Set a global variable in gradle that can use in manifest file

Question

I want to create a global variable similar with applicationId. It is set value in build.gradle and will be used in manifest. Is it possible?

Answer 1

While Marko's answer seems to work, there's currently a better solution that doesn't require adding variables to the string resource files.

The manifest merger accepts placeholders:

For custom placeholders replacements, use the following DSL to configure the placeholders values :

 android {
     defaultConfig {
         manifestPlaceholders = [ activityLabel:"defaultName"]
     }
     productFlavors {
         free {
         }
         pro {
             manifestPlaceholders = [ activityLabel:"proName" ]
         }
     }

will substitute the placeholder in the following declaration :

You can also manipulate those strings with groovy functions.