ADT Plugin for Eclipse

Android Development Tools (ADT) is a plugin for the Eclipse IDE that is designed to give you a powerful, integrated environment in which to build Android applications.

ADT extends the capabilities of Eclipse to let you quickly set up new Android projects, create an application UI, add components based on the Android Framework API, debug your applications using the Android SDK tools, and even export signed (or unsigned) APKs in order to distribute your application.

Developing in Eclipse with ADT is highly recommended and is the fastest way to get started. With the guided project setup it provides, as well as tools integration, custom XML editors, and debug ouput pane, ADT gives you an incredible boost in developing Android applications.

This document provides step-by-step instructions on how to download the ADT plugin and install it into your Eclipse development environment. Note that before you can install or use ADT, you must have compatible versions of both the Eclipse IDE and the Android SDK installed. For details, make sure to read Installing the ADT Plugin, below.

If you are already using ADT, this document also provides instructions on how to update ADT to the latest version or how to uninstall it, if necessary.

Revisions

The sections below provide notes about successive releases of the ADT Plugin, as denoted by revision number.

ADT 9.0.0 (January 2011)
Dependencies:
ADT 9.0.0 is designed for use with SDK Tools r9. If you haven't already installed SDK Tools r9 into your SDK, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to do so.
General notes:
  • "Go To Declaration" hyperlink support: You can jump directly from code references (such as R.id.main) to the corresponding XML declaration, or from XML attributes (such as @string) to the corresponding resource definition, or from manifest XML registrations to activities and services.
  • Improvements were made to name refactoring.
  • AVDs now automatically save their state, so they can restart almost instantly. You can enable this feature when creating an AVD or by editing an AVD with the AVD Manager.
  • Improvements to the Visual Layout Editor:
    • Support for rendering targets: You can now choose an arbitrary Android platform to render the current page, regardless of the project's minimum platform. This makes it easy to verify the layout and appearance of your activity on different versions of the platform.
    • Improved support for empty and nested layouts: Dragging items over nested and invisible layouts automatically enlarges and highlights these layouts, so that they can receive drops.
    • XML formatting improvements: The editor generates cleaner XML and you can now enable XML auto-formatting in the Preferences menu.
    • Improved Outline labels: The Outline tab now displays additional information about each View. Textual Views display a snippet of the actual text. Views with a source (such as ImageView) displays the resource name. Included Views display the name of the View.
    • When you right click a View in the Layout Editor, the context menu now contains Edit ID... and Edit Text... items. The Properties... context menus now list all of the properties and provide a way to edit them (Details).
    • The layout editor now properly handles <include> and <merge> tags (Details).
    • "Extract as Include" refactoring: The Layout Editor has a new refactoring that allows you to select one or more views in a layout, and extract it into a separate layout (Details).
    • Improved diagnostics for class loading and rendering errors: Class loading and rendering error messages are more useful and provide better information about the root cause of the error.
    • Improved error handling to prevent drag and reordering operations from adding children into an AdapterView.
    • Outline reordering: Reordering your views in the Outline tab is much easier (Details).
    • Fix for keybinding bug where keyboard shortcuts did not work (Issues 13231 and 13134).
    • Fix for problems with Custom layout attribute menu (Issue 13134).
    • Automatic configuration for various view types: Certain views have properties configured by default. For example, the width of an EditText object is set to match_parent when added to a vertical LinearLayout or a default image is added to an ImageButton.
    • Previews during dragging: Dragging from the palette or dragging within the layout editor now shows live previews of the dragged item.
    • Navigation improvements: In the Layout Editor, double-clicking Views jumps to the corresponding XML element. In the Outline view, double-clicking opens the Properties view.
    • The editor has Honeycomb style animation preview support.
    • Improved rendering support for various Views (such as TabHosts and SlidingDrawers) in Honeycomb (Issues 3162 and 13092).
    • Included layouts can be rendered and edited in the context of the layouts that include them. From a layout using an <include> tag, double-clicking on the <include> element edits the referenced layout in the context of the current layout. Additionally, when editing a layout that is included by other layouts, you can quickly change between context layouts, by right clicking in the editor and choosing Show included in.... This feature is only available in Honeycomb.
  • This release fixes many other bugs, but the most important ones are listed below:
    • Fixed issue that prevented launching debug builds on productions devices when debuggable=true was not set in the Android manifest.
    • The LogCat view in DDMS properly handles UTF-8 characters.
    • The SDK Manager is more reliable on Windows (Details).
    • A JUnit initialization bug that prevented you from working with JUnit tests was fixed (Issue 12411).
ADT 8.0.1 (December 2010)
Dependencies:

ADT 8.0.1 is designed for use with SDK Tools r8. If you haven't already installed SDK Tools r8 into your SDK, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to do so.

