How to properly remove padding (or margin?) around buttons in Android?

Question

Currently, I have the following bottom log in button.

When button is not being pressed

When button is being pressed

The XML loo

Answer 1

I have been through what you are going through. Long story short, you just cannot do it cleanly with a tag alone, while ensuring backwards compatibility.

The simplest and the most widely practiced method is to use a underlay, around a

.

Button Code:

Wherever you need to use a button, you use this complete code.

Here is the breakdown:

---

1. OnClick events will be hooked to myButton.
2. Control dimensions of your button, by changing attributes of myButtonUnderlay.
3. In myButton, android:background="?attr/selectableItemBackgroundBorderless". This will make it a transparent button with just the text, and backwards compatible ripples.
4. In myButtonUnderlay, you will do all the other background applications, like setting the color of the button, margins, paddings, borders, gradients, and shadows etc.
5. If manipulation of the button's visibility (programmatic or not) is wish, you do it on myButtonUnderlay.

Note: To ensure backwards compatibility, make sure that you use

android:background="?attr/selectableItemBackgroundBorderless", and NOT

android:background="?android:attr/selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"