How to put a border around an Android TextView?

You can set a shape drawable (a rectangle) as background for the view.

<TextView android:text="Some text" android:background="@drawable/back"/>

And rectangle drawable back.xml (put into res/drawable folder):

<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="rectangle" >
   <solid android:color="@android:color/white" />
   <stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="#4fa5d5"/>
</shape>

You can use @android:color/transparent for the solid color to have a transparent background. You can also use padding to separate the text from the border. for more information see: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html

---

Let me summarize a few different (non-programmatic) methods.

Using a shape drawable

Save the following as an XML file in your drawable folder (for example, my_border.xml):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:shape="rectangle" >

    <!-- View background color -->
    <solid
        android:color="@color/background_color" >
    </solid>

    <!-- View border color and width -->
    <stroke
        android:width="1dp"
        android:color="@color/border_color" >
    </stroke>

    <!-- The radius makes the corners rounded -->
    <corners
        android:radius="2dp"   >
    </corners>

</shape>

Then just set it as the background to your TextView:

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/textview1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:background="@drawable/my_border" />

More help:

Shape Drawable (Android docs)

Android Developer Tips & Tricks: XML Drawables (Part I)

Using a 9-patch

A 9-patch is a stretchable background image. If you make an image with a border then it will give your TextView a border. All you need to do is make the image and then set it to the background in your TextView.

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/textview1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:background="@drawable/my_ninepatch_image" />

Here are some links that will show how to make a 9-patch image:

Draw 9-patch

Simple Nine-patch Generator

A simple guide to 9-patch for Android UI

Creating & Using 9-patch images in Android

What if I just want the top border?

Using a layer-list

You can use a layer list to stack two rectangles on top of each other. By making the second rectangle just a little smaller than the first rectangle, you can make a border effect. The first (lower) rectangle is the border color and the second rectangle is the background color.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<layer-list xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <!-- Lower rectangle (border color) -->
    <item>
        <shape android:shape="rectangle">
            <solid android:color="@color/border_color" />
        </shape>
    </item>

    <!-- Upper rectangle (background color) -->
    <item android:top="2dp">
        <shape android:shape="rectangle">
            <solid android:color="@color/background_color" />
        </shape>
    </item>
</layer-list>

Setting android:top="2dp" offsets the top (makes it smaller) by 2dp. This allows the first (lower) rectangle to show through, giving a border effect. You can apply this to the TextView background the same way that the shape drawable was done above.

Here are some more links about layer lists:

Understanding Android's

How to make bottom border in drawable shape XML selector?

Create borders on a android view in drawable xml, on 3 sides?

Using a 9-patch

You can just make a 9-patch image with a single border. Everything else is the same as discussed above.

Using a View

This is kind of a trick but it works well if you need to add a seperator between two views or a border to a single TextView.

<LinearLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textview1"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

    <!-- This adds a border between the TextViews -->
    <View
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="2dp"
        android:background="@android:color/black" />

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textview2"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

</LinearLayout>

Here are some more links:

How to draw a line in Android

How to put a horizontal divisor line between edit text's in a activity

How to add a horizontal 1px line above image view in a relative layout?

---

The simple way is to add a view for your TextView. Example for the bottom border line:

<LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical"
              android:layout_width="fill_parent"
              android:layout_height="fill_parent">
    <TextView
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
        android:layout_marginLeft="10dp"
        android:text="@string/title"
        android:id="@+id/title_label"
        android:gravity="center_vertical"/>
    <View
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="0.2dp"
        android:id="@+id/separator"
        android:visibility="visible"
        android:background="@android:color/darker_gray"/>

</LinearLayout>

For the other direction borders, please adjust the location of the separator view.

