How to use Timer in the Glance widget?

Question

I hope to use the Glance widget to achieve second level timing function. How can I achieve this?

I would like to know where the Timer should be written and how it can be kept alive for a long time?

Could you please provide a detailed explanation?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the Glance library does not have a built-in timer feature. However, you can achieve a timer effect by using the Chronometer remote view and wrapping it in an AndroidRemoteViews Glance Composable for compatibility.

1. Create a new XML layout file called widget_chronometer.xml to define the layout of the Chronometer.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="horizontal"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content">

    <Chronometer
        android:id="@+id/chronometer"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

</LinearLayout>

2. Create a Glance Composable that includes the Chronometer widget by using the AndroidRemoteViews class to access the remote view. Make sure to use the resource ID to reference the remote view.

@Composable
fun GlanceTimer(
    duration: Long,
    started: Boolean
) {

    val packageName = LocalContext.current.packageName
    val remoteViews = RemoteViews(packageName, R.layout.widget_chronometer)
    remoteViews.setChronometer(R.id.chronometer, SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() - duration, "%s", started)

    AndroidRemoteViews(remoteViews)

}

Finally, you can use the GlanceTimer composable to display the timer in your Glance widget.