Last Updated : 18 Feb, 2021
Android Studio is the official IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for Android app development and it is based on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA software. Android Studio provides many excellent features that enhance productivity when building Android apps, such as:
- A blended environment where one can develop for all Android devices
- Apply Changes to push code and resource changes to the running app without restarting the app
- A flexible Gradle-based build system
- A fast and feature-rich emulator
- GitHub and Code template integration to assist you to develop common app features and import sample code
- Extensive testing tools and frameworks
- C++ and NDK support
- Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, making it easy to integrate Google Cloud Messaging and App Engine and many more.
Before developing an android application in the android studio the developer must have knowledge of its tool first. So in this article, we are going to discuss the android studio main window. The Android studio main window is consists of several logical areas. Let’s discuss each area in detail. Below is the main window of Android Studio 4.1.1.
1. Toolbar
One can find the Toolbar section at the top of the android studio. It contains a wide range of functions including creating a new project which is inside the File Section, Reformat your code which is inside the Code Section, Rebuild your project which is inside the Build section, running your android app which is inside the Run section, and many more. In fact, the Toolbar is the most important part of the android studio.
2. Editor Window
In this window, the users can create, write, and modify their code. This editor window changes depending on the current file type. For example, if you are viewing a layout file(Here activity_main.xml file) then the editor displays the layout editor. Similarly, if you are writing the backend code then the editor displays the Java/Kotlin file (Here MainActivity.java file) depending upon the language you have chosen during the creation of the project.
3. Tool Window Bar
The tool window bar operates around the outside of the IDE window and includes the buttons that allow users to expand or collapse individual tool windows. For example, in the above diagram, we have expanded the Project and the Build button.
4. Navigation Bar
The navigation bar helps the users to navigate throughout the project and open files for editing. It gives a more compressed view of the structure visible in the Project window. For example in the above diagram when we click on the MainActivity.java file in the editor window section then the navigation bar shows us where this file present inside the android studio. (Here app > src > main > java > com > example > meetandroidstudio > MainActivity). Thus it helps us to navigate and modify the required file easily.
5. Status Bar
The status bar displays the current status of the project and the IDE itself, as well as any warnings or messages during the execution of the project.
6. Tool Windows
The tool windows give access to specific tasks like project management, search, version control, and more. It is strongly related to the Tool Window Bar section. When you expand the Tool Window Bar then they are visible inside the Tool Windows section. So the user can also expand and collapse them.
Note: The user can organize the main window to get more screen space by hiding or moving toolbars and tool windows. The user can also use the shortcut keyboard to access most IDE features.
Android studio is a very standard IDE and there are many things to explore inside this tool. We have just discussed its Main Window here. It provides a lot of powerful things. For example, at the second last (From right) of the Toolbar section, the user can find a search icon where the users can search anything inside android studio such as searches for:
- Classes
- Files
- Tool Windows
- Actions
- Settings, etc
So before moving to the project development one should explore all the features of android studio vividly and this will be very beneficial for them during the project development.
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