First Android app: R cannot be resolved to a variable?

Question

From the [Android Getting Started][1] tutorial I'm trying to build my first app. This however, is quite a process. I was at the point "Add the Actions to the Action Bar" on [this page][2] when I encountered the error *main_activity_actions cannot be resolved or is not a field* for this line:

inflater.inflate(R.menu.main_activity_actions, menu);

So I found a similar post here on SO, which suggests to remove import android.R; and then do Project -> Clean and rebuild. Since I didn't have the import android.R; in it I simply tried to add it, do a Clean and rebuild, but this leaves me with even more errors. So I removed the import android.R; again and did a Clean and Rebuild again, but now it still gives me all those new errors, saying: R cannot be resolved to a variable for the following lines (these lines do not appear close to eachother, but throughout the file):

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
inflater.inflate(R.menu.main_activity_actions, menu);
EditText editText = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.edit_message);

For reference, the total file is here on pastebin.

Can anybody please help me out here? What am I doing wrong and how can I solve this?

[EDIT] Below the code in my res/menu/main_activity_actions.xml. If you need to see any more code let me know!

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <!--  Search, should appear as action button -->
    <item android:id="@+id/action_search"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_action_search"
        android:title="@string/action_search"
        android:showAsAction="ifRoom" />

    <!-- Settings, should always be in the overflow -->
    <item android:id="@+id/action_settings"
        android:title="@string/action_settings"
        android:showAsAction="never" />

    <!-- Add some other thing, just cuz I can.. -->
    <item android:id="@+id/action_something_else"
        android:title="@string/action_something_else"
        android:showAsAction="never" />

</menu>

If you got this then that means you are doing anything wrong in your .xml file. Check it whether it is ok or not. — Jitesh Dalsaniya
– Jitesh Dalsaniya, Commented Sep 10, 2013 at 9:35

user1509803 · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 09:37:26Z

2

Remove the import R file, then try Clean the project, then rebuild, should work.

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 9:37

user1509803

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2 Comments

kramer65 Over a year ago

If by "rebuild, you mean hitting the "Run" button, I did this. Without success unfortunately.. Any more tips?

user1509803 Over a year ago

no not the run button, go to Project, uncheck Build Automatically, then click Build Project.

playmaker420 · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 10:19:07Z

1

Check your xml or check the res folder folder if there any problem with the image's name . Or check Window/showview/Errorlog

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 10:19

playmaker420

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1 Comment

kramer65 Over a year ago

Awesome, this was it! One png file was misnamed. Finally I saw it also in the errror log. Excuse me for not seeing that before!

Malik · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 11:23:18Z

1

In

protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

give your main activity xml file name in setContentView(R.layout.your_activity_main);

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 11:23

Malik

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Comments

Erin · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-03 13:36:00Z

1

If anyone is still having trouble on this, make sure that the XML file main_activity_actions.xml is in /res/menu/ and NOT in /res/layout

answered Mar 3, 2014 at 13:36

Erin

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Abdul Mohsin · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 09:38:09Z

0

Check your all XML files inside res folder. You may having some error in one of your XML files

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 9:38

Abdul Mohsin

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New Alexandria · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-24 18:10:21Z

0

Replace "R.menu" to be "R.layout" as below->>

inflater.inflate(R.layout.main_activity_actions, menu);

edited Oct 24, 2013 at 18:10

New Alexandria

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answered Oct 24, 2013 at 17:50

user2917006

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Comments

user3150706 · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-01 06:17:13Z

Also, make sure you put the action_search and action_settings into values/strings.xml, in case they aren't there already.

<resources>

    <string name="app_name">MyApp</string>
    <string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
    <string name="action_search">Search</string>
    <string name="edit_message">Enter a message</string>
    <string name="button_send">Send</string>
    <string name="title_activity_display_message">My Message</string>
    <string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>

</resources>

I had the same problem, and I had stupidly not checked to see if action_search was defined. Also, the png referenced in the "android:icon" was missing from the "drawables" folder.

Fizzix · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-25 00:34:29Z

0

I also had this problem, in my case the name of the xml file was main.xml not main_activity_actions. Changing it from inflater.inflate(R.menu.main_activity_actions, menu); to inflater.inflate(R.menu.main, menu); fixed the problem.

edited Nov 25, 2014 at 0:34

Fizzix

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answered Jul 3, 2014 at 23:11

GrayOwl

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