How to add Mask to an EditText in Android

Adding a mask to an EditText can be useful for various purposes such as formatting phone numbers, credit card numbers, dates, etc. You can utilize TextWatcher or third-party libraries to apply masks to your EditText.

Here's a basic guide to applying a mask using both methods:

1. Using `TextWatcher`:

This is a simple way without adding any external dependencies:

EditText editText = findViewById(R.id.my_edit_text);
editText.addTextChangedListener(new TextWatcher() {

    private boolean isRunning = false;
    private boolean isDeleting = false;

    @Override
    public void beforeTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int count, int after) {
        isDeleting = count > after;
    }

    @Override
    public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) {
    }

    @Override
    public void afterTextChanged(Editable s) {
        if (isRunning || isDeleting) {
            return;
        }
        isRunning = true;

        // For instance, apply a mask for a phone number
        String formattedString = s.toString().replaceAll("[^0-9]", "");
        if (formattedString.length() > 3 && formattedString.length() <= 6) {
            formattedString = formattedString.substring(0, 3) + "-" + formattedString.substring(3);
        } else if (formattedString.length() > 6) {
            formattedString = formattedString.substring(0, 3) + "-" + formattedString.substring(3, 6) + "-" + formattedString.substring(6);
        }
        s.replace(0, s.length(), formattedString);

        isRunning = false;
    }
});

2. Using a Third-party Library:

There are libraries specifically designed for masking EditText fields. One of the popular libraries is RedMadRobot's InputMask.

Here's how you can use it:

Add Dependency:

Add the following dependency to your app-level build.gradle:

implementation 'com.redmadrobot:inputmask:6.x.x' // replace 'x.x' with the latest version

Set the Mask:

final MaskedTextChangedListener listener = new MaskedTextChangedListener(
        "+0 ([000]) [000]-[00]-[00]", // mask
        true, // allow to enter only predefined symbols into the edit text
        editText, 
        null, 
        new MaskedTextChangedListener.ValueListener() {
    @Override
    public void onTextChanged(boolean maskFilled, @NonNull final String extractedValue) {
        // handle text change
    }
}
);

editText.addTextChangedListener(listener);
editText.setOnFocusChangeListener(listener);
editText.setHint(listener.placeholder());

With the RedMadRobot's InputMask library, you can set various mask formats very easily.

Implementing input masking in EditText:

Description: Implement input masking in EditText to control the format of user input.

Code:

// Example: Masking for phone number (XXX) XXX-XXXX
editText.addTextChangedListener(new TextWatcher() {
    @Override
    public void beforeTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int count, int after) {}

    @Override
    public void onTextChanged(CharSequence s, int start, int before, int count) {}

    @Override
    public void afterTextChanged(Editable s) {
        String input = s.toString();
        if (input.length() == 3 || input.length() == 7) {
            editText.append(" ");
        }
    }
});

Using MaskedEditText library for input masking in Android:

Description: Utilize third-party libraries like MaskedEditText for easier implementation of input masking.

Code:

// Add the MaskedEditText library dependency in your app-level build.gradle file
implementation 'com.vicmikhailau:MaskedEditText:2.0.4'

<!-- Replace EditText with MaskedEditText in your layout -->
<com.vicmikhailau.maskededittext.MaskedEditText
    android:id="@+id/maskedEditText"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:mask="(***) ***-****" />

Adding regex-based masks to EditText in Android:

Description: Apply regular expression (regex) masks to EditText for more complex and flexible input requirements.

Code:

// Example: Regex-based mask for email input
String emailRegex = "^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\\.[A-Z|a-z]{2,}$";
editText.addTextChangedListener(new RegexMaskTextWatcher(emailRegex));

How to add Mask to an EditText in Android

1. Using TextWatcher:

2. Using a Third-party Library:

1. Using `TextWatcher`: