Add headerfooter to a RecyclerView

This is a sample adapter code.

public class SampleAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<RecyclerView.ViewHolder> {

private static final int FOOTER_VIEW = 1;

// Define a view holder for Footer view

public class FooterViewHolder extends ViewHolder {
    public FooterViewHolder(View itemView) {
        super(itemView);
        itemView.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                // Do whatever you want on clicking the item
            }
        });
    }
}

// Now define the viewholder for Normal list item
public class NormalViewHolder extends ViewHolder {
    public NormalViewHolder(View itemView) {
        super(itemView);

        itemView.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                // Do whatever you want on clicking the normal items 
            }
        });
    }
}

// And now in onCreateViewHolder you have to pass the correct view
// while populating the list item.

@Override
public RecyclerView.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {

    View v;

    if (viewType == FOOTER_VIEW) {
        v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.list_item_footer, parent, false);

        FooterViewHolder vh = new FooterViewHolder(v);

        return vh;
    }

    v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.list_item_normal, parent, false);

    NormalViewHolder vh = new NormalViewHolder(v);

    return vh;
}

// Now bind the viewholders in onBindViewHolder
@Override
public void onBindViewHolder(RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position) {

    try {
        if (holder instanceof NormalViewHolder) {
            NormalViewHolder vh = (NormalViewHolder) holder;

            vh.bindView(position);
        } else if (holder instanceof FooterViewHolder) {
            FooterViewHolder vh = (FooterViewHolder) holder;
        }
    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

// Now the critical part. You have return the exact item count of your list
// I've only one footer. So I returned data.size() + 1
// If you've multiple headers and footers, you've to return total count
// like, headers.size() + data.size() + footers.size()

@Override
public int getItemCount() {
    if (data == null) {
        return 0;
    }

    if (data.size() == 0) {
        //Return 1 here to show nothing
        return 1;
    }

    // Add extra view to show the footer view
    return data.size() + 1;
}

// Now define getItemViewType of your own. 

@Override
public int getItemViewType(int position) {
    if (position == data.size()) {
        // This is where we'll add footer.
        return FOOTER_VIEW;
    }

    return super.getItemViewType(position);
}

// So you're done with adding a footer and its action on onClick. 
// Now set the default ViewHolder for NormalViewHolder

public class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
    // Define elements of a row here
    public ViewHolder(View itemView) {
        super(itemView);
        // Find view by ID and initialize here
    }

    public void bindView(int position) {
        // bindView() method to implement actions
    }
}
}

Here’s a good read about the implementation of RecyclerView with header and footer.

Alternate method:

While the above answer will work you can use this approach as well using a recycler view using a NestedScrollView .You can add a layout for header using the following approach:

<android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent">

     <RelativeLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent">

        <include
            layout="@layout/drawer_view_header"
            android:id="@+id/navigation_header"/>

        <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
            android:layout_below="@id/navigation_header"
            android:id="@+id/followers_list"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

    </RelativeLayout>
</android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView>

Or you may also use a LinearLayout with vertical alignment in your NestedScrollView.

Note: This will only work with RecyclerView above 23.2.0

compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:23.2.0'

Found a mistake? Have a question or improvement idea? Let me know.

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