General notes:
  • This is a quick follow-up to ADT 8.0.0 to fix some bugs.
  • Fixes an issue in which projects failed to compile, citing a dex error.
  • Better ProGuard error reporting when exporting applications for release.

Also see the recent release notes for 8.0.0, below.

ADT 8.0.0 (December 2010)
Dependencies:

ADT 8.0.0 is designed for use with SDK Tools r8. If you haven't already installed SDK Tools r8 into your SDK, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to do so.

General notes:
  • New version number scheme that follows the SDK Tools revision number. The major version number for your ADT plugin should now always match the revision number of your SDK Tools. For example, ADT 8.x is for SDK Tools r8.
  • Support for true debug build. You no longer need to change the value of the debuggable attribute in the Android Manifest.

    Incremental builds automatically insert debuggable="true", but if you perform "export signed/unsigned application package", ADT does not insert it. If you manually set debuggable="true" in the manifest file, then release builds will actually create a debug build (it does not remove it if you placed it there).

  • Automatic ProGuard support in release builds. For it to work, you need to have a proguard.config property in the default.properties file that points to a ProGuard config file.
  • Completely rewritten Visual Layout Editor. (This is still a work in progress.) Now includes:
    • Full drag and drop from palette to layout for all Layout classes.
    • Move widgets inside a Layout view, from one Layout view to another and from one layout file to another.
    • Contextual menu with enum/flag type properties.
    • New zoom controls.
  • New HierarchyViewer plug-in integrated in Eclipse.
  • Android launch configurations don't recompile the whole workspace on launch anymore.
  • android.jar source and javadoc location can now be configured.
ADT 0.9.9 (September 2010)
Dependencies:

ADT 0.9.9 replaces ADT 0.9.8 and is designed for use with SDK Tools r7 and later. ADT 0.9.9 includes the ADT 0.9.8 features as well as an important bugfix, so we recommend that you upgrade as soon as possible. If you haven't already installed SDK Tools r7 into your SDK, use the Android SDK Manager to do so.

General notes:
  • Fixes a problem in project import, in which source files were deleted in some cases.
  • Includes all other ADT 0.9.8 features (see below).
ADT 0.9.8 (September 2010)
Dependencies:

ADT 0.9.8 is now deprecated. Please use ADT 0.9.9 instead.

General notes:
  • Adds a new Action, "Rename Application Package", to the Android Tools contextual menu. The Action does a full application package refactoring.
  • Adds support for library projects that don't have a source folder called src/. There is now support for any number of source folders, with no name restriction. They can even be in subfolder such as src/java. If you are already working with library projects created in ADT 0.9.7, see Migrating library projects to ADT 0.9.8 for important information about moving to the new ADT environment.
  • Adds support for library projects that depend on other library projects.
  • Adds support for additional resource qualifiers: car/desk, night/notnight and navexposed/navhidden.
  • Adds more device screen types in the layout editor. All screen resolution/density combinations listed in the Supporting Multiple Screens are now available.
  • Fixes problems with handling of library project names that contain characters that are incompatible with the Eclipse path variable. Now properly sets up the link between the main project and the library project.
ADT 0.9.7 (May 2010)
Library projects:

The ADT Plugin now supports the use of library projects during development, a capability that lets you store shared Android application code and resources in a separate development project. You can then reference the library project from other Android projects and, at build time, the tools compile the shared code and resources as part of the dependent applications. More information about this feature is available in the Developing in Eclipse with ADT document.

If you are not developing in Eclipse, SDK Tools r6 provides the equivalent library project support through the Ant build system.

ADT 0.9.6 (March 2010)
Dependencies:

ADT 0.9.6 is designed for use with SDK Tools r5 and later. Before updating to ADT 0.9.6, we highly recommend that you use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to install SDK Tools r5 into your SDK.

General Notes:
  • Editing default.properties outside of Eclipse will now automatically update the project.
  • Loads the SDK content only when a project requires it. This will make Eclipse use less resources when the SDK contains many versions of Android.
  • Resolves potential deadlock between modal dialogs, when launching ADT the first time with the SDK Usage panel.
  • Fixes issues with the New Project Wizard when selecting samples.
AVD/SDK Manager:
  • Adds support for platform samples components.
  • Improves support for dependency between components.
  • AVDs now sorted by API level.
  • The AVD creation dialog now enforces a minimum SD card size of 9MB.
  • Prevents deletion of running AVDs.
DDMS:
  • DDMS plug-in now contains the Allocation Tracker view.
  • New action in the Logcat view: "Go to problem" lets you go directly from an exception trace output to the code.
Editors:
  • Explode mode in the Visual Layout Editor adds a margin to all layout objects so that it's easier to see embedded or empty layouts.
  • Outline mode in the Visual Layout Editor draws layout outline to make it easier to see layout objects.
  • Several fixes in the configuration selector of the Visual Layout Editor.
Application launching:
  • Applications launched from ADT now behave as if they were clicked from the Home screen.
  • Fixes issue where add-on with no optional library would not show up as valid targets for application launches.
  • Resolves possible crash when launching applications.
ADT 0.9.5 (December 2009)
Dependencies:

