When adding an activity to an existing Android project, I manually create a new class - is that the best / preferred way? How do others handle that?
You can use the "New Class" dialog, but that leaves other steps you need to do by hand (e.g. adding an entry to the manifest file). If you want those steps to be automated, you can create the activity via the manifest editor like this:
When you click Finish from the new class dialog, it'll take you to your new activity class so you can start coding.
Five steps might seem a lot, but I'm just trying to be extra detailed here so that it's clear. It's pretty quick when you actually do it.
It is now much easier to do this in Eclipse now. Just right click on the package that will contain your new activity. New -> Other -> (Under Android tab) Android Activity.
And that's all. Your new activity is automatically added to the manifest file as well.