Styling Android CalendarView to Match Google Calendar Design with Event Indicators

Other Questions Google calendar
1

I’m working on an Android app and want to create a calendar that looks similar to the one in Google’s Calendar app. The default Android CalendarView looks pretty basic and doesn’t match the clean design I’m going for.

When I use the standard CalendarView in my layout like this:

<CalendarView
    android:id="@+id/my_calendar"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

The result doesn’t look modern at all. I need to customize it to have a cleaner appearance.

Another thing I want to add is small indicator dots below certain dates when I have data for those days. I have an ArrayList of date strings that I want to highlight on the calendar with small circles underneath the date numbers.

ArrayList<String> importantDates = new ArrayList<>();
importantDates.add("2024-01-15");
importantDates.add("2024-01-22");
// Need to show dots under these dates

What’s the best approach to customize the calendar appearance and add these date indicators? Should I create a custom view or use a third-party library?

2

I encountered a similar challenge a while back when developing a scheduling app. The default CalendarView indeed offers limited customization and feels outdated. After experimenting with various options, I discovered the MaterialCalendarView library, which significantly streamlined my process. It provides extensive theming capabilities to closely resemble Google Calendar’s design, along with built-in event indicators via decorators. You can easily add circles or custom drawables beneath dates with minimal code. This library takes care of the complex calendar logic, allowing you to focus on appearance. Installation is straightforward through Gradle, and the documentation includes examples tailored to your needs, making it a preferable choice over modifying the native CalendarView.