I am currently just starting to learn android development and have created a basic "Hello world" app that uses "activity_main.xml" for the default layout. I tried to create a new layout xml file called "new_layout.xml" with a text view, a text field and a button and did the following changes in the MainActivity.java file:

setContentView(R.layout.new_layout);

I did nothing else expect for adding a new_layout.xml in the res/layout folder, I have tried restarting and cleaning the project but nothing. Below is my activity_main.xml file, new_layout.xml file and MainActivity.java

activity_main.xml:

<FrameLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="@+id/container"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context="org.example.androidsdk.demo.MainActivity"
tools:ignore="MergeRootFrame" />

new_layout.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="horizontal" >

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/textView1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="TextView" />

<EditText
    android:id="@+id/editText1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_weight="1"
    android:ems="10" >

    <requestFocus />
</EditText>

<Button
    android:id="@+id/button1"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Button" />

MainActivity.java file

package org.example.androidsdk.demo;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.ActionBar;
import android.app.Fragment;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.os.Build;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.new_layout);

    if (savedInstanceState == null) {
        getFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
                .add(R.id.container, new PlaceholderFragment())
                .commit();
    }
}


@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {

    // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
    return true;
}

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    // Handle action bar item clicks here. The action bar will
    // automatically handle clicks on the Home/Up button, so long
    // as you specify a parent activity in AndroidManifest.xml.
    int id = item.getItemId();
    if (id == R.id.action_settings) {
        return true;
    }
    return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}

/**
 * A placeholder fragment containing a simple view.
 */
public static class PlaceholderFragment extends Fragment {

    public PlaceholderFragment() {
    }

    @Override
    public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
            Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        View rootView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_main, container, false);
        return rootView;
    }
}

}