---

I have solved this issue by extending the textview and drawing a border manually. I even added so you can select if a border is dotted or dashed.

public class BorderedTextView extends TextView {
        private Paint paint = new Paint();
        public static final int BORDER_TOP = 0x00000001;
        public static final int BORDER_RIGHT = 0x00000002;
        public static final int BORDER_BOTTOM = 0x00000004;
        public static final int BORDER_LEFT = 0x00000008;

        private Border[] borders;

        public BorderedTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
            super(context, attrs, defStyle);
            init();
        }

        public BorderedTextView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
            super(context, attrs);
            init();
        }

        public BorderedTextView(Context context) {
            super(context);
            init();
        }
        private void init(){
            paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.STROKE);
            paint.setColor(Color.BLACK);
            paint.setStrokeWidth(4);        
        }
        @Override
        protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
            super.onDraw(canvas);
            if(borders == null) return;

            for(Border border : borders){
                paint.setColor(border.getColor());
                paint.setStrokeWidth(border.getWidth());

                if(border.getStyle() == BORDER_TOP){
                    canvas.drawLine(0, 0, getWidth(), 0, paint);                
                } else
                if(border.getStyle() == BORDER_RIGHT){
                    canvas.drawLine(getWidth(), 0, getWidth(), getHeight(), paint);
                } else
                if(border.getStyle() == BORDER_BOTTOM){
                    canvas.drawLine(0, getHeight(), getWidth(), getHeight(), paint);
                } else
                if(border.getStyle() == BORDER_LEFT){
                    canvas.drawLine(0, 0, 0, getHeight(), paint);
                }
            }
        }

        public Border[] getBorders() {
            return borders;
        }

        public void setBorders(Border[] borders) {
            this.borders = borders;
        }
}

And the border class:

public class Border {
    private int orientation;
    private int width;
    private int color = Color.BLACK;
    private int style;
    public int getWidth() {
        return width;
    }
    public void setWidth(int width) {
        this.width = width;
    }
    public int getColor() {
        return color;
    }
    public void setColor(int color) {
        this.color = color;
    }
    public int getStyle() {
        return style;
    }
    public void setStyle(int style) {
        this.style = style;
    }
    public int getOrientation() {
        return orientation;
    }
    public void setOrientation(int orientation) {
        this.orientation = orientation;
    }
    public Border(int Style) {
        this.style = Style;
    }
}

Hope this helps someone :)

---

Simplest solution I've found (and which actually works):

<TextView
    ...
    android:background="@android:drawable/editbox_background" />

---

You can set the border by two methods. One is by drawable and the second is programmatic.

Using Drawable

<shape>
    <solid android:color="@color/txt_white"/>
    <stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="@color/border_gray"/>
    <corners android:bottomLeftRadius="10dp"
             android:bottomRightRadius="0dp"
             android:topLeftRadius="10dp"
             android:topRightRadius="0dp"/>
    <padding android:bottom="0dip"
             android:left="0dip"
             android:right="0dip"
             android:top="0dip"/>
</shape>

Programmatic

public static GradientDrawable backgroundWithoutBorder(int color) {

    GradientDrawable gdDefault = new GradientDrawable();
    gdDefault.setColor(color);
    gdDefault.setCornerRadii(new float[] { radius, radius, 0, 0, 0, 0,
                                           radius, radius });
    return gdDefault;
}

---

I was just looking at a similar answer-- it's able to be done with a Stroke and the following override:

@Override
public void draw(Canvas canvas, MapView mapView, boolean shadow) {

Paint strokePaint = new Paint();
strokePaint.setARGB(255, 0, 0, 0);
strokePaint.setTextAlign(Paint.Align.CENTER);
strokePaint.setTextSize(16);
strokePaint.setTypeface(Typeface.DEFAULT_BOLD);
strokePaint.setStyle(Paint.Style.STROKE);
strokePaint.setStrokeWidth(2);

Paint textPaint = new Paint();
textPaint.setARGB(255, 255, 255, 255);
textPaint.setTextAlign(Paint.Align.CENTER);
textPaint.setTextSize(16);
textPaint.setTypeface(Typeface.DEFAULT_BOLD);

canvas.drawText("Some Text", 100, 100, strokePaint);
canvas.drawText("Some Text", 100, 100, textPaint);

super.draw(canvas, mapView, shadow); 
}

---

You can add something like this in your code:

<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       android:shape="rectangle" >
    <solid android:color="#ffffff" />
    <stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="#4fa5d5"/>
</shape>

---

I found a better way to put a border around a TextView.

Use a nine-patch image for the background. It's pretty simple, the SDK comes with a tool to make the 9-patch image, and it involves absolutely no coding.

The link is http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/graphics/2d-graphics.html#nine-patch.

---

With the Material Components Library you can use the MaterialShapeDrawable.

