Main Screen Templates

Each head unit manufacturer supports a set of user interface templates. These templates determine the position and size of the text, images, and buttons on the screen. Once the app has connected successfully with an SDL enabled head unit, a list of supported templates is available on sdlManager.getSystemCapabilityManager().getDefaultMainWindowCapability().getTemplatesAvailable().

Change the Template

To change a template at any time, use ScreenManager.changeLayout(). This guide requires SDL Java Suite version 5.0. If using an older version, use the SetDisplayLayout RPC.

Note

When changing the layout, you may get an error or failure if the update is "superseded." This isn't technically a failure, because changing the layout has not yet been attempted. The layout or batched operation was cancelled before it could be completed because another operation was requested. The layout change will then be inserted into the future operation and completed then.

TemplateConfiguration templateConfiguration = new TemplateConfiguration().setTemplate(PredefinedLayout.GRAPHIC_WITH_TEXT.toString());
sdlManager.getScreenManager().changeLayout(templateConfiguration, new CompletionListener() {
    @Override
    public void onComplete(boolean success) {
        if (success) {
            DebugTool.logInfo(TAG, "Layout set successfully");
        } else {
            DebugTool.logInfo(TAG, "Layout not set successfully");
        }
    }
});

Template changes can also be batched with text and graphics updates:

sdlManager.getScreenManager().beginTransaction();
sdlManager.getScreenManager().setTextField1("Line of Text");
sdlManager.getScreenManager().changeLayout(templateConfiguration, new CompletionListener() {
    @Override
    public void onComplete(boolean success) {
        // This listener will be ignored, and will use the CompletionListener sent in commit.
    }
});
sdlManager.getScreenManager().setPrimaryGraphic(sdlArtwork);
sdlManager.getScreenManager().commit(new CompletionListener() {
    @Override
    public void onComplete(boolean success) {
        if (success) {
            DebugTool.logInfo(TAG, "The data and template have been set successfully");
        }
    }
});

Available Templates

There are fifteen standard templates to choose from, however some head units may only support a subset of these templates. The following examples show how templates will appear on the Generic HMI and Ford's SYNC® 3 HMI.