Contextual Action Mode in Android provides a temporary action bar that appears when users perform specific actions such as long-pressing an item.

It is commonly used in:

File managers
Gallery applications
Email apps
Chat applications
RecyclerView item selection

Unlike a floating context menu, Contextual Action Mode displays actions directly inside the top app bar for a cleaner and more modern user experience.

In this tutorial, we will learn:

What ActionMode is
How to activate contextual action mode
How to handle menu clicks
How to customize ActionMode appearance
Modern Android best practices

What Is Contextual Action Mode?

Contextual Action Mode is a temporary toolbar overlay that appears when the user selects or long-presses content.

It allows users to perform contextual operations such as:

Delete
Share
Edit
Copy
Select multiple items

What We Will Build

In this Android example:

User long-presses a TextView
Contextual Action Bar appears
Custom menu options are shown
Click events are handled
Toolbar overlay customization is applied

Step 1 — Create activity_main.xml

Create:


res/layout/activity_main.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
    xmlns:android=
    "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    xmlns:app=
    "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"

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

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/text_view"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Long Press Me"
        android:textSize="30sp"

        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Step 2 — Create Menu Resource

Create:


res/menu/example_menu.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<menu
    xmlns:android=
    "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <item
        android:id="@+id/option_1"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_delete"
        android:title="Delete"
        android:showAsAction="ifRoom"/>

    <item
        android:id="@+id/option_2"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_share"
        android:title="Share"
        android:showAsAction="ifRoom"/>

</menu>

Step 3 — Implement MainActivity.java


package com.example.contextualactionmode;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import androidx.appcompat.view.ActionMode;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity
        extends AppCompatActivity {

    private ActionMode actionMode;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(
            Bundle savedInstanceState
    ) {

        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(
                R.layout.activity_main
        );

        TextView textView =
                findViewById(R.id.text_view);

        textView.setOnLongClickListener(v -> {

            if (actionMode != null) {

                return false;
            }

            actionMode =
                    startSupportActionMode(
                            actionModeCallback
                    );

            return true;
        });
    }

    private final ActionMode.Callback
            actionModeCallback =
            new ActionMode.Callback() {

        @Override
        public boolean onCreateActionMode(
                ActionMode mode,
                Menu menu
        ) {

            mode.getMenuInflater().inflate(
                    R.menu.example_menu,
                    menu
            );

            mode.setTitle(
                    "Choose Action"
            );

            return true;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean onPrepareActionMode(
                ActionMode mode,
                Menu menu
        ) {

            return false;
        }

        @Override
        public boolean onActionItemClicked(
                ActionMode mode,
                MenuItem item
        ) {

            int id = item.getItemId();

            if (id == R.id.option_1) {

                Toast.makeText(
                        MainActivity.this,
                        "Delete clicked",
                        Toast.LENGTH_SHORT
                ).show();

                mode.finish();

                return true;
            }

            if (id == R.id.option_2) {

                Toast.makeText(
                        MainActivity.this,
                        "Share clicked",
                        Toast.LENGTH_SHORT
                ).show();

                mode.finish();

                return true;
            }

            return false;
        }

        @Override
        public void onDestroyActionMode(
                ActionMode mode
        ) {

            actionMode = null;
        }
    };
}

How Contextual Action Mode Works

The workflow is:

User long-presses a View
ActionMode starts
Custom contextual toolbar appears
Menu options are displayed
User selects action
ActionMode closes automatically

Why ActionMode Is Useful

Contextual Action Mode improves user experience because:

Actions appear only when needed
UI stays clean
Selection-based actions become intuitive
Supports multi-selection workflows

Customizing ActionMode Appearance

Inside:


res/values/themes.xml

Add:


<style
    name="Theme.MyApp"
    parent="Theme.Material3.DayNight.NoActionBar">

    <item
        name="actionModeBackground">
        @color/purple_500
    </item>

    <item
        name="windowActionBarOverlay">
        true
    </item>

</style>

What Does windowActionBarOverlay Do?

When enabled:


windowActionBarOverlay = true

the contextual toolbar appears on top of the existing Toolbar instead of pushing the layout downward.

Modern Android Improvements

Modern Android applications often use Contextual Action Mode with:

RecyclerView selection
SelectionTracker API
Material Design 3
Jetpack Compose
Toolbar integration

Common Mistakes Developers Make

1. Using Deprecated Support Libraries

Always use:


androidx

instead of old:


android.support

2. Forgetting to Finish ActionMode

Always call:


mode.finish()

after action completion.

3. Not Handling Multiple Selections Properly

RecyclerView contextual actions should properly track selected items.

ActionMode vs PopupMenu

ActionMode	PopupMenu
Toolbar overlay UI	Floating popup menu
Best for selections	Best for quick actions
Supports multi-select	Usually single-item actions

Modern Alternative in Jetpack Compose

Jetpack Compose applications can implement contextual toolbars using:

TopAppBar
Selection containers
Compose state management

FAQ

What triggers Contextual Action Mode?

Usually long-click events or item selection.

Can ActionMode work with RecyclerView?

Yes. RecyclerView multi-selection is one of the most common ActionMode use cases.

Should modern apps still use ActionMode?

Yes. Contextual Action Mode is still widely used in Android applications for selection-based actions.

Conclusion

Contextual Action Mode provides a clean and modern way to perform temporary selection-based actions in Android applications.

Using ActionMode improves:

User experience
Toolbar interaction
Selection workflows
UI organization

Modern Android applications should combine ActionMode with RecyclerView selection systems, Material Design components, and lifecycle-aware architecture for scalable implementations.

About the Author

Salil Jha is a Full Stack and Mobile Developer specializing in Android, React Native, fintech systems, scalable SaaS platforms, and developer tooling products.

CodeChain Dev — Build Modern Products. Solve Real Problems.

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