ADT 0.9.5 requires features provided in SDK Tools r4 or higher. If you install ADT 0.9.5, which is highly recommended, you should use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to download the latest SDK Tools into your SDK. For more information, see Adding SDK Components.

General Notes:
  • AVD Launch dialog now shows scale value.
  • Fixes potential NPE in SDK Manager on AVD launch, for older AVD with no skin name specified.
  • Fixes XML validation issue in on older Java versions.
  • .apk packaging now properly ignores vi swap files as well as hidden files.
ADT 0.9.4 (October 2009)
Dependencies:

ADT 0.9.4 requires features provided in SDK Tools r3 or higher. If you install ADT 0.9.4, which is highly recommended, you should use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to download the latest SDK Tools into your SDK. For more information, see Adding SDK Components.

Project Creation Wizard:
  • New option to create a project from a sample by choosing it from a list.
Layout Editor:
  • Improved Configuration selector that lets you see how your layout will render on different devices. Default device descriptions include ADP1 and Google Ion, while SDK add-ons can also provide new descriptions. A new UI allows you to create custom descriptions.
  • Adds a new clipping toggle, to let you see your full layout even if it's bigger than the screen.
DDMS Integration:
  • Includes the improvements from the standlone DDMS, revision 3.
  • Adds an option to open HPROF files into eclipse instead of writing them on disk. If a profiler such as MAT (Memory Analyzer Tool) is installed, it'll open the file.
Android SDK and AVD Manager integration:
  • Includes the improvements from the standalone Android SDK and AVD Manager, revision 3.

Installing the ADT Plugin

The sections below provide instructions on how to download and install ADT into your Eclipse environment. If you encounter problems, see the Troubleshooting section.

Preparing Your Development Computer

ADT is a plugin for the Eclipse IDE. Before you can install or use ADT, you must have a compatible version of Eclipse installed on your development computer.

  • If Eclipse is already installed on your computer, make sure that it is a version that is compatible with ADT and the Android SDK. Check the System Requirements document for a list of Eclipse versions that are compatible with the Android SDK.
  • If you need to install or update Eclipse, you can download it from this location:

    http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

    For Eclipse 3.5 or newer, the "Eclipse Classic" version is recommended. Otherwise, a Java or RCP version of Eclipse is recommended.

Additionally, before you can configure or use ADT, you must install the Android SDK starter package, as described in Downloading the SDK Starter Package. Specifically, you need to install a compatible version of the Android SDK Tools and at least one development platform. To simplify ADT setup, we recommend installing the Android SDK prior to installing ADT.

When your Eclipse and Android SDK environments are ready, continue with the ADT installation as described in the steps below.

Downloading the ADT Plugin

Use Update Manager feature of your Eclipse installation to install the latest revision of ADT on your development computer.

Assuming that you have a compatible version of the Eclipse IDE installed, as described in Preparing for Installation, above, follow these steps to download the ADT plugin and install it in your Eclipse environment.

Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) and 3.6 (Helios)Eclipse 3.4 (Ganymede)
  1. Start Eclipse, then select Help > Install New Software....
  2. Click Add, in the top-right corner.
  3. In the Add Repository dialog that appears, enter "ADT Plugin" for the Name and the following URL for the Location: 
    https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

    Note: If you have trouble acquiring the plugin, try using "http" in the Location URL, instead of "https" (https is preferred for security reasons).

    Click OK.

  4. In the Available Software dialog, select the checkbox next to Developer Tools and click Next.
  5. In the next window, you'll see a list of the tools to be downloaded. Click Next.
  6. Read and accept the license agreements, then click Finish.
  7. When the installation completes, restart Eclipse.
  1. Start Eclipse, then select Help > Software Updates.... In the dialog that appears, click the Available Software tab.
  2. Click Add Site.
  3. In the Add Site dialog that appears, enter this URL in the "Location" field: 
    https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

    Note: If you have trouble acquiring the plugin, you can try using "http" in the URL, instead of "https" (https is preferred for security reasons).

    Click OK.