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textview"
        .../>

Then you can programmatically apply a MaterialShapeDrawable:

    TextView textView = findViewById(R.id.textview);
    MaterialShapeDrawable shapeDrawable = new MaterialShapeDrawable();
    shapeDrawable.setFillColor(ContextCompat.getColorStateList(this,android.R.color.transparent));
    shapeDrawable.setStroke(1.0f, ContextCompat.getColor(this,R.color....));
    ViewCompat.setBackground(textView,shapeDrawable);

https://i.stack.imgur.com/3kGqL.png

---

Check the link below to make rounded corners http://androidcookbook.com/Recipe.seam?recipeId=2318

The drawable folder, under res, in an Android project is not restricted to bitmaps (PNG or JPG files), but it can also hold shapes defined in XML files.

These shapes can then be reused in the project. A shape can be used to put a border around a layout. This example shows a rectangular border with curved corners. A new file called customborder.xml is created in the drawable folder (in Eclipse use the File menu and select New then File, with the drawable folder selected type in the file name and click Finish).

The XML defining the border shape is entered:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="rectangle">
    <corners android:radius="20dp"/>
    <padding android:left="10dp" android:right="10dp" android:top="10dp" android:bottom="10dp"/>
    <solid android:color="#CCCCCC"/>
</shape>

The attribute android:shape is set to rectangle (shape files also support oval, line, and ring). Rectangle is the default value, so this attribute could be left out if it is a rectangle being defined. See the Android documentation on shapes at http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html#Shape for detailed information on a shape file.

The element corners sets the rectangle corners to be rounded. It is possible to set a different radius on each corner (see the Android reference).

The padding attributes are used to move the contents of the View to which the shape is applied, to prevent the contents overlapping the border.

The border color here is set to a light gray (CCCCCC hexadecimal RGB value).

Shapes also support gradients, but that is not being used here. Again, see the Android resources to see how a gradient is defined. The shape is applied to the laypout using android:background="@drawable/customborder".

Within the layout other views can be added as normal. In this example, a single TextView has been added, and the text is white (FFFFFF hexadecimal RGB). The background is set to blue, plus some transparency to reduce the brightness (A00000FF hexadecimal alpha RGB value). Finally the layout is offset from the screen edge by placing it into another layout with a small amount of padding. The full layout file is thus:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
              android:orientation="vertical"
              android:layout_width="fill_parent"
              android:layout_height="fill_parent"
              android:padding="5dp">
    <LinearLayout android:orientation="vertical"
                  android:layout_width="fill_parent"
                  android:layout_height="fill_parent"
                  android:background="@drawable/customborder">
        <TextView android:layout_width="fill_parent"
                android:layout_height="fill_parent"
                android:text="Text View"
                android:textSize="20dp"
                android:textColor="#FFFFFF"
                android:gravity="center_horizontal"
                android:background="#A00000FF" />
    </LinearLayout>
</LinearLayout>

---

I have a way to do it very simply, and I'd like to share it.

When I want to square mi TextViews, I just put them in a LinearLayout. I set the background color of my LinearLayout, and I add a margin to my TextView. The result is exactly as if you square the TextView.

---

You can set a shape drawable (a rectangle with corners) as background for the view.

<TextView android:background="@drawable/frame"/>

And rectangle drawable frame.xml (put into res/drawable folder):

<shape
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:shape="rectangle" >
    <solid android:color="@android:color/white" />
    <stroke android:width="1dip"
     android:color="#3d4caf"/>
    <corners android:radius="50dp"/>
</shape>

---

You can create custom background for your text view. Steps

Go to your project. Go to resources and right click to drawable. Click on New -> Drawable Resource File Give name to you file Paste following code in the file

<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <stroke
        android:width="1dp"
        android:color="@color/colorBlack" />
    <padding
        android:bottom="1dp"
        android:left="1dp"
        android:right="1dp"
        android:top="1dp" />
    <corners android:radius="6dp" />
    <solid android:color="#ffffffff" />
</shape>

For your text view where you want to use it as backgroud, android:background="@drawable/your_fileName"

---

Changing Konstantin Burov answer because not work in my case:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<selector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item>
        <shape android:shape="rectangle">
            <solid android:color="@android:color/white" />
            <stroke android:width="2dip" android:color="#4fa5d5"/>
            <corners android:radius="7dp"/>
        </shape>
    </item>
</selector>

compileSdkVersion 26 (Android 8.0), minSdkVersion 21 (Android 5.0), targetSdkVersion 26, implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.1.0', gradle:4.1

---

Here is my 'simple' helper class which returns an ImageView with the border. Just drop this in your utils folder, and call it like this:

ImageView selectionBorder = BorderDrawer.generateBorderImageView(context, borderWidth, borderHeight, thickness, Color.Blue);

Here is the code.

