menu button for old apps - OnePlus X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi Guys,
I have to use an old app, designed for Android 2.x, which still uses these ****ty three dots on the right bottom site to enter some settings, while using software navigation bar.
Now, I really like the invisible capacitive buttons and would like to continue using them. On the other hand, I also need to use this menu every now and then.
As the OPX is not heaving a menu button by default, like Samsung phones, what can I do?
Any advice?

If you are rooted then use Xposed + Force 3 dots menu, otherwise I wouldn't know a way to force that.

Yes, I noticed the same thing in Firefox. On the stock OS, it seems impossible to assign the "open menu" function to one of the buttons, (I mean with i.e. long press) while (if I'm not wrong) I had this set before the last ota update.

Related

[Q] nook "n" mapper

Does anyone know if it would be possible to write an app that would re-map the nook "n" (home) to open up a small popup, that would give access to all four of the main android buttons? i.e., home, back, menu, search. (similar popup to the long press home to 'recent programs' list that android has), maybe even adding the recent programs too?
That way we could still get home, but it wouldn't be impossible to use standard android programs because of the lack of hardware keys.
I loaded "Alidko," which works great, but once I open a book, I have to read the whole thing to get back to the main app screen since there is no 'back' button.
EDIT:
Someone made it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860153
I am an iOS coder, but, looking at the docs, not only does this appear possible, it doesn't look like it would be too difficult for an android coder that knows their way around.
I believe the right thing to do would be, in order of preference/elegance:
1. Have a "long press" on the nook/home key expose the status bar via a "service" that listens for and captures this even
2. Have a "long press" on the nook key display a window that shows a set of "soft keys"
kaicherry said:
I am an iOS coder, but, looking at the docs, not only does this appear possible, it doesn't look like it would be too difficult for an android coder that knows their way around.
I believe the right thing to do would be, in order of preference/elegance:
1. Have a "long press" on the nook/home key expose the status bar via a "service" that listens for and captures this even
2. Have a "long press" on the nook key display a window that shows a set of "soft keys"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A solution was posted here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9556837&postcount=1 to remap the volume keys. Although not as elegant as an app would be, it works great. I have my volume up key remapped to "MENU" and volume down as "BACK".
In Aldiko it works perfectly.
That is a good temporary solution, but I would personally not like to loose the volume functionality.
Anyone think they could make a pop-up like that? I am not sure how hard it would be to make the pop-up send the 'softkey' to the other app and not just close itself (i.e., back)...
Answered!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860153

[Q] Ice Cream Sandwich - Where is the menu button

Hi guys,
Does anybody knows where is the menu button in ICS... it looks it has 3 button, back, home and multitask...
I hope that the menu won't be in each app becasude that will mean no old app until huge upgrade...
They said the buttons change as you need then I'm sure a menu button will pop up if needed.
Sent from my R800x using XDA App
odst0016 said:
They said the buttons change as you need then I'm sure a menu button will pop up if needed.
Sent from my R800x using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but I saw all the videos and sometimes 3 dots appear next to the multitask button but is not clear if that is the menu button or what it does. I think they should have left multitask to the longpress home and give us a menu button always there... It will be a pain in the ass for older apps and for cooking. For now this is a fail as for the absence of smart dialing
my questions is this -> will it be able to remove the on screen buttons and use the hardware ones for older phones?
I had the ask loaded and built am ICS emulator, I'll test on one of my apps this morning and report back.
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I would hope so...that would take up some much needed screen real estate on a smaller screen.
Just tried in the emulator and I had no buttons, I will have to look into updating my app for ICS.
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So my fears are real... no menu button for third party apps... that is so wrong
Right, a have to update the apps to show the buttons.
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Endr1 said:
So my fears are real... no menu button for third party apps... that is so wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nonono, the way it works (based on my understanding and playing with the 4.0 emulator) is this:
On a device with no hardware buttons (Galaxy Nexus):
Menu button shows up if the app has a menu (makes sense)
On a device with hardware buttons (most devices):
Soft keys don't show up, multitasking comes up by long-pressing home button (confirmed in emulator)
That's how it works I believe
The soft-keys don't show up in the emulator because it's emulating a device with hardware keys
---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:40 PM ----------
The one big UI change you could make to your apps to really take advantage of 4.0 is adding an Action Bar to your app (they demonstrated this in the Gmail app I believe).
No action would be needed to support regular menus though
What about the search button? I always use it. sigh.
And I'm guessing on older phones, they can access the multitask menu by holding down home?
Question - I installed the ICS SDK and was trying to tinker with it to make the soft buttons appear, but it's not happening. What settings do you use for an instance of the emulator to force the soft buttons to exist?
marty331 said:
Just tried in the emulator and I had no buttons, I will have to look into updating my app for ICS.
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Click to collapse
How'd you get the emulator to show the soft buttons?
I have not figured out how to get the soft buttons to appear, the emulator still shows the hard buttons from previous versions.
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Endr1 said:
Yes but I saw all the videos and sometimes 3 dots appear next to the multitask button but is not clear if that is the menu button or what it does. I think they should have left multitask to the longpress home and give us a menu button always there... It will be a pain in the ass for older apps and for cooking. For now this is a fail as for the absence of smart dialing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How? if older apps have Menu button functionality, the Menu button will appear. Not really that hard to understand.
they should do away with the menu button. i've personally found the best apps don't utilize it or utilize it very little. the more you have to dig into menus and settings the worse it is for user experience. if i recall, the new native google apps have the equivalent menu function in the top right corner. iOS apps essentially have the settings button in the same spot too. if ICS is all about UI and user experience, we need to see some consistency. for non-native android users, the menu button is not intuitive.
long press
does the soft keys have long press ?? if yes may be long press on multi task button gives u menus
Hey guys,
I guess this question is answered with this video ...
dipito31 said:
Hey guys,
I guess this question is answered with this video ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...
And what video might that be?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
substance12 said:
they should do away with the menu button. i've personally found the best apps don't utilize it or utilize it very little. the more you have to dig into menus and settings the worse it is for user experience. if i recall, the new native google apps have the equivalent menu function in the top right corner. iOS apps essentially have the settings button in the same spot too. if ICS is all about UI and user experience, we need to see some consistency. for non-native android users, the menu button is not intuitive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why should they do away with the menu button? Who cares if it's not intuitive for non-native Android users? Why take the menu button and all of the options that come with it away from the people who are smart enough to use it because some people aren't smart enough to use it? The people who don't know it's there wouldn't know any difference in the first place if it was done away with. The rest of us would.
Has anyone figured anything else out about this now that there are videos everywhere? I still haven't seen any evidence that the menu button exists. Google added the menu button to all of their apps, are all the other apps left out?