  4. Back in the Available Software view, you should see the plugin listed by the URL, with "Developer Tools" nested within it. Select the checkbox next to Developer Tools, which will automatically select the nested tools. Then click Install
  5. On the subsequent Install window, all of the included tools should be checked. Click Next.
  6. Read and accept the license agreements, then click Finish.
  7. When the installation completes, restart Eclipse.

Configuring the ADT Plugin

Once you've successfully downloaded ADT as described above, the next step is to modify your ADT preferences in Eclipse to point to the Android SDK directory:

  1. Select Window > Preferences... to open the Preferences panel (Mac OS X: Eclipse > Preferences).
  2. Select Android from the left panel.
  3. For the SDK Location in the main panel, click Browse... and locate your downloaded SDK directory.
  4. Click Apply, then OK.

Done! If you haven't encountered any problems, then the installation is complete. If you're installing the Android SDK for the first time, return to Installing the SDK to complete your setup.

Troubleshooting ADT Installation

If you are having trouble downloading the ADT plugin after following the steps above, here are some suggestions:

  • If Eclipse can not find the remote update site containing the ADT plugin, try changing the remote site URL to use http, rather than https. That is, set the Location for the remote site to: 
    http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
  • If you are behind a firewall (such as a corporate firewall), make sure that you have properly configured your proxy settings in Eclipse. In Eclipse, you can configure proxy information from the main Eclipse menu in Window (on Mac OS X, Eclipse) > Preferences > General > Network Connections.

If you are still unable to use Eclipse to download the ADT plugin as a remote update site, you can download the ADT zip file to your local machine and manually install it:

  1. Download the current ADT Plugin zip file from the table below (do not unpack it).
    Name Package Size MD5 Checksum
    ADT 9.0.0 ADT_9.0.0.zip 4433536 bytes bc2757f2a5a11d131390ce547bae154b
  2. Follow steps 1 and 2 in the default install instructions (above).
  3. In the Add Site dialog, click Archive.
  4. Browse and select the downloaded zip file.
  5. Enter a name for the local update site (e.g., "Android Plugin") in the "Name" field.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Follow the remaining procedures as listed for default installation above, starting from step 4.

To update your plugin once you've installed using the zip file, you will have to follow these steps again instead of the default update instructions.

Other install errors

Note that there are features of ADT that require some optional Eclipse components (for example, WST). If you encounter an error when installing ADT, your Eclipse installion might not include these components. For information about how to quickly add the necessary components to your Eclipse installation, see the troubleshooting topic ADT Installation Error: "requires plug-in org.eclipse.wst.sse.ui".

For Linux users

If you encounter this error when installing the ADT Plugin for Eclipse: 

An error occurred during provisioning.
Cannot connect to keystore.
JKS

...then your development machine lacks a suitable Java VM. Installing Sun Java 6 will resolve this issue and you can then reinstall the ADT Plugin.

Updating the ADT Plugin

From time to time, a new revision of the ADT Plugin becomes available, with new features and bug fixes. Generally, when a new revision of ADT is available, you should update to it as soon as convenient.

In some cases, a new revision of ADT will have a dependency on a specific revision of the Android SDK Tools. If such dependencies exist, you will need to update the SDK Tools component of the SDK after installing the new revision of ADT. To update the SDK Tools component, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager, as described in Adding SDK Components.

To learn about new features of each ADT revision and also any dependencies on the SDK Tools, see the listings in the Revisions section. To determine the version currently installed, open the Eclipse Installed Software window using Help > Software Updates and refer to the version listed for "Android Development Tools".

Follow the steps below to check whether an update is available and, if so, to install it.

Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) and 3.6 (Helios)Eclipse 3.4 (Ganymede)
  1. Select Help > Check for Updates.

    If there are no updates available, a dialog will say so and you're done.

  2. If there are updates available, select Android DDMS, Android Development Tools, and Android Hierarchy Viewer, then click Next.
  3. In the Update Details dialog, click Next.
  4. Read and accept the license agreement and then click Finish. This will download and install the latest version of Android DDMS and Android Development Tools.
  5. Restart Eclipse.
  1. Select Help > Software Updates.
  2. Select the Available Software tab.
  3. If there are updates available, select Android DDMS, Android Development Tools, and Android Hierarchy Viewer, then click Update.
  4. In the resulting Available Updates dialog, ensure that each of the listed tools are selected, then click Next.
  5. Read and accept the license agreement and then click Finish. This will download and install the latest version of Android DDMS and Android Development Tools.
  6. Restart Eclipse.

If you encounter problems during the update, remove the existing ADT plugin from Eclipse, then perform a fresh installation, using the instructions for Installing the ADT Plugin.

↑ Go to top