ADT also has the equivalent of the GLE to edit your Android Manifest, except that it takes
four tabs to cover all of the different types of Android Manifest editing visually. We will take a quick
look at two of the primary Manifest editing tabs, the Manifest and the Application editing tabs,
here; you can look at the others later on in the book, when we get into advanced topics covering
permissions and instrumentation hardware.
The Manifest Visual Editor, shown in Figure 4-20, shows the parameters inside of your
tag in a visual environment. This includes your Java Package name, version code and version
naming, and shared user information and installation location. Most of these fields are not needed
for your Android application.
Figure 4-20. View the
The Manifest Extras interface allows you to add “extras” such as External Libraries, Compatible
Screens definitions, Supported Input definitions, and other advanced features. This is accomplished
by adding tags similar to the
hardware support features.
The next tab over is the Application tab, which shows visually the Application Attributes that you
can assign to your Android application (see Figure 4-21). Those of these that have a drop-down
menu next to them will show you every available setting for those parameters, which can again be
an incredible learning tool.