Add Search Button to Toolbar and Start New Activity on Click

Question

I want to add a search magnifying class button to my toolbar. So far, I have the below code:

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
    inflater.inflate(R.menu.menu_search, menu);
    SearchView search = (SearchView) MenuItemCompat.getActionView(menu.findItem(R.id.search));
    // Associate searchable configuration with the SearchView
    SearchManager searchManager = (SearchManager) getSystemService(Context.SEARCH_SERVICE);
    search.setSearchableInfo(searchManager.getSearchableInfo(new ComponentName(this, SearchResultsActivity.class)));
    search.setQueryHint(getResources().getString(R.string.search_hint));
    return true;
}

However, this is not the behavior I am seeking.

I would like for the search to immediately open a new activity, with the capability for the user to type into the toolbar and perform a query right off the bat instead of having to click search again.

The reason - I want to use Algolia to populate search results live. I don't want to do this on the initial Activity; I merely want to allow the user to click search, navigate to a new Activity that is linked with Algolia, and then start typing in the second Activity to see live search results.

Any advice is appreciated!

Answer 1

use this code

main_menu.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<item
    android:id="@+id/option_search"
    android:icon="@drawable/icon_search"
    android:orderInCategory="100"
    app:showAsAction="always"
    android:title="Search" />

now in your main activity do like this

MainActivity.java

    public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);


    }

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
        inflater.inflate(R.menu.main_menu, menu);
        return true;
    }


@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    // Handle item selection
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
    case R.id.option_search:
        //go to search
        return true;
    default:
        return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
    }
}

}

this is going to work the way you expect it