Given the many types of configuration qualifiers for targeting resources, there may be times when the device configuration will match more than one alternative resource. When this happens, qualifiers are given precedence in the order shown in the list above.

To see this prioritizing in action, let’s add another alternative resource to CriminalIntent – a longer English version of the crime_title_hint string resource – to be displayed when the current configuration’s width is at least 600dp. The crime_title_hint resource is displayed in the crime title edit text before the user enters any text. When CriminalIntent is running on a screen that is at least 600dp (e.g., on a tablet, or perhaps in landscape mode on a smaller device), this change will display a more descriptive, engaging hint for the title field.

Create a new string resource file and place it in a new values-w600dp directory (-w600dp will match any device where the current available screen width is 600dp or more, meaning a device may match when in landscape mode but not in portrait mode). Follow the same steps from the section called Localizing Resources to create the values resource file, but select Screen Width in the Available qualifiers list and click the >> button to move Screen Width to the Chosen qualifiers section. For the rest of the fields, enter the values shown in Figure 18.11.

Figure 18.11  Adding strings for a wider screen

Add a longer value for crime_title_hint to values-w600dp/strings.xml.

<resources>
    <string name="crime_title_hint">
        Enter a meaningful, memorable title for the crime.
    </string>
</resources>

The only string resource you want to be different on wider screens is crime_title_hint. That is why crime_title_hint is the only string you specified in values-w600dp. Alternatives for string resources (and other values resources) are provided on a per-string basis, so you do not need to duplicate strings when they are the same. Those duplicated strings would only end up being a maintenance hassle down the road.

Now you have three versions of crime_title_hint: a default version in values/strings.xml, a Spanish alternative in values-es/strings.xml, and a wide-screen alternative in values-w600dp/strings.xml.

With your device’s language set to Spanish, run CriminalIntent and rotate to landscape (Figure 18.12). The Spanish language alternative has precedence, so you see the string from values-es/strings.xml instead of values-w600dp/strings.xml.

Figure 18.12  Android prioritizes language over available screen width

If you like, you can change your settings back to English and run again to confirm that the alternative wide-screen string appears as expected.

You may have noticed that the New Resource File dialog has many available qualifiers. You can put more than one qualifier on a resource directory. When using multiple qualifiers on directories, you must put them in the order of their precedence. Thus, values-es-w600dp is a valid directory name, but values-w600dp-es is not. (When you use the New Resource File dialog, it correctly configures the directory name for you.)

Create a directory for a wide-screen Spanish string. It should be named values-es-w600dp and have a file named strings.xml. Add a string resource for crime_title_hint to values-es-w600dp/strings.xml (Listing 18.5).

<resources>
    <string name="crime_title_hint">
        Introduzca un título significativo y memorable para el crimen.
    </string>
</resources>

With your language set to Spanish, run CriminalIntent to confirm your new alternative resource appears on cue (Figure 18.13).

Figure 18.13  Spanish wide-screen string resource

Let’s walk through how Android determined which version of crime_title_hint to display in this run. First, consider the four alternatives for the string resource named crime_title_hint and an example device configuration for a Nexus 5x set to Spanish language and with an available screen width greater than 600dp: