Question: I am using a NavigationView for my drawer. This is the menus.xml file which defines all the menu items for the drawer:

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

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <group android:checkableBehavior="single">
        <item
            android:id="@+id/item_1"
            android:title="Item 1"
            android:checked="true" />
        <item
            android:id="@+id/item_2"
            android:title="Item 2" />
        <item
            android:id="@+id/item_3"
            android:title="Item 3" />
        <item
            android:id="@+id/item_4"
            android:title="Item 4" />
        <item android:title="List 1">
            <menu>
                <item
                    android:id="@+id/subitem_1"
                    android:title="SubItem 1" />
                <item
                    android:id="@+id/subitem_2"
                    android:title="SubItem 2" />
            </menu>
        </item>
        <item android:title="List 2">
            <menu>
                <item
                    android:id="@+id/subitem_3"
                    android:title="SubItem 3" />
                <item
                    android:id="@+id/subitem_4"
                    android:title="SubItem 4" />
            </menu>
        </item>
    </group>
</menu>

```

Thing is when I call setChecked(true) on the sub menu items it doesn't get highlighted.

So if I force the attribute android:checkable="true" on the sub-menu items, it takes two clicks to have it highlighted. Also, as you can see Item 1 is highlighted and the checkableBehaviour is set to single. In this case, the sub menu and the first item remain highlighted. Why is the sub menu not getting highlighted on running setChecked(true)?

Answer: 
Maybe try doing it programmatially. Add this method if you have it already. The key part is the "menu.findItem(R.id.item\_1).setChecked(true);" 

```
@Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
    menu.findItem(R.id.item_1).setChecked(true);
    return true;
}

```
Generalizing @jlga's answer:

You need to enclose all your `item` tags within a `group` tag and set the `group`'s `android:checkableBehavior` attribute as `single`.

For instance, assume that you have the following menu arrangement,

```
<!-- Your previous sections here -->

<item android:title="New Section">
        <menu>

            <item
                android:id="@+id/one"
                android:title="1" />

            <item
                android:id="@+id/two"
                android:title="2" />

        </menu>
</item>

```

`setChecked` would have no effect on any item in this "New Section". Hence, to be able to do so, change it as follows:

```
<!-- Your previous sections here -->

<item android:title="New Section">
        <menu>
            <group android:checkableBehavior="single">
                <item
                    android:id="@+id/one"
                    android:title="1" />

                <item
                    android:id="@+id/two"
                    android:title="2" />

             </group>
        </menu>
</item>

```