MaterialAbout: Open Source Social Networking

What is MaterialAbout?

What it is

MaterialAbout is an Android library written in Java and released under the MIT license. It provides a material-design about screen for Android apps, combining a developer profile and application information. The project lives in the Android ecosystem and is intended for mobile developers.

The concrete problem it solves is the repetitive work of building a small screen that introduces the developer, displays the app icon and version, and links to external resources. Instead of creating that layout from scratch, a developer can use AboutBuilder to assemble an AboutView and add it to an activity. The README states that the project aims to create an about screen pattern for material Android apps.

Key capabilities

It builds an AboutView through AboutBuilder, allowing a developer to set a profile photo, cover image, name, subtitle, and brief text.
It displays application information, including an app icon, app name, and a version name that can be used as the app subtitle.
It adds external links such as a Google Play Store link, a GitHub link, and a Facebook link to the about screen.
It includes actions such as a five stars action and a share action, and supports layout options such as scroll view wrapping, animated links, and card display.
It exposes the list of actions or links from AboutBuilder and allows finding the view instance of a last link or last action from AboutView.

Who uses it and how

Android developers add the library to a Gradle project through JitPack and use it to create an in-app about screen.
Developers who need to present a personal profile can set photo, cover, name, subtitle, and brief text without writing the full layout manually.
Developers who need to surface application identity and external destinations can add app icon, app name, version name, Play Store, GitHub, and Facebook links inside the same view.

Getting started

The README describes installation through Gradle by adding the JitPack repository and declaring the com.github.jrvansuita:MaterialAbout dependency. It also mentions a sample app in the project, an Appetize.io run option, and a demo APK download link.

When to use it — and when not to

MaterialAbout is useful when an Android app needs a Java-based about screen and the developer is comfortable adding a UI library through JitPack. It is not a backend, hosted service, database, storage, or SMTP solution, because it is only an Android UI component integrated into an app. A limitation evident in the facts is that it requires minSdkVersion 14 or above, uses Android support libraries, and asks for help translating strings.xml to other languages.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Material About

This is an Android project. You, as a mobile developer, can use this library to show a material about screen in your apps. It was built to make your life easier when introducing you to your users, and also, to create an about screen pattern for material android apps. It's really simple and dynamic, check it out.

Note: If you're missing some feature please let me know. Or even better, create a pull request. Also, I'm needing some help to translate the strings.xml to other languages.

Supported Languages: 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇪🇸 🇮🇹 🇷🇺 🇩🇪 :cn: :tr: 🇺🇦 🇫🇷 🇦🇪 🇰🇷

Sample app

This library has a lot more customization and features than is able to show here. Please check the sample app and feel free to help with a pull request. You can take a look at the sample app located on this project.

Setup

This library requires minSdkVersion to be set to 14 or above, like the Official Support Library.

Step #1. Add the JitPack repository to your build file:

allprojects {
    repositories {
	...
	maven { url "https://jitpack.io" }
    }
}

Step #2. Add the dependency (See latest release).

dependencies {
       compile 'com.github.jrvansuita:MaterialAbout:+'
}

Implementation

Create a AboutView instance with AboutBuilder.

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    AboutView view = AboutBuilder.with(this)
                 .setPhoto(R.mipmap.profile_picture)
                 .setCover(R.mipmap.profile_cover)
                 .setName("Your Full Name")
                 .setSubTitle("Mobile Developer")
                 .setBrief("I'm warmed of mobile technologies. Ideas maker, curious and nature lover.")
                 .setAppIcon(R.mipmap.ic_launcher)
                 .setAppName(R.string.app_name)
                 .addGooglePlayStoreLink("8002078663318221363")
                 .addGitHubLink("user")
                 .addFacebookLink("user")
                 .addFiveStarsAction()
                 .setVersionNameAsAppSubTitle()
                 .addShareAction(R.string.app_name)
                 .setWrapScrollView(true)
                 .setLinksAnimated(true)
                 .setShowAsCard(true)
                 .build();

    addContentView(view, layoutParams);
}

Additional

Getting the list of actions or links from AboutBuilder.

AboutBuilder aboutBuilder = AboutBuilder.with(this);

List<Item> actions = aboutBuilder.getActions();
List<Item> links = aboutBuilder.getActions();

Getting the view instance of any action or link from AboutView?

AboutView view = AboutBuilder.with(this)
                 ...
                 .build();

View lastLinkView = view.findItem(builder.getLastLink());
View lastActionView = view.findItem(builder.getLastAction());

Used libraries

Frequently asked questions

Is MaterialAbout free to use?

MaterialAbout is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does MaterialAbout do?

🔖 It's a material-design about screen to use on your Android apps. A developer profile and application information easy to integrate.

What is MaterialAbout written in?

MaterialAbout is primarily written in Java. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/jrvansuita/MaterialAbout, and it has 1,511 GitHub stars.