[Q] Question: touchkey shortcuts

I've searched everywhere, but didn't find a solution for the following:
when you hold the bottom left hardware touchkey you'll get a popup browser with google search.
And if you hold the center key a window appears with recent programs.
Is there a way too change these shortcuts into something of my own choice?
My s2 is rooted, so maybe there is an app that will do the trick?
Like you, I'd love to remap the menu key to home and home key to menu. We use the home key much more often than menu and it's harder to press a physical key. However, I haven't found such a mod yet.
Remapping keys
I am looking for a way to remap long press of back key (i.e. hold down right key) to something else. Haven't found anything yet.
Now I am using SwipeSwitcher - I configured top left swipe to run Quicker, top right swipe to run a task switcher (I am using PreHome), bottom right swipe to run recent apps (I couldn't find an app to run ICS recent apps, I installed Nova Launcher and assigned the swipe action to its recent apps shortcut).

[Q] Repurposing Home Button to show Notification Menu?

Dear Androidsters
I'm very much enjoying my Samsung Galaxy Note (running stock Android 4.1.2, rooted), and it's waaay better than all my previous 11 palmtop computers put together.
I have four apps which effectively make my Notification Menu into my app launching mechanism [1], since I find this to be quicker and more efficient than the default Home Screens paradigm. I have explored using various app-launching Home Screen replacement apps (such as GO Launcher EX, 3D Home, etc., &c., all of which stick to using the Home Screens paradigm), but I much prefer to use the Notification Menu to launch apps.
Android is justly famous for its 'Customise Everything!' abilities, but search as I may, I cannot find a way of customising a single press on the Home Button. The final finesse would be that, in any and every situation (including when apps are running full screen, where the Notification Bar method of accessing the Notification Menu is absent), a single press on the Home Button shows the Notification Menu instead of the Home Screen (or whichever replacement app-launching Home Screens app it currently launches).
So does anybody know of a customising utility app which will allow me to remap a single press on the Home Button to show the Notification Menu?
Thanks in advance for your help.
[1] Four apps which effectively make my Notification Menu into my app launching mechanism:
Simple Shortcut Panel, Launch From Notification, Settings Extended, and Notification Toggle
There is a way but I know little about button mapping, ask some app developers, they'll probably know.

How to open in app menu?

Hi all. It may seem a silly question and probably it is but there are apps (in this case Touchdown mail client) that haven't an icon to open the in app settings menu. With my previous phones I used a physical button, usually long press on the back button, to open it. But how to do it with the single button p9000? Thank you.
Very good question, they seem to have forgotten about apps that need a physical key for menu, have you tried enabling the softkeys to see if the menu button appears on them for you? Can the "Smart Button" not be setup to be the menu key? or is it only to open apps? I not played with it myself..
Still searching how to have the MENU inside applications, softkeys does not work !
I would ask the software maker! The phone maker won't add more physical buttons.
And multiple press are always software driven!
Even if the phone maker did, that won't help you out with the old hardware...
Doesn't seem to be an answer anywhere online so here goes:
Go to settings > Navigation bar > Turn On.
Go to app you need a menu on > swipe up from bottom to bring up the Nav bar.
Three dots appear on the end of the nav bar. Done.
If the three dots don't appear; click on the recent tasks button and then go back into the app and they should come up.
Tried and tested with EZ Drop.
- Doesn't seem to work with apps with the built in "three dots" menu.
I use ‘Menu Button (No root)’ by JetToast free on the Play store, to get round this problem.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jettoast.menubutton

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