Error Retrieving Parent for Item: No Resource Found After Upgrading to AppCompat v23

Error Retrieving Parent for Item: No Resource Found After Upgrading to AppCompat v23

6 June 2024 Stephan Petzl Leave a comment Tech-Help

If you’ve encountered the error message “Error retrieving parent for item: No resource found that matches the given name” after upgrading to AppCompat v23 in Android Studio, you’re not alone. This is a common issue faced by many developers during the migration from Eclipse to Android Studio or while updating their projects. Fortunately, the solution is straightforward once you understand the cause of the problem.

Understanding the Issue

This error generally occurs because the compile SDK version in your project does not match the version of the support library you are using. For example, if you are using version 23 of the support library, you need to compile against version 23 of the Android SDK.

Step-by-Step Solution

To resolve this error, follow these steps:

  1. Open your project in Android Studio.
  2. Navigate to File > Project Structure or press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + S to open the Project Structure dialog.
  3. Go to the Modules section and select your app module.
  4. In the Properties tab, set the Compile SDK Version to API 23 and the Build Tools Version to 23.0.0.
  5. Ensure that your build.gradle file includes the following dependencies:
android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "23.0.0"
    ...
}

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.0.0'
    ...
}

After making these changes, sync your project with Gradle files and rebuild it. This should resolve the error.

Alternative Solution

If you prefer to continue using an older SDK version, you can downgrade the support library to match your current compile SDK version. For instance, if you are compiling against version 22 of the Android SDK, modify your build.gradle file as follows:

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:22.2.1'
    ...
}

Again, sync your project with Gradle files and rebuild it. This will allow you to continue using the older SDK version without encountering the error.

Conclusion

By ensuring that your compile SDK version matches the support library version, you can avoid the “Error retrieving parent for item” issue. This small adjustment in your project setup can save you a lot of time and frustration.

For more detailed guides on Android development, check out our related articles:

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