/**
 * Because creating a border is Rocket Science in Android.
 */
public class BorderDrawer
{
    public static ImageView generateBorderImageView(Context context, int borderWidth, int borderHeight, int borderThickness, int color)
    {
        ImageView mask = new ImageView(context);

        // Create the square to serve as the mask
        Bitmap squareMask = Bitmap.createBitmap(borderWidth - (borderThickness*2), borderHeight - (borderThickness*2), Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
        Canvas canvas = new Canvas(squareMask);

        Paint paint = new Paint();
        paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.FILL);
        paint.setColor(color);
        canvas.drawRect(0.0f, 0.0f, (float)borderWidth, (float)borderHeight, paint);

        // Create the darkness bitmap
        Bitmap solidColor = Bitmap.createBitmap(borderWidth, borderHeight, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
        canvas = new Canvas(solidColor);

        paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.FILL);
        paint.setColor(color);
        canvas.drawRect(0.0f, 0.0f, borderWidth, borderHeight, paint);

        // Create the masked version of the darknessView
        Bitmap borderBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(borderWidth, borderHeight, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
        canvas = new Canvas(borderBitmap);

        Paint clearPaint = new Paint();
        clearPaint.setXfermode(new PorterDuffXfermode(PorterDuff.Mode.CLEAR));

        canvas.drawBitmap(solidColor, 0, 0, null);
        canvas.drawBitmap(squareMask, borderThickness, borderThickness, clearPaint);

        clearPaint.setXfermode(null);

        ImageView borderView = new ImageView(context);
        borderView.setImageBitmap(borderBitmap);

        return borderView;
    }
}

---

This may help you.

<RelativeLayout
    android:id="@+id/textbox"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
    android:layout_centerVertical="true"
    android:background="@android:color/darker_gray" >

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/text"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
        android:layout_centerVertical="true"
        android:layout_margin="3dp"
        android:background="@android:color/white"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:text="@string/app_name"
        android:textSize="20dp" />

</RelativeLayout

---

Create a border view with the background color as the color of the border and size of your text view. set border view padding as the width of the border. Set text view background color as the color you want for the text view. Now add your text view inside the border view.

---

Try this:

<shape>
    <solid android:color="@color/txt_white"/>
    <stroke android:width="1dip" android:color="@color/border_black"/>
</shape>

---

There are a lot of ways to add a border to a textView. The simplest one is by creating a custom drawable and setting it as android:background="@drawable/textview_bg" for your textView.

The textview_bg.xml will go under Drawables and can be something like this. You can have a solid or a gradient background (or nothing if not required), corners to add a corner radius and stroke to add border.

textview_bg.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        android:shape="rectangle">

        <corners
            android:radius="@dimen/dp_10"/>

        <gradient
            android:angle="225"
            android:endColor="#FFFFFF"
            android:startColor="#E0E0E0" />

        <stroke
            android:width="2dp"
            android:color="#000000"/>

    </shape>

---

  <View
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="2dp"
    android:background="@android:color/black" />

this code enough you can place wherever you want

---

setBackground on your xml textview,

add rounded_textview.xml file into your drawable directory.

<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="rectangle" >
   <solid android:color="@android:color/white" />
   <stroke android:width="2dip" android:color="#4f5g52"/>
</shape>

set drawable file in textView background.

---

Actually, it is very simple. If you want a simple black rectangle behind the Textview, just add android:background="@android:color/black" within the TextView tags. Like this:

<TextView
    android:textSize="15pt" android:textColor="#ffa7ff04"
    android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/webView1"
    android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
    android:layout_alignParentEnd="true"
    android:background="@android:color/black